Deon King
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Deon Jerome King (born July 2, 1993) is an
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 with ...
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
who is currently a free agent. He played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at
Norfolk State Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 ...
.


Early years

King attended
South Lakes High School South Lakes High School is a public high school in Reston, Virginia, United States. The school serves grades 9-12 for the Fairfax County Public Schools. History South Lakes High School opened in 1978 with grades 7-10. Students in the first 10th-g ...
in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...
. As a sophomore, he had 9 sacks. As a junior, he collected 12 sacks. As a senior
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
, he posted 100 tackles and 10 sacks, while receiving All-Liberty District honors He also competed in the
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
and received All-district honors as a senior. He enrolled at
Fork Union Military Academy Fork Union Military Academy (abbreviated as FUMA) is a private, all-male, college preparatory military boarding school located in Fork Union, Virginia. Founded in 1898, Fork Union is considered one of the premier military boarding academies in th ...
to work on his grades.


College career


Freshman season

In 2012, he accepted a football scholarship from
Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...
. Joining the Spartans as a true freshman, he played in all 11 games that season as an outside linebacker and special teams. In his debut game against in-state rival Virginia State, King put up a season high 5 tackles, with 3 of them being for loss and 2 sacks. Of those 2 sacks, one was on the final play of the game giving Norfolk State their first shutout since 2001. In the season finale against conference member Morgan State, King earned 2 tackles and his career first interception, which he returned for 15 yards for a touchdown. His performance during the game earned him MEAC Rookie of the Week honors and topped off his freshman season with 19 tackles, with 12 of them being solo efforts.


Sophomore season

In the 2013 season opener against Maine, King had five tackles, one of them a quarterback sack. The following week against
Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
he earned 9.5 sacks against the scarlet knights. For the next 5 games, King would make at least 8 tackles. During the annual meeting between
rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...
, King would make a season high 13 tackles, with 10 of them being solo efforts. King ended the season earning All-MEAC second-team honors and spots on both Norfolk’s Athletics Director’s Honor Roll and the MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team. He also ranked second in the conference for both tackles for loss and sacks, with 18.5 tackles and 9.5 sacks. King’s performance also gained national recognition by ranking 8th in FCS in tackles for loss per game with an average of 1.5 and 16th in sacks with an average of 0.79 per game. Kings sacking average would tie him for the third-most in a single season since the program’s transition to Division-I in 1997.


Junior season

In the 2014 season, King started as an outside linebacker for all 12 of the Spartan’s games that season. During the season opener against Maine, King would make 9 tackles and 1 sack. King would also have a strong showing against Morgan State where he earned 7 tackles, 3 quarterback hurries, broke up 1 pass and forced 1 fumble. In the annual rivalry game against Hampton, King was able to rack up 15 stops helping the Spartans earn a victory. King would prove to be an asset to the Spartans in their meeting with Florida A&M as he completed eight tackles, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble. The following week, against Bethune-Cookman, King earned a season-high 19 tackles, 1 interception, and forced a fourth-quarter fumble, which the Spartans were able to recover. King’s performance during the game tied him at the top of the MEAC for the most tackles during the season. In the season finale against South Carolina State, King would set a career-high 9 tackles, one of them a sack. King’s season would end with a total 106 tackles, with 46 of them being solo efforts and 60 assists. King also received national recognition when he ranked in the top 50 in fumble recoveries, tackles for loss, total tackles, and sacks. He was also named the team’s Defensive MVP and awarded a spot on the 2014 MEAC first-team.


Senior season

In the 2015 season, he was named to the preseason All-MEAC first-team and opened the season with 12 tackles and 1 pass breakup against Rutgers. In the following weeks, against FBS opponents Old Dominion and Marshall, King would have back to back 21 tackle games. He followed up that performance the following week with a total 10 tackles half a tackle for loss and 1 interception in a victory against Hampton at the Battle of the Bay rivalry game. His performance during that game would earn him his first MEAC Defensive Player of the Week award. Later in the season King posted 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against
North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...
; 15 tackles against Bethune-Cookman and 14 tackles, with 9 solos, against North Carolina Central. The following weeks, against Savannah State and South Carolina State, King would earn back to back MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance. King posted 17 tackles and one tackle for loss against Savannah State and 18 tackles; including 12 solo efforts, 3 Tackles for loss and 2 sacks against SC State. King also earned other postseason honors such as being named a Boxtorow HBCU All American; STATS, AP FCS All-American; AFCA and SBN Sports Black College All-American. King was also awarded the
Buck Buchanan Award The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was d ...
as the top defensive player in FCS for 2015.


Professional career


Dallas Cowboys

King was signed as an
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
after the
2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Cowboys as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day, then released three days later on September 6, 2016.


San Diego Chargers

On October 4, 2016, King was signed to the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 5, 2016. He was released on November 14, 2016.


Indianapolis Colts

King was claimed off waivers by the Colts on November 15, 2016. He was waived by the Colts on May 1, 2017.


Cleveland Browns

On June 12, 2017, King was signed by the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
. He was waived by the Browns on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 3, 2017. He was waived on November 8, 2017 and was re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 15, 2017. He was waived on December 20, 2017.


Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 23, 2017, King was signed to the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on January 13, 2018. On September 1, 2018, King was waived by the Jaguars.


Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL)

On October 23, 2018, he was signed as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
by the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
. He spent 3 weeks on the practice roster before being promoted to the active roster on December 6. He was released on June 8, 2019.


References


External links


Norfolk State Spartan bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Deon Living people 1993 births People from Reston, Virginia Players of American football from Fairfax County, Virginia Norfolk State Spartans football players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Chargers players Indianapolis Colts players Cleveland Browns players Jacksonville Jaguars players Saskatchewan Roughriders players