Blue White Illustrated

For McGraw's junior year, Shattuck and his wife accepted him into their home, and he lived with them for an entire year. Over the course of his high school career, they became very close, and that will only continue in the years ahead, as Mc- Graw, now listed at 6-5, 250 pounds, re- cently moved into the dorms at Penn State to begin his college career. "I would say that our relationship is more like a big brother, younger brother kind of feel," Shattuck said. "From what his background is, he's really made some- thing of himself, and I'm so proud of him for that. Considering where he comes from and what he doesn't have, it's an in- credible story. Don't get me wrong, he's got 9aws like everybody else. We all do and no one is perfect, but his 9aws are never character 9aws. He's a great kid. He's as good of a kid as it gets." ■ | In King, Lions land a difference-maker at LB T he way Kobe King sees it, his football abilities have the power to impact games in ways that aren't typical. Certainly, King's physical presence at the linebacker position should be high- lighted. Listed by Rivals.com as an inside linebacker, he's got the speed to play on the weak side as well, according to his high school coach at Detroit Cass Tech, Thomas Wilcher. At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, King already has a frame that should allow him to adapt well to the physical rigors of the Big Ten. Ranked by Rivals.com as the 15th-best middle linebacker in his class, and the No. 9 overall recruit in Michigan, King be- lieves he possesses the intangible traits that, when paired with his physical gi;s, can be di:erence-makers at the interior linebacker position. "I'm just a physical presence on the 8eld," King said in a recent interview with BWI. "My presence is felt and can be seen throughout my teammates. I'm a physical leader. That's it. My presence is always known on the 8eld. "It was something I always had growing up. Every team I went to, my presence was always felt, and I was always able to upli; my teammates on the 8eld. I think they're inspired by my playing style, and they're inspired by how I approach the game." When he arrives in State College, King won't be alone. His twin brother Kalen, a four-star cornerback, is also committed to join Penn State's 2021 class. The two visited Penn State for the Blue- White Game in the spring of 2019 and re- turned in January 2020. It was then that Kalen knew Penn State was the school to beat when it came to his recruitment, but it took a little bit longer for Kobe to come to that conclusion, with Kalen speculat- ing that his brother had been leaning to- ward attending Wisconsin for a while. Ultimately, Kobe chose to wear blue and white, making his announcement last April that he had selected Penn State out of 27 schools that extended o:ers, in- cluding Michigan, West Virginia and Iowa State. Going through the recruitment process alongside his brother was fun, Kobe said. The two had put in all the work together to get to this point, and they decided to keep that going with their Penn State commitment. Make no mistake about it, though. While the headlines and narratives might tend to treat them as a duo, Kobe is con- 8dent about what he can bring to the table as his own person. "That's easy, I shouldn't even have to say that," Kobe said. "We have to be known for the di:erent things we can do on the 8eld." He helped lead Cass Tech to an un- beaten regular season in 2020. The Tech- nicians reached the quarter8nals of the Michigan state playo:s before a loss to Belleville ended their season. Coming o: a senior season in which he earned Division I All-Region honors from the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, he's looking to apply his skills – and his leadership – at the Big Ten level. "Kobe is exciting because he has such a high ceiling," Wilcher said last spring. "Once he gets his body into the game, he's going to surprise a lot of people. The more you play the game, the more it slows down for you. "His work ethic is out of this world." ■ CLICK HERE to see video of King in action. THE KING FILE STATS Finished with 58 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and two sacks in 2020... Also played o3ense and rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a senior... Had 47 tackles and 12 TFL as a junior... Was a four-year letterman and two-time team captain HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 15 middle linebacker in the Class of 2020 and No. 9 recruit in Michigan... Was the Detroit Public School League's Linebacker of the Year in 2019

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