Anthony King Opens Up

Rocket Digest recently caught up with Ayersville High School standout Anthony King. Where do the UT Rockets sit in his recruitment and will the rising star stop at the Rockets summer camp in an attempt to garner a scholarship offer from the Midnight Blue and Gold. Are the Toledo Rockets in King's current top five schools? All that and more inside.

It’s not easy to sneak in under the proverbial radar in the world of college football recruiting after rushing for over 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns on just 167 carries. Somehow, Ayersville running back Anthony King has found a way to do just that.

Standing 6-foot, 210-pounds, King helped carry the offense at Ayersville High School last season, despite collected limited amounts of interest through the end of his junior season. Now, however, things seem to be picking up. After a pair of impressive outings at various combines throughout the region, interest in King seems to be on the upswing.

His outstanding 26 touchdown season is now appearing to pay dividends as coaches across the country notice his talent.

“I just came from a Nike Camp on Friday,” King commented in a Sunday night phone interview with Rocket Digest, “and I had the Cleveland Browns Elite Training Camp on Tuesday.

“We just did the SPARQ training and did some 1-on-1 drills at Nike; and we did some cone drills. They’ve invited me to two Elite training camps. At the first one they had me run the forty and I did it in 4.46 seconds. I did the broad jump at 8-foot-9. I also had a 30-inch vertical at that.”

Schools that have taken notice come from all across the Midwest. Big 10, Big East and MAC schools have all shown interest. Just one school, however, has received an early visit from the talented tailback.

“I’m hearing from Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Purdue, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, and Toledo,” King continued. “I’ve only been to Toledo. I was there for a Junior Day. I think it was on March 28th.”

Recruited by new quarterback’s coach Ken Karcher, a second visit to see what the Midnight Blue and Gold have to offer is already in the books. Planning a one-day visit to the Rockets summer camp on June 8, King will get another chance to see just what the Rockets have to offer.

“I’m going to be looking at the academics,” King, who plans on majoring in sociology, said, “and early playing time is important. I want to have a good start. I usually get a hold of plays real easily, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem for me to catch onto the offense. I’d like to get early playing time to learn the system real good and see where it goes from there.”

King currently lists a top five of Purdue, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Toledo. Stay tuned to Rocket Digest as we continue to bring you the latest in King’s recruitment.