Justin Thomas King (born May 11, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. King was drafted in the 4th round (101st overall) by the Rams in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State University.

High school

Justin King was a highly rated

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

recruit playing football for Gateway High School in

Monroeville, Pennsylvania Monroeville is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is located about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh. Monroeville is a suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments. As of the 2020 census, Monroeville was ho ...

. King was the Gatorade Pennsylvania player of the year as a senior. He was rated as highly as the top cornerback recruit in the country in 2004, and the top football recruit in the state of Pennsylvania. He played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl with fellow Nittany Lion Derrick Williams. King's stepfather, Terry Smith, was a receiver for Penn State from 1988 to 1991, and is currently a

Penn State football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 afte ...

coach under James Franklin. He was also an accomplished sprinter on the track and field team for two years.

College career

King arrived at Penn State as one of the most highly touted prospects of that season. He made an immediate impact as a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

, playing on both offense and defense in 2005. That season, he averaged 12.6 yards per rushing attempt, racking up 277 yards on 18 carries. By 2006, he was the team's starting cornerback, playing all thirteen games. His first career

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

came versus

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and snapped eventual Heisman Trophy winner

Troy Smith Troy James Smith (born July 20, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Ohio State, was recognized as an All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy in 2006. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fi ...

's streak of 153 attempts without an interception. King was named second-team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

by the conference coaches that season, and was named to the 2006 Academic All-Big Ten team. Following his junior season, King declared himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft, forgoing one year of college eligibility. King, an academic All-Big Ten selection, finished his degree in Letters, Arts, and Sciences in two and a half years.

Professional career

2008 NFL Draft

Despite questions over King's decision to declare himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft following his junior season, King made a strong showing at the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

. His 4.31-second time in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

was the fastest time for a defensive back, and second-fastest of all prospects, second only to

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Chris Johnson of

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

. King was selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

in the 4th round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He signed a three-year $1.52 million contract that included a $376,000 signing bonus.

2008 Season

King suffered a torn ligament in his big toe in the first preseason game versus the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

on August 8, an injury that would keep him out for the entirety of his rookie season.

Indianapolis Colts

On June 8, 2012, King was signed by the Indianapolis Colts The Colts released King from their roster following their Week 5 win against the Packers.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 18, 2012, King was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. On June 6, 2013, King was placed on the injured reserve list. On July 2, 2013, he was released by the Steelers.

References

External links

2008 NFL Draft combine profileGatewayGators.com - highlights from Justin King in high school
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Justin 1987 births Living people People from Monroeville, Pennsylvania American football cornerbacks Players of American football from Pittsburgh Penn State Nittany Lions football players St. Louis Rams players Indianapolis Colts players Pittsburgh Steelers players