For a school that has an enrollment of only 1,100 students, the Bishop O'Dowd Dragons have more than their share of multi-sport stars. Terrence King is just one example. The 6-foot-1, 185 pound senior plays wide receiver and defensive back on the gridiron, while he is a forward on the hardwood. He also runs track. He played a critical role in the Dragons' 10-2 football season that ended in a playoff loss to Cardinal Newman in the NCS semi-finals.
King had 55 catches for 1,143 yards with 16 touchdowns on offense while he also logged 60 tackles and 4 interceptions on defense. He was also a key piece on the basketball team last year as he helped the Dragons to a 30-4 record that ended with a loss in the state championship to Serra Gardena. He averaged 9 points and 8 rebounds.
King can run 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has a shuttle time of 4.38 seconds, can bench press 275 pounds, squat 350 pounds, and has a vertical of 36 inches. By his own admission, he believes that he will end up playing wide receiver in college and probably will not be playing basketball.
King considers himself to be an athletic wide receiver who can go and get the ball. He has played basketball most of his life and uses his leaping skills on the football field. He is a big receiver who can stretch the field so he models his game after top NFL receivers like Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald. But his favorite player is former Georgia Bulldog Hines Ward, because of his toughness and love for the game. King is a two year varsity starter in both basketball and football. He considers his best football skill to be his ability to go get the ball and out leap defenders.
During the offseason, King works on his route running the most. King has been playing organized football since 8th grade. He has attended the Cal summer camp, Nike Invitational Camp at Stanford, and USC rising stars camp.
King's football playmaking skills have not gone unnoticed by colleges. Cal Poly (Coach Cook), Columbia (Coach Nugai), Cornell (Coach Burkett), Holy Cross, Idaho, Oregon (Coach Allioti), Penn, UC Davis (Coach Wade), UCLA (Coach Moses), USC, Utah, Utah State (Coach Dave), and Washington have been in contact with him. He visited UC Davis in mid January and they made an offer to him. He has an official visit to Cornell at the end of January. He considers his favorites as Columbia, Cornell, and UC Davis because he likes the coaching staffs and they have shown the most interest. King says that he has not gotten much contact for basketball.
King would like to stay close home but is open to the east coast. He has a 3.40 GPA with a 1780 SAT score and would like to attend a school with a high academic reputation.
Bishop O'Dowd Basketball Coach Doug Vierra says, "TJ was a key player for us last year in our playoff run to state as the 6th man. Explosive jumper who defends, rebounds, and can score. Puts the ball on the floor and can go by opponents' post players with his speed. He plays way taller than his 6'1" frame. Great competitor and workman-like leader for us! He had tremendous junior and senior football campaigns as well. He is a dual threat and could play either DB or WR in college. He will probably end up at a D-I mid-major football school and many larger schools will be sorry they passed on him."
T Boogie, what his teammates call him, is very religious as his pregame routine includes reading from the bible and thanking the Lord on his knees after each touchdown. His mental and spiritual toughness have been put to the test the past few years. He had to learn an entirely new offensive scheme in football this past year as the Dragons had a coaching change. Two years ago, King's father got sick and had to have heart surgery. King describes this situation as being tough on his family because he had to take on a larger role since he has three younger siblings. His father went on disability due to the surgery. As a result, King uses this as motivation to obtain a college scholarship to lessen the burden on his parents and to provide him an opportunity to a college education.
Coach Doug Vierra says, "TJ's family is truly the 'first family' of Bishop O'Dowd. He is the oldest of four children (his brother is on our JV team), his parents both went to Skyline HS (Oakland), and his grandparents attend every game. In this day of fragmented and hurried families, it is a breath of fresh air to see the whole King family together at so many of our BOD functions! TJ is a model 'big brother' (brother and sister still in grade school in addition to Kevin who is a sophomore here)."
King wants to help his Dragon basketball team to make a run for state title before he goes off to college next year. Watch for this deep threat to make a college impact next year.
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