UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Justin King, once a five-star Gateway High School cornerback with scholarship offers from national powerhouses and family ties to Penn State, just had to listen to a recruiting pitch from Akron.
It didn’t matter that back in 2004, the Zips had no chance to land King. His recruiter, new Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, knew that and made his pitch different.
“Joe recruited him probably as hard as anyone in the country, and he knew he didn’t really have an opportunity to get Justin,” said King’s stepfather, Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, who coached at Gateway and also played receiver for the Nittany Lions from 1987-91.