Ron Knight transfered to BYU in 1970 following a succesful junior college career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO). As a sophomore in 1969, he helped NEO win the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Football Championship at the Shrine Bowl in Savannah, Georgia, where the Goldern Norsemen defeated Arizona Western College, 20-6.
Knight prepped at Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. He letter in three sports in high school and was all-state in football.