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'05 PA RB/DB Justin King (Penn State signee)

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Gateway High School running back/defensive back Justin King ? "We went to Applebee's and the waiter asked if I was Justin King. Then he started asking me about schools and told me, 'Don't go to Michigan.'"

High School Focus: Gateway HIgh senior at center of recruiting whirl
Friday, November 12, 2004

By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Justin King's favorite part of the school day is study hall. No, he doesn't hate school. He likes study hall because he puts on his headphones, listens to music and doesn't have to hear this question for the 900th time in the past few weeks:

"So, where ya going?"

King is an outstanding senior running back/defensive back at Gateway High School who is one of the most heavily recruited players in Western Pennsylvania in the past decade. King will announce his college choice Monday night at a news conference, most likely choosing between Michigan and Penn State. Ohio State is trying to make a late push. A few weeks ago, King had decided Florida was his No. 1 choice, but then coach Ron Zook was fired and everything changed.

Since the end of September, King has made official visits to Michigan, Florida and Penn State.

"Up until a few weeks ago, he was going to Florida," said Gateway coach Terry Smith, who also is King's stepfather. "I was a little surprised at that when he told me, but he just loved everything about the place.

"We sat and met with the athletic director at Florida [Jeremy Foley] and he lied right to our face. He said, 'Ron Zook will be here no matter what because he does things the right way.' Two weeks later, Zook is cut."

The closer it gets to Monday, the more people want to know King's decision. Gateway principal Bill Short has seen students yell out a college when they see King in the hallway. The media ask King his college choice. His classmates ask. Numerous representatives of recruiting internet sites ask.

King can't even get in a food order without someone asking.

"We went to Applebee's and the waiter asked if I was Justin King," King said. "Then he started asking me about schools and told me, 'Don't go to Michigan.' "

Smith gets the "Where's he going?" question constantly.

"I probably get it more than Justin," Smith said with a laugh.

That's why he keeps the door closed to his office at Gateway High School.

"People come in here to buy tickets to our games," Smith said. "Then they just want to poke their head in my office to say hello. It's always, 'Hey, you're doing a good job, good luck this week ... and where's Justin going?' You know eventually they're going to get to that question. So, I keep my door shut to get some work done."

College coaches aren't the only ones tugging at King. ESPNews wanted to televise King's news conference live. That was nixed because "they only wanted Justin and myself there. Justin wants all of his family, friends and teammates involved," Smith said.

KDKA-TV wanted an exclusive on King's choice before the news conference, but Smith said that won't happen, either.

"TV is demanding. But this is about Justin and not TV," he said. "We're having the news conference and whatever media wants to come, can come."

King (6 feet, 180 pounds) is rated by some scouting services as the No. 1 defensive back in the country. Rivals100.com ranks him the No. 9 player overall in the country. He also is an outstanding running back and said he has been told by Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State that he will have a shot to play some offense during his career. King also plans to graduate from Gateway High School in December and enroll in college for the spring semester.

How much King is coveted was evident last Saturday when he was on the Penn State sideline for the Nittany Lions' game against Northwestern. The Penn State student section started chanting his name. Some students held up signs with King's name on them.

"It was a great visit," he said. "The fans showed they really care about Penn State football. A lot of them knew me and I would never think that."

College coaches can only talk to a senior on the telephone once a week. King said some schools have made their final pitches to him and have left him alone. But you can bet the heat will be turned up this weekend.

Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley is persistent in his recruitment. King seems to have a liking for Bradley. There is a color picture of Bradley on a filing cabinet right outside Smith's office.

"The only coach who still is sending me letters is Tom Bradley," King said. "Sometimes, it's two a day."

Michigan, though, has signed some standout WPIAL players the past few years, including Woodland Hills' Steve Breaston and Ryan Mundy, and Belle Vernon's Scott McClintock. Breaston was King's host on his official visit to Michigan in late September.

King isn't letting anyone know what he's thinking. He's trying to keep his mind on Gateway's WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal tonight against Penn Hills.

