It can be argued that Kobe King is one of the unsung heroes of the Penn State defense.
Last season, PSU had arguably the best unit in the country.
Plenty of people contributed to this and got their due, such as first-team all-conference LB Abdul Carter, first-round draft pick Chop Robinson and current Baltimore Raven Adisa Isaac.
Another key contributor was cornerback Kalen King, who was probably more well-know than his brother, Kobe.
But Kobe, a starter at MIKE LB, played a big part in Penn State’s success, as well. Now, with Kalen on the Packers, Kobe’s the last King left at Penn State, and he’s the latest subject of All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player.
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 246 pounds
Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
Before Penn State: King, a Detroit, Michigan native, played with his brother Kalen, now a defensive back for Penn State, at Detroit Cass Technical School. Like Kalen, Kobe was a three-sport athlete as Cass where he also wrestled and ran track.
By the time he left high school, King was a three-star recruit according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He and his brother committed to Penn State April 10, 2020.
2021: King, who redshirted his freshman season, appeared in four games for Penn State.
2022: King Appeared in 13 games last season, Producing 41 tackles (20 solo). He also added four tackles for loss and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown at Rutgers Nov. 19.
Last year: King ended the season with 59 tackles— 18 more than the previous season— as well as 19 more solo tackles. Going into analytics, King was one of Penn State’s most valuable players. His Pro Football Focus grade of 82.5 was second only to Chop Robinson amongst Penn State’s defensive starts, and King’s 88.4 grade against the run was behind only KJ Winston and Dom DeLuca.
Where he stands: King is Penn State’s man at MIKE linebacker. As long as he stays healthy, he should continue to be one of PSU’s better players.
A quote by King: “I took it upon myself this year to increase everything I was doing. Verbally, emotionally, physically, I want to assert myself as the guy.” — King after this spring’s Blue-White game via Johnny McGonigal of PennLive.
A quote about King: ”You have to be loud and confident to run the defense. He brings that. He has experience. He has a ton of passion for what he does. He’s respected. He works really hard. He practices well. He comes and studies. He’s well-versed in what we’re doing.” — First-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen on King at an assistant coaches media availability earlier this month via Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle.
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