Today, as the early National Letter of Intent signing day period kicks off, most — if not all — of the newest members of the Penn State recruiting class will sign on the dotted line, accepting a scholarship to play football for the Nittany Lions. For every player who does sign, I’ll be here to provide an in-depth scouting report. Here is my report on another Michigan standout joining the class, linebacker Kobe King.
Height: 6-1
Weight: 230
School: Cass Technical HS (Detroit)
Projected position: Middle linebacker
Rating: Four stars by Rivals.com; Three stars by 247sports and ESPN
Other Power 5 offers: Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Projection: He’s not the fastest guy, nor is he the biggest. But Kobe King is fast enough, big enough and, certainly, physical enough to be the middle linebacker of the future for a Penn State team that has not had the pure sideline-to-sideline weaponry from that spot in recent years. He is a pretty good running back for Cass Tech, which gives him a good understanding of how offenses work, and it shows in his ability to go hard defensively against the run. He’s a sure tackler, and he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s not the dynamic athlete Micah Parsons was, but he’s sure, solid and doesn’t make many mistakes. If he takes to strength and conditioning and is coached up quickly, he can be a fairly quick contributor in the middle of the Nittany Lions defense.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT