Caleb King, HB, Georgia

King never lived up to the hype surrounding his recruitment.

Caleb King, ruled academically ineligible to play his final year of football at the University of Georgia, is hoping to have his name called during the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft. King, a highly sought after RB out of High School has been relatively inconsistent throughout his career as a Georgia Bulldog. King put together his most productive season as a sophomore, rushing for 594 yards on 144 carries, and 7 Touchdowns. He also managed to accumulate 108 yards, and 1 touchdown on 10 receptions.

Positives: Caleb King has good speed and will likely run anywhere between 4.49 and 4.53 in the 40 yard dash. At 5’11, 217 pounds, King has good size as an NFL running back with room to add muscle to his frame. Though King wasn’t featured much in the passing game at Georgia, he is a natural pass catcher out of the backfield. He also displays a considerable amount of patience in the backfield, especially when running between the tackles allowing his blocks develop. One surprising element to King’s game is that he was much better in pass protection than I anticipated. While he will likely be more of a chip/cut blocker at the next level, he definitely takes pride as a blocker which is to be commended.

Negatives: While he possesses short area quickness to make defenders miss in the hole, he lacks creativity as an open-field runner. King also relies on his spin move to bail him out entirely too often. While executing his spin move, he carries the ball away from his body while his back is to the defense which could lead to ball security issues. He is a patient runner; however, he does not possess enough quickness to consistently get through the hole as he is not very sudden. King struggles to get his shoulders square to the L.O.S, as a result, his vision is hindered significantly. This is especially true on sweep and stretch plays where he is regularly strung out of bounds, or is hit in the backfield for a loss. Lack of elite speed or quickness does not help him on the aforementioned outside runs as he struggles to get around end with consistency. King is a natural pass catcher out of the backfield; however his route running is not very good at this point in his career. As a result of his poor route running, he is essentially a liability in the screen game as he is very lackadaisical, particularly when releasing out into the flat. King should also look to lower his pad level as he has a very upright running style which could lead to injury.

Overall: While Caleb King does not possess elite power, or athleticism; his sheer determination in pass protection is inspiring, and should offer him a fighting chance at an NFL career. If he could improve his route running, he could potentially become a solid situational / 3rd down back in the future. At best, a team may take King in the 7th round; but why invest a draft pick when he can be had in free agency? My expectation is that King will not be selected in the 2012 NFL supplemental draft.