LB Justin King commits to Tennessee Volunteers over Virginia, UCF and Cincinnati
Justin King committed to Tennessee but said " I'm always going to be representing the state of Georgia." (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)
Justin King was won over by Tennessee after an unofficial visit to the SEC school.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound linebacker from Dunwoody High School committed to Tennessee over Virginia, UCF and Cincinnati among his 14 offers.
“We kind of fell in love with it from an academic to athletic standpoint,” King told the AJC. “Everything is there for me for football and my education. My parents felt like this was the best place for me. It’s an easy drive from Atlanta and an easy ride to my brother who plays football at Tennessee Tech.”
King was particularly impressed with Derek Dooley, Tennessee’s coach. He and parents peppered Dooley with questions, and they liked the answers.
“He was honest about everything,” King said. “You can tell he’s not the kind of guy to sugarcoat things to make it sound good. My Dad asked him how he felt about losing. Coach Dooley said ‘I hate losing.’ He could’ve said stuff like ‘Well, we could’ve done better’ but he doesn’t sugarcoat it. My dad loved it. He says what he feels up front.
“I talked to the players and they said the same thing about Coach Dooley being honest and direct. We also liked how he said he would play the best player at every position. The best player will start at Tennessee. He doesn’t believe someone should play just because they are a junior or senior. He said that if you’re a true freshman or whatever and you’re the best in practice, you’re going to be out there in the games.”
What about Georgia Tech and UGA? Neither have offered King but both have shown moderate interest. King attended UGA’s “Dawg Night” prospect camp last Friday. “I don’t hold any grudges against them. I’m not that type of person. I’m always going to be representing the state of Georgia. I’ll be doing it at Tennessee after this season.”
King said he has a 2.85 GPA and is leaning toward a career in Special Education. “I’m helping now at my high school in a program for kids with disabilities and I enjoy it. I also like the CSI, the TV show. I think Criminal Law would be a great fit for me.”
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– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog Got a recruiting item? mcarvell@ajc.com
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31 comments Add your comment
UGA QB recruit Brice Ramsey: Yet to start in high school, ready to prove scouts are right | AJC College Sports Recruiting
July 19th, 2011
6:01 am
[...] Atlanta LB picks picks SEC school after UGA and Georgia Tech camps (click on story link) [...]
Sneadaker
July 19th, 2011
6:24 am
Also had offers from Louisville and Arkansas.
I have seen him play before….very talanted athlete
with nice size at around 6-3 220.
Vols had a big day getting King and 4 star WR Drae Bowles.
SmyranMan
July 19th, 2011
6:33 am
Welocome to the Volnation Mr. King! It’s Great to be a Tennessee Vol
Sneadaker
July 19th, 2011
6:42 am
Congrats smyran. Saw where 3 of your 4 commits are from Georgia.
Dooley really recruits down here hard esp. considering all the
players he’s brought in the last two years…
SouthernGA
July 19th, 2011
9:33 am
I don’t like uwe tee and how can Dooley keep getting these
players from state of georgia?????
where is coach richt!
JD
July 19th, 2011
9:45 am
SouthernGA you are an idiot. UGA cant recruit every kid in the State of GA.
'12 GA ATH Justin King (UT commit 7/18) - Page 21 - VolNation
July 19th, 2011
10:11 am
[...] He was honest about everything,” King said. “You can tell he’s not the kind of guy to sugarcoat things to make it sound good. My Dad asked him how he felt about losing. Coach Dooley said ‘I hate losing.’ He could’ve said stuff like ‘Well, we could’ve done better’ but he doesn’t sugarcoat it. My dad loved it. He says what he feels up front. LB Justin King commits to Tennessee Volunteers over Virginia, UCF and Cincinnati | AJC College Sport… [...]
Dag Nabbit
July 19th, 2011
10:56 am
Southern GA: Many ga. kids don ‘t want to go to Athens and be undercoached.
L Bunting
July 19th, 2011
11:29 am
How asked where Coach Richt is? HE is ON the HOT SEAT, thats where.
Derek
July 19th, 2011
1:32 pm
Great get for the Vols. Dooley, just like UT coaches before him, has to rely on the Peach State for much of his talent. Looks like King could be a solid contributor down the road.
Vols Top 5 Recruiting Needs for 2012
http://www.checkerboardchatter.com/2011/07/vols-top-5-recruiting-needs-for-2012.html
The Beast
July 19th, 2011
2:29 pm
Congratulations Justin!!!! Great Kid, special person, amazing family!!!!! For those of yall who don’t know this is a steal for Tennessee…. J. King is a top notch athlete who plays out of position, on a bad team. He is actually 6-4 220 right now, running a 4.5. He has been Dunwoody’s Do-everything Man. If he went to Tucker or Stephenson he would be a 4 or 5 star recruit. Once he gets to UT and gets to focus on one position the sky will be the limit.
