A recurring series where we will profile every player and coach on Maryland’s roster, counting down to kick-off against Miami. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we profile another incoming freshman wide receiver.
Nigel King, Freshman, Wide Receiver
Stats:
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 199
Ratings: Three stars, #12 in North Carolina, #46 wide receiver by Rivals; three stars, #99 wide receiver by Scout; three stars, #49 wide receiver by ESPN
40-yard dash time: 4.4
High School Stats (Senior Year): 38 receptions for 732 yards and eight touchdowns
High School Stats (Junior Year): 900 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns
High School: Oak Ridge Military Academy (Raleigh, N.C.)
How’d He Get To College Park?
Nigel King began his high school career at Wakefield High, transferring to Oak Ridge before his senior season. During his junior year at Wakefield, he posted the above mentioned impressive number of 900 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns…despite missing six games due to a hip injury. King was also offered by LSU, UNC, South Carolina and West Virginia, while he received interest from Auburn, Florida, and Oregon. Make no mistake about it – he’s a top talent.
Wide receivers coach Lee Hull added to his recent recruiting haul by landing King, one of the bigger gets in the 2011 class. King stayed strong with his commitment through the coaching turmoil, graduating early from high school and enrolling at Maryland last semester, participating in the Terps’ spring practice. However, due to NCAA Clearinghouse issues, he was unable to participate in a large portion of activities and was ruled ineligible for the upcoming season.
King almost ended up at LSU – after taking an official visit to Baton Rouge and receiving a scholarship offer, he was ready to commit to the school. However, wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy resigned, and King changed his mind.
More after the jump.
Nickname:
Nigel “Hollywood” King. The dude is tight with John Wall and Brandon Banks. I also hope Nigel knows I’m kidding when I say this – he doesn’t show off his famous friends ever.
Career Highlight:
On his birthday in 2010, he recorded 232 receiving yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Career Lowlight:
Being ruled ineligible for the 2011 season.
Arbitrary Top Five List:
Top prospects from Oak Ridge, 2011 class:
1. Nigel King
2. Brandon King
3. Carlos Gray
4. William Foxx
5. Demetrius Cherry
Dream Season:
N/A
Nightmare season:
N/A
2011 Prospectus:
When talking about Nigel King, his high school coach said they used him like Jerry Rice but he has the skillset of Michael Crabtree. That’s a…lofty comparison. If he produces a quarter of the production of either of those players, I think Maryland fans would be ecstatic with the results.
In terms of 2011, however, he will not play. He has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA due to Clearinghouse issues, and will redshirt the season. But, we’ve got all this space left to talk about King, so let’s talk about his future with the program.
King is listed as the fourth receiver on the depth chart at WR-W, which looks like Maryland’s slot position (he’s behind Webb Dulin and co-starters Ronnie Tyler and Kerry Boykins). We extremely doubt that this is where he’ll end up – King’s strengths come in his size and, well, strength, so it’s unlikely they’ll stick him at slot. In the unlikely case he does end up here, he has a chance to start pretty soon. Dulin and Tyler are both seniors, while Boykins is a junior. Taking out the possibility of position changes (ha!), that leaves King as the likely starter as a redshirt sophomore and beyond.
More likely, however, he’ll move to X and compete with Adrian Coxson for playing time in the future or Z and compete with Marcus Leak and Tyrek Cheeseboro.
Up Next:
Our next player spent the past season at Fork Union.