Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1520787
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 4 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A year ago, Penn State cornerback Kalen King was a favorite of the way-too-early mock draft pundits, appearing frequently in their projected 2024 first rounds after a sophomore sea- son in which he ranked third in the FBS with 21 passes defended. Then the season began, and it all started unraveling. King's statistics declined, and he followed his junior campaign by run- ning an underwhelming 4.61-second 40- yard dash at the NFL Combine. When the first batch of more-appropriately-timed mock drafts began appearing in March, King was being labeled a fifth- or sixth- round choice. And when the actual draft finally arrived, he wasn't selected until the end of the seventh round, going 255th overall to the Green Bay Packers, two spots ahead of Mr. Irrelevant, Alabama safety Jaylen Key. When he met with the media in Green Bay during the Packers' rookie minicamp in early May, King still sounded shaken, calling the draft "the longest three days of my life, the most stressful three days of my life, the most emotional three days of my life. "I went through every emotion on draft weekend," King said. It's possible that the Packers got a late- round steal by snapping up a very good player who had fallen victim to the group- think of the NFL scouting community. It's also possible that the flaws in King's game that caused his stock to tumble will end up proving insurmountable when he finds himself facing NFL wide receivers. Either way, he isn't exactly where he expected to be right now. But while King said the long wait to hear his name called put "a permanent chip" on his shoulder, he can take solace in the realization that Penn State has had its share of late-round success stories over the years — one of which involves a former Nittany Lion teammate with whom King is once again sharing a locker room. Friendly Faces Among defensive backs, Penn State's biggest NFL overachiever is probably Mi- chael Zordich. An All-American at safety for a Penn State team that went 11-1 his senior year, Zordich was chosen in the ninth round (235th overall) by the San Diego Chargers in 1986 but was released following the team's final preseason game and didn't elicit any interest initially as a free agent. Dejected, he didn't play foot- ball for anyone that fall. "I basically hung out," Zordich told an interviewer years later. "It was a rather miserable year, to say the least." The clouds lifted when his agent got a call from the New York Jets the following February. After a tryout, Zordich signed a free agent deal and found a welcoming home in the Jets' locker room, thanks in large part to the team's Penn State alumni chapter — linebacker Lance Mehl, tight end Mickey Shuler and safety Harry Hamilton. "There was a lot of familiarity in that locker room for me with those kinds of guys," Zordich told the Jets' official web- site in 2020. Despite his inauspicious start, he turned out to be a stalwart NFL defensive back, playing two seasons in New York and five apiece with the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. Zordich started 127 of the 185 NFL games in which he WORTH THE WAIT Penn State has had its share of late-round success stories in the NFL Draft M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Michael Zordich (43) was an All-American at safety for Penn State in 1985 before embarking on a 12-year NFL career with the Jets, Cardinals and Eagles. PHOTO BY THOMAS SWARR