Monvol
July 19th, 2011
3:46 pm
Glad to have you on board, Justin! Study, grow, whip some butt.
JIM DONNAN
July 19th, 2011
9:16 pm
SO ME THE MONEY!!!!!
Vol Prize Recruit
July 19th, 2011
9:46 pm
Do you ever notice when UGA doesn’t get a kid they spin it like they didn’t want the player. Alabama, S Carolina, Florida and UT all out recruit UGA. I wouldn’t go to Athens until they get a new regime up in there.
Congratulations Justin King. Good luck at the next level.
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July 20th, 2011
4:05 am
[...] Tennessee’s Derek Dooley wins over Atlanta football recruit (click on story link) [...]
Mr. SEC
July 20th, 2011
5:52 am
Justin King is full of crap, good kid, bad kid! Don’t tell me that you are going represent Georgia and then go to Tenn!
adVanced
July 20th, 2011
8:26 am
King is a very good athlete who will do well up at U.T.
The Doolmeister also got a big running back out of Ohio last night
who chose Knoxville over Michigan Iowa BC and Pitt.
Looks like the Vols are doing fine out on the recruiting trail again.
Gerald
July 20th, 2011
9:57 am
Mr. SEC:
“Don’t tell me that you are going represent Georgia and then go to Tenn!”
Well, since UGA and Georgia Tech didn’t offer him a scholarship (and apparently weren’t going to, as 218 lbs is too small to play LB in the 3-4) what were his options? Georgia State? Georgia Southern? Fort Valley State? Kennesaw State (assuming they have a football program)? Yes, you can go out of state for your education (or for a good job) and still represent Georgia. I should know … I did the same. Went out of state to receive an education because it was the best opportunity for someone whom Georgia Tech and UGA weren’t real options (something that is still true to this day, especially if you aren’t a liberal arts major) and came back to find work. You don’t see non-athletes who can’t get into Georgia Tech or UGA deciding “well, I guess I will just go to whatever Georgia school I can get in.” Nope. They head to Alabama, Auburn, FSU, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee, USF etc. So why get mad when athletes do it? Isn’t losing all those future engineers, teachers, MBAs, accountants, etc. worse than losing a few athletes?
Folks so upset about losing all these athletes out of state need to agitate for GSU (either the one in Atlanta or Stateboro) to move up to FBS. Either one would do great in Conference USA. Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina all have more FCS football programs than Georgia does. North Carolina has FIVE such programs (Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, East Carolina) to Georgia’s 2, and Alabama has 4 (Auburn, Alabama, Troy, UAB). THAT’S the solution to losing so many good athletes out of state, not trashing kids for refusing to play FCS ball because Tech and UGA don’t have room for them. If you want to stop these kids from going to out of state SEC schools and beating UGA, then send your checks to the GSU (again, either one) athletics department.
Dawg4ever
July 20th, 2011
10:59 am
For all the Tenn. fans on this blog saying UGA fans say they didn’t want any kid that committs to another school, maybe you didn’t read the part of article that said UGA and Tech didn’t offer the kid. So obviously the UGA coaches weren’t that impressed with the kid,and if he didn’t even get an offer from Tech, that just about says it all. Tenn. and this clown of a coach Dooley are getting bottom of the list of top recruits in Ga. They aren’t getting any of the cream of the crop. Keep drinking the dooley kool-aid, the guy couldn’t win at Louisiana Tech or where ever the hell he came from, and he will never win in the SEC. I his dad couldn’t win big in the SEC, this guy has no chance.
1953Dawg
July 20th, 2011
11:08 am
Tenn fans are hilarious. Dooley picks up a linebacker rated #64 at his position, a kid that neither UGA or Tech offer, and they come on this blog and brag about how their pitiful coach is recruiting so well in the state of GA. Keep humping your sister vol fans, because NCAA is getting ready to come down on your pathetic program, and then you will have an excuse for hiring this coach that couldn’t even win at La.Tech.
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July 20th, 2011
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July 21st, 2011
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DooleyRules
July 21st, 2011
8:02 pm
This kid is going to ba a 4 star player by yrs end. The upside will be huge, reminds me a bit of E Berry. Sorry Dawg’s, the shine is gone in Athens and the Vols are on the upswing.
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July 22nd, 2011
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tennessee tom
July 24th, 2011
3:55 am
gerald is full of sh#t
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