Justin King followed fellow 5-star recruit Derrick Williams to Happy Valley in 2005. King, a defensive back from Gateway High School near Pittsburgh was a highly popular recruit.
In the end, King chose to stay in-state and wear the blue and white. Perhaps his stepdad, Terry Smith, who was a receiver for the Nittany Lions from 1988-1991, had some influence on his decision.
In high school, he played both running back and cornerback. During his senior year at Gateway, he rushed for 1,795 yards with 30 touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, King made 30 tackles, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
"King has blazing speed and even better quickness. He plays running back and cornerback at the high school level and projects as a cover corner at the next level. King has got to be one of the fastest and quickest prospects in the country."
The cornerback came to Penn State with a lot of hype, but never really reached his full potential. He did make some key plays and was a solid contributor to the team, but didn't materialized into the top-level recruit that he was projected to be.
King left Penn State after his junior season to enter the NFL. He was taken in the fourth round by the St. Louis Rams. He's still in the league, currently playing for his home-town Pittsburgh Steelers.
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