Top-100 WR Tyreek King fulfills dream by signing with Vols

Local Knoxville Catholic standout wide receiver Tyreek King has visited Tennessee on numerous occasions during his recruitment. He was courted by a number of top programs, but the opportunity to stay at home and play for his home town team was too much to pass up.

“It feels great to finally lock it in and now to really be a part of the team,” King said of signing with the Vols. “I am definitely looking forward to it. I had a fun journey to get here, and I had a fun journey in high school, but I am definitely ready to get my career started at Tennessee.”

“It is a big dream,” King added. “Just putting on for the city you grew up in, and wearing the color orange that you grew up around and watching them play every weekend. You always want to be on that team. To finally get to be there is definitely a dream come true.”

King feels he can use his skillset to make an impact in Tennessee’s offense and is excited about the future.

“I think I can make an amazing impact in the offense,” King said of this. “With my breakaway speed, a lot of guys just can’t keep up with me running at 22-23 miles per hour. I think I will bring a big impact on the offense.”

The Scout on King

“For starters, he is an electric playmaker and a guy who can stress defenses in multiple different ways,” Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power told Volquest at the time of King’s commitment. “Tyreek King has shown the ability to win at kind of every level so far as a junior. He has the play speed to take the top off of defenses as a deep threat. He is effective at working over the middle. He has the ball skills and tracking ability and is also very dangerous after the catch with the ball in his hands. So, I just came away impressed with the diversity of skills that he has at this stage, his kind of well-roundedness, and the dynamic playmaking he has shown. I think he plays with an attitude, and it’s easy to see he wants to score every time he touches the ball. That’s shown up this year at Knoxville Catholic, and he is averaging around a touchdown on around one out of every three catches. So he is a threat to score any time he touches the ball.”

“I think when you look at what he’s bringing to Tennessee, he adds a jolt of playmaking,” Power added. “I think he gives Tennessee a type of receiver that fits really well in Josh Heupel’s offense just with his ability to separate at multiple levels. I think when you pair him with a guy like Mike Matthews and the other receivers they have recruited in the last couple of classes, that’s a good, young nucleus of receiver talent. Just with his ability to win at every level and make a bunch of plays with the ball in his hand has to be exciting for Tennessee fans. And, of course, keeping a local prospect at home is always exciting too. I am excited to keep evaluating him, but there’s no doubt this was a big get for Tennessee, and he was one of our favorite receivers just in going through this recent rankings update.”