Kobe King produces improving performances, increasing role

By the midpoint of Penn State’s preseason camp in August, James Franklin clarified the situation at Mike linebacker. Locked in a heated competition, Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King had battled through the spring and summer for the starting job.

And, with the days dwindling before the Nittany Lions’ opener at Purdue, Elsdon had maintained an advantage. Insisting that there was still time before starters would be named, Franklin also added that both candidates for the job would end up seeing plenty of game reps.

Through the first two games this season, that stance hadn’t deviated. And, even heading into last weekend’s much-anticipated showdown at Auburn, Franklin acknowledged the progress being made by King.

“Elsdon is probably a little bit further ahead than maybe we anticipated last spring. I know Manny has been pleased with him,” Franklin said on his weekly radio show last Thursday. “Kobe is showing some really exciting flashes at times. We need it to be a little bit more consistent, but he’s coming on.”

Saturday, King backed up the assertion with another positive step in his young career.

While Elsdon has started each of the Nittany Lions’ games against Purdue, Ohio, and Auburn, King’s performance against the Tigers was his best in the program. In the statistics book, he was credited with five tackles with four of the solo variety, including an open-field stop of Auburn quarterback, T.J. Finley. 

In PFF’s grading system, meanwhile, his performance was the best by far in his time at Penn State. Finishing with an overall defensive grade of 71.8, King was credited with the third-best tackling mark of 80.2. On his advanced stats page, King notched a quarterback pressure to go along with two stops while also limiting just one reception on two targets, allowing only a 2-yard pass completion. 

Kobe King’s biggest jump

Meeting with the media following the effort for his first post-game interview as a Nittany Lion, King acknowledged his room to grow while taking pride in the team’s accomplishment. Part of a process that has demanded time and development, he also detailed the confidence his improvements have produced.

“Mentally, I’m much further than I was last year at being at the Will position. And then getting to Mike, you have to learn a whole new style of play,” King said. “It opened my eyes to how I had to be on top of my playbook and be able to communicate to my guys on the field.”

Detailing the path he’s necessary to get to this point, King added that it’s very much still work-in-progress learning the nuances of the position.

More confident and comfortable manning the Mike than he might have been in the spring, those qualities have been tested in having to diagnose and adjust to the different looks on display from Penn State’s opponents. Citing the instances in which different or new formations can create challenges, King said he’s worked to handle them in stride.

“We go through the game plan during the week and sometimes it might be something that we haven’t seen,” he said. “That’s probably the hardest thing is just making adjustments off of those formations.

“The first few games, there were some things that we didn’t see throughout the week. And we just had to adjust and just react and play.”

Next steps

Passing the latest test on the schedule, King and the Nittany Lions are determined to keep the process rolling. Next focused on Central Michigan on Saturday at Beaver Stadium (noon, BTN), he said he’d enjoy the Auburn win, make corrections, and buckle down on what’s next.

But, with an opportunity to continue taking developmental steps at hand for the Nittany Lions, Franklin is confident in what Penn State has at the position moving forward.

“We feel good about that position and the situation we’re in,” Franklin said. “But obviously, there’s a lot more that goes on that guy’s plate, basically being a quarterback of the defense and running the defense and making the checks when necessary.

“I think Kobe, by game four or five, he’s going to be I think in a really good position and we’re going to feel really good about both middle linebackers we have.”