"Justin is the most level-headed kid you'll meet, but he's getting tired of the question 'Where you going?' " Smith said. "I think it's actually becoming overwhelming to him. But he amazingly keeps it all in perspective to get himself ready for Friday nights."

The soft-spoken King said he thinks he knows his college choice, but he's still not totally sure. Smith said King is not overly concerned about Penn State's losing record or coach Joe Paterno's age.

King still would have considered Florida if Steve Spurrier became coach.

"But when Spurrier turned it down, that was it," Smith said. "It's too late to start a relationship with a new coach."

Smith played receiver at Penn State, but said he will not give his opinion on colleges to his stepson. Smith said he doesn't know what college King will choose.

"He gets mad at me because I won't tell him," Smith said. "His mom and grandparents get mad at me for that. But I feel it's right of me to not tell him where to go."

Funny. Everyone else will.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Mike White can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1975.
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http://www.postgazette.com/pg/04317/410795.stm
 
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Where are all the people that were giving me shit when I said it wasn't over!!!!

Meshitagain wasn't even his fucking favorite team Florida was. I told Brett go blow him being a Michigan Lock was manifested in their imagination.

I would not be suprised if he chooses PSU.
 
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if king goes to psu, michigan fans will be sulking like someone pissed in their cheerios for weeks.

even if it does result in sean smalls picking ttun over osu, it will be worth it to see the impending meltdown on the ttun boards.

that being said, i'd say its probably 45/45 psu and ttun, with osu having an outside 10% shot just in case.


of course, if you want scarlet clouded optimism, i can say that given smalls' recent updates, it seems osu isnt contacting him much anymore, and that is coupled with king stating that psu is trying to make a late push. its all fruitless, but fun enough to give hope anyway.
 
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King (Gateway) advance over Collington (Penn Hills)

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http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/highschool/football/s_272538.html

King's late touchdown lifts Gateway over Penn Hills

Gateway’s Justin King runs for yardage against Penn Hills
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
By Kevin Gorman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, November 13, 2004

Their relationship has grown from father-and-son to player-and-coach to one where they see eye-to-eye. All Terry Smith has to do is shoot a glare in Justin King's direction to send a message.
Trailing by four points with five minutes left in their WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal, the Gateway coach stared at the Gators star, who "looked him dead in the eye" and knew exactly what was expected of him.

Then King delivered a dead-eye blow to the Penn Hills Indians, running 32 yards for a touchdown with 1:34 remaining to give Gateway a 10-7 victory Friday night before a standing-room-only crowd at Norwin.

"I just give Justin looks," Smith said afterward. "He understands what the looks mean. He knows he has to carry this team to greater heights."

King has carried Gateway to somewhere it hasn't been since Smith played there in 1986 - the WPIAL Quad-A championship game. Gateway (11-1) will meet defending champion Central Catholic (12-0), a 20-12 winner over Upper St. Clair, Saturday at Heinz Field.

Central beat Gateway, 28-20, in the season opener.

"We've come from the dumps to being at least a top-two finisher," said Smith, in his third season as Gateway's head coach. "There's no greater feeling than to see a smile on kids' faces, to see tears of joy instead of sadness."

King finished with 128 yards on 27 carries, but earned every one of them against a Penn Hills defense he called "the best I played against in my whole high school career - I've never been hit harder."

Yet everyone knew King would break one, sooner or later.

"We almost get spoiled by him because we have to hang our hat on him so much," Smith said of King, who has rushed for 1,795 yards and 30 touchdowns this season and 4,415 for his career. "But the kid responds every time."

Penn Hills (10-2) held Gateway to a Matt Lichtenstein 22-yard field goal on the opening drive. The Indians then took a 7-3 lead when David Harvey took a shovel pass from Bryan Moore, dodged King and cut back to score from 33 yards with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter.

Gateway's defense also came up big, holding the Indians to 88 rushing yards on 27 attempts and 173 yards total offense while causing three turnovers.

