Note: This is the third installment of a series previewing Penn State's depth chart this season.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Everybody was certain it would happen, that Joey Porter Jr. would make history as the first Penn State defensive back selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
After Porter broke up six passes in last year's opener at Purdue, the cornerback was pretty much considered from that point on as a lock to go in the first round. But that didn't happen, as he slipped to the first pick of the second round, where the Steelers happily took him at No. 32 overall.
Now, Kalen King is next in line for a chance to make Penn State history. He'll spend the next 11 months trying to live up to the hype he's already been getting in NFL Draft circles since the end of his terrific sophomore season.
King appears in the first round of numerous early mock drafts for 2024, slotting in as the No. 22 overall prospect, according to NFL Mock Draft Database. Here's a look at how his draft stock soared during his sophomore season to now:
NFL Mock Draft Database
What made King, a 5-foot-11, 190-pounder, take such a substantial jump as a draft prospect? It's simple.
He finished third in the nation in both passes defended (21) and pass breakups (18), while also intercepting three passes. Incredibly, even though Porter had an astonishing six pass breakups in one game -- a Penn State record -- King topped his teammate for the season, as Porter finished with only 11.
Now, a couple of things happened here. First, Porter was still the primary cornerback and typically went up against the opposition's top wideout, and by and large, teams just didn't throw at him very much after that Purdue game. Surely, his breakup numbers would have been even higher had teams challenged him more, and he might have gotten some interceptions. One knock on Porter entering the draft -- fair or not -- was that he only managed one pickoff during his college career.
Still, teams just didn't throw at Porter, instead figuring they'd take their chances against King. And well, that didn't work, either.
As the season went on, most teams learned they really couldn't throw the ball against Penn State's fantastic secondary -- one of the best in school history -- with Porter and King leading the way.
With Porter now gone, King will be the man, the lockdown corner who will draw the other team's top target.
King will have more opportunities to showcase his skills, but with those opportunities will come greater challenges.
Everyone expects him to be up for those challenges, including James Franklin.
"(King) is a guy that did not play like a freshman as a true freshman, he obviously took a significant step as a sophomore, and he is continuing to trend like that," the coach said during spring ball. "He comes out, he has got the right mindset and competes like crazy every single day, and I think he is trending to have another really good year for us.
Franklin also noted that King has been a leader "through his actions," and that's something the cornerback will look to change going forward.
"I can be that guy," King said of taking control as a leader. "I'm just working on that, taking steps just to become more vocal and more of a leader.
"I still got things to work on, like it's never perfect," he added.
King had to step up and be more of a leader late last season when Porter missed two games with appendicitis, and then also sat out the Rose Bowl.
"It was good because it was just like a sneak peek to what will happen in the future," King said prior to the Rose Bowl. "So, just me getting a little taste of like having the room, it just feels good."
Last year, it was Porter and King as CBs 1 and 2. This year, it will be King and Johnny Dixon, the same as it was for three games late last year.
"Johnny, he's very excited," King said. "I feel like he's definitely going to maximize the opportunity.
"It's going to be no dropoff when me and Johnny are starting."
Most people felt the cornerback combo this year would be King and Storm Duck, who transferred to Penn State from North Carolina. But in a huge surprise, Duck entered the transfer portal less than a week after the Blue-White Game.
We can only surmise that Dixon beat out Duck during spring ball, which speaks to Dixon stepping up in the face of good competition.
Dixon (6-0, 193) has been at Penn State for two years after transferring from South Carolina. He appeared in all 13 games last year, starting six, and had 10 pass breakups, just one less than Porter. He had two interceptions, more than Porter did during his entire career, for whatever that's worth. Dixon also had 4 1/2 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Duck came to Penn State with a lot of hype, so the expectation was that Dixon would remain in a backup role this year. We didn't hear much from the Penn State coaches before or after the spring game about how the cornerback competition went, but hopefully we'll get some answers at some point on what Dixon did in order to beat out Duck.
Daequan Hardy (5-9, 179) is a solid and underrated player who has appeared in all 26 games over the past two seasons as the primary nickelback. He has a nose for the football and always seems to be in position to make a play. He had two interceptions in 2021 and one last season.
Cam Miller (6-0, 181) was a true freshman last year and appeared in 11 games. He could be in line for a bigger role this year as the leader among the younger cornerbacks.
