King drawing big time attention

Manvel (Texas) three-star athlete D'Eriq King may not be the biggest guy on the field at 5-10, 170-pounds, but he has shown the ability to make big play after play.

He plays quarterback for Manvel, but his athleticism has drawn college coaches to his potential as an athlete. He already holds offers from Baylor, Clemson, Louisville, Michigan, Texas Tech, and UCLA, and has drawn interest from Texas and Texas A&M.

The recruiting process is already in high gear, and King is enjoying the process.

"Right now everybody is pretty equal. I have a few that I like, but I'm not saying they're ahead of anybody," King said. "Right now I kind of like Texas Tech, UCLA, and Baylor."

There are a few reasons the three programs have caught his attention at this early point in the process.

"I like the coaching staff at UCLA," King said. "I think the program is going to be really good in a couple of years. Plus it's in California, Hollywood."

"Me and [Baylor defensive line coach] Chris Achuff hit it off pretty well. We talk a lot," King said. "Coach Briles is a great coach."

"Texas Tech, I'm really liking them right now because coach Kingsbury is giving me a chance to play quarterback so that's pretty good," King said. "The offense is like my school offense so I pretty much know it. I don't know it, but I know some of it."

UCLA is recruiting King as a receiver, and Baylor is recruiting him at cornerback and receiver, and Texas Tech is recruiting him as a receiver with a possibility of playing quarterback.

During the season King also has a few games he plans to attend.

"I think I'm going to go to the Texas vs. UCLA game and Texas Tech and Texas game," King said. "I'll probably go to a few more."

King, who grew up a fan of Texas and Vince Young, attended the Longhorns' Under the Lights camp in July, and has received significant from the Longhorns. He has also been communication with coach Tommie Robinson.

At this time, King may not be ready to list any standouts, but he does have an idea about when he would like to make his decision.

"I have an idea. Definitely like in the spring next year or maybe at the beginning of the summer I'll be done with the recruiting process," King said. "I just want to really focus on my senior year in the spring next year, and by that time I think I'll know where I want to go and what I want to do."

For now though, King is concentrating on Manvel and his junior season. The expectations are high for the Mavericks, and King is ready for the action to start.

"We're just trying to get better every day and just taking one game at a time and hopefully win state. We have all the pieces this year and we're trying to make a push for it," King said. "I'm working on trying to really get in a rhythm with the receivers and not just taking off every play and throw the ball better and make the right reads."

King is currently ranked No. 30 among the nation's 2016 athletes, and No. 31 in the Rivals.com Texas Initial Top 75. As a sophomre in 2013, King completed 165 of 252 passes for 2,586 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. He also averaged over 7 yards a carry as he rushed for 1,290 yards and 17 touchdowns on 162 carries. He earned 22-5A MVP honors for his efforts.