Penn Hills, however, blew several chances to increase its lead in the second half. A 24-yard reverse run by Harvey and a 37-yard fake punt by Kenny Lewis were both nullified by holding penalties. Lewis (18 carries for 69 yards) and Ed Collington (seven for 27) both lost fumbles.

The Indians hadn't missed a field-goal attempt all season, but Steve Nese had a 31-yarder hit the left upright in the third quarter and a 29-yarder blocked in the fourth.

That set up Gateway's final drive, starting at its own 20 with 4:51 left. King ran for gains of 10, 7, 17 - where Harvey tripped him up in the open field - and 4 yards. On third-and-7 at the Penn Hills 43, Aaron Smith (7 of 15 for 97 yards) connected with David Williams for 11 yards.

Then Smith called for "26 counter," which called for a fake outside the opposite way. King took the handoff, had one defender to beat and sprinted to the end zone.

Penn Hills had three more chances, but King tipped a Moore pass on third down and Brandon Livesy intercepted it to seal the victory.

"It ran through my mind, the eternal pessimist that I am," Penn Hills coach Neil Gordon said. "The kid's a great running back, one of the best running backs in the country. We did a yeoman's job on him. It was inevitable something like that was going to happen."
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04318/411474.stm
 
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http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/columnists/gorman/s_272675.html

Penn State could be getting next Lion King
By Kevin Gorman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, November 14, 2004

The decision is one Justin King already made, four years ago. That's when King elected to leave one WPIAL powerhouse and try to build another, transferring from Woodland Hills to Gateway before his freshman year.
"It's like deja vu all over again," King said. "It's like going to high school, now with college. It's the same thing."

Don't be surprised if King spurns the Wolverines again.

Many believe King is a lock for Michigan when he announces his college choice at 7 p.m. on Monday. It says here the nation's No. 1 cornerback will pick Penn State.

A Saturday conversation with King -- who said he has made his decision and won't waver -- was insightful, if not entirely revealing. King is keeping his decision a secret.

The 6-foot, 185-pounder, regarded as a top-10 recruit nationally, said he finalized his college choice this past Monday after returning from his official visit to Penn State. King, whose other finalists are Florida and Ohio State, watched the Nittany Lions' sixth consecutive loss.

"I saw some things I liked," King said. "I was worried about the players being down, but they really weren't. They're real upbeat. They're not quitting."

Penn State is desperate for game-breaking players like King. He could conceivably step in and start at corner, return kicks and punts and even see reps on offense as a running back or receiver, all as a true freshman.

"Wherever he goes, we're going to get the promise from the staff that he's going to play corner," said Gateway coach Terry Smith, who also is King's stepfather. "There's a big temptation because he's so explosive with the ball in his hands. He has game-breaking ability every time he touches the ball."

Don't discount the influence of Smith, a former Penn State receiver. Smith has aggravated King by refusing to advise him, letting King find his own way and make his own choice. Yet Smith called King's official visit last weekend "an enlightening trip," an unusual choice of words for someone so close to the program in the first place.

"That doesn't change that they're not having success on the field," Smith said of Penn State (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten). "If you watch their games, they're not very far off. Their defense is in place. They're one of the best defenses in the country."

With King, it would only get better.

King met with Penn State president Graham Spanier and Lions coach Joe Paterno to discuss the future of the program. Although King said he was given no indication of a change, he added, "I'm confident they would replace him with someone who would uphold the tradition."

Whether that someone is Tom Bradley -- Penn State's defensive coordinator and King's chief recruiter -- could make a major difference. It was no coincidence that rumors that Bradley will be Paterno's successor came just days after King's visit and days before his announcement.

"That," Smith said with a laugh, "wouldn't be bad."

It's also no coincidence that Penn State, despite its struggling passing game, elected not to hire a full-time receivers coach in the off-season. Perhaps that opening is reserved for Smith, whose aspirations go beyond being a high school football coach and athletic director.

