Gabe King, Part I

Gabe King is one of the best two or three football talents in North Carolina, a 6-foot-5 3/8ths, 251-pound defensive end with quickness and speed who would make any high school program in the state immediately and considerably better.

The problem is, he’s unlikely to be playing his senior year at any in-state program.
King may be ruled ineligible to participate in any sport for the next year by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The organization could rule that King provided Page High School in Greensboro, where he played last season, with false information regarding his residency. King was advised by his family lawyer not to talk about the situation.

“My attorney told me not to talk about any of that,” he said at the recent Scout.com combine in Charlotte, an event at which he would win the overall MVP award.

King has since transferred to Northern Guilford High, where he hopes to play this fall. So King just may wind up at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., where his brother Antonio once played, waiting for his chance to play in college.

“I'm just ready to go against some big 6-7, 6-8, 330-pound linemen,” he said, smiling. “I just want to play football. It doesn't matter where," King said. "If that's where I have to play then that's where I will play.”

King already has offers from Alabama, California, Clemson, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest and West Virginia among others.

“So many schools, I can’t even give you a number,” he said when asked about his offer list. “I’ve visited Alabama, Maryland, Clemson, Wake, UNC, N.C. State. I don’t have a top five.”

We’ll have more on King coming later today.

--Stan Olson