SIGNING DAY PREVIEW: Jack LB Alex King
Cats Illustrated isn't waiting until National Signing Day to get you ready for all the action. We're rolling out Signing Day content all week.
In our new Signing Day Preview series we'll profile every single one of Kentucky's 2017 early enrollees as well as those who won't be signing until Wednesday.
STATUS: Will sign on Wednesday and enroll in June.
RESUME: King missed a portion of his senior season at Mason with injury issues. That impacted his production for Mason.
RECRUITING HISTORY: Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin are among the many other schools that offered King, but he committed to Kentucky very early, at the start of April last year. His commitment to Kentucky a late March trip to Lexington, and after that visit it became apparent that the Cats had surged into the lead. He never wavered in his commitment and generally avoided the media spotlight.
SCOUTING REPORT: King is not as tall or as long as Kentucky's recent Jack linebacker/end recruits, such as Jordan Bonner or Jaylin Bannerman from last year's class. He comes off the line with very good burst, his hips are fluid and that allows him to turn the corner and he uses his hands well at the point of attack to stave off blockers. King is excellent at pursuit, plays with a good motor and is a fantastic edge rusher. He can continue to get bigger and work on his ability to disengage.
CATS ILLUSTRATED PROJECTION: King doesn't need to play right away because Kentucky has good depth (and youthful depth) at the Jack position so a redshirt is probably in order but he should be in the mix for a starting role somewhere down the line.
| Size | Speed | Coverage | Strength | Pass Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7/10 |
8/10 |
6/10 |
7/10 |
8.5/10 |