Together, King and Smith have restored Gateway's tradition to where the Gators are nationally ranked. On Friday, King scored the winning touchdown to send Gateway to the WPIAL Class AAAA championship for the first time since 1986, when Smith starred for the Gators.

Now, King makes a college choice and has to consider the same thing he did when picking a high school. Back then, Smith asked a simple question: Do you want to be a part of something great, or do you want to make something great?

This time, Smith didn't have to ask.

"I just weighed out different things," King said. "It comes down to if you want something guaranteed -- like that Michigan is going to win every year -- or if you want to turn something around."

King already knows the answer.

The rest of us will have to wait until Monday.
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I can't understand why OSU is still listed. He never makes comments about them, hasn't visited officially, hasn't attended any games home or away....I think he is headed to either PSU or scUM with a slight lean to PSU. I interpret his comments to mean he wants to be "the man" vs. sharing the limelight with budding scUM stars Henne, Hart, and Woodley.
 
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The debate will all be over Monday night when he announces where he is going. I still hold out and hope he sees the potential at OSU and wants to be a part of it. We shall see. Justin could have a GREAT college career at Ohio State. Cross your fingures. Justin we'd love to have you join the Buckeye Family!!

Gosh I've been waiting for this day to come for so long. Then all I have to do after this is wait for Jan.15th(AA game) and then Feb 5th(LOI day) and I will be able to rest easy again. haha
 
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King ready to crown a winner

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/highschool/football/s_272921.html

By Kevin Gorman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, November 15, 2004

Justin King knows where he is going to play college football, but when asked the Gateway star is at his deceptive best.
"I just do the same expression every time," King said. "I either crack a smile or give a confused look. Nobody really knows except me and my parents."

Tonight, King will reveal his choice.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior is regarded as the nation's No. 1 cornerback prospect and a top-10 player overall by scouting services and the most highly recruited player to come out of Western Pennsylvania since LaVar Arrington.

King will announce at 7 p.m. at Gateway High School's LGI Room that he has chosen Florida, Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State from the 54 scholarship offers he has received.

Until then, he will remain tight-lipped.

"It's going to surprise somebody," King said, "because a lot of people think I'm going somewhere and a lot of people think I'm going somewhere else.

"Wherever I go is going to be the best place for me."

It's considered a two-horse race between Michigan and Penn State of the Big Ten Conference. Although Michigan was considered King's early favorite, some believe that Penn State will end up winning the recruiting battle because Gateway coach Terry Smith, who is King's stepfather, is a former Nittany Lions receiver.

It could have a recruiting domino effect, as highly touted prospects Derrick Williams, Nyan Boateng and Lydell Sargeant also are considering Penn State.

That would be a recruiting coup for the Lions. Williams, a receiver from Greenbelt, Md., is regarded the nation's No. 1 prospect. Boateng, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is a top-15 receiver who thinks King is leaning toward choosing the Lions. Sargeant, of Lompoc, Calif., is a top-20 all-purpose back.

"If Justin commits, we've talked about playing together," said Sargeant, who attended Gateway until his freshman year and is King's best friend.

"Justin has a big impact. He's an impact type of player, the type players want to follow. It would be cool if we could all play together."

Added Boateng: "It would definitely have an impact, especially on me and Derrick. We want to go to a place where we can play early. We talk about going to a place where there's no hype and just taking over.

"It all comes down to where you're more comfortable. Maybe he's more comfortable in his home state, where his family can come see him."

Although King eliminated defending national champion Southern Cal because of its distance, he recently said he was set to pick Florida before coach Ron Zook was fired.

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and assistants Ron English and Scott Loeffler visited Gateway on Nov. 4, to make a late push before King's visit to Penn State. And Michigan players Ryan Mundy, Steve Breaston and Marlin

Jackson talked to King after Gateway's playoff game on Friday.

Smith likened the final days of the recruiting battle to the homestretch of a thoroughbred race.

"It's nip and tuck," said. "It's like a Kentucky Derby coming down to the wire. Every step, another nose goes to the front. We'll all find out (today)."
Click to expand...
 
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