Utah had the ball at the USC 6-yard line, and Landen King lined up as the middle component of a trips right bunch formation between fellow tight end Miki Suguturaga and wideout Devaughn Vele. Receiver Emery Simmons was split out left, while running back Jaylon Glover was in the backfield, to the right of quarterback Bryson Barnes in the shotgun.
When the ball was snapped, Barnes could find none of his five options open.
King initially found himself surrounded by a trio of defenders, but as Suguturaga’s route took him to the back of the end zone, two of them peeled off to follow. Meanwhile, as a pair of USC linemen began to pursue Barnes, forcing him to start drifting right, the third defender near King came forward, anticipating a scramble. So, King, now uncovered, sprinted parallel to his quarterback, trying to get within his line of sight.
And Barnes saw him.
“The pig farmer, he threw a rope to me!” King would declare with a laugh in the days following the memorable victory over the Trojans.
As King hauled in the pass and fell down in the end zone, he landed right in front of Glover, who raced over to him and extended an arm — not to help his teammate up, but rather to initiate the “Dragon Ball Z”-themed celebration they’d been practicing.
“Oh yeah, me and Glove, we already pre-determined that! I was expecting [I’d be] doing it on the sideline, because I didn’t want to get a flag or nothing. [And] Coach Whitt, I don’t know how he works with the celebrations. But Glove was right there, so I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna just do it!’ So we did it,” King said. “And that was really kind of big for me, honestly. Because I like anime and stuff, so just to put that on a big stage, that really made me smile, for real. That was one of my favorite moments in life, actually.”
In case you couldn’t tell already, the sophomore from Beaumont, Texas, has an outsized personality.
His potential as a tight end is pretty big, too.
In fact, Utah’s coaches figure that as King continues to grow, his production will, too.
“The only thing that’s keeping him from absolute greatness is getting bigger,” said head coach Kyle Whittingham. “… He’s about 15-20 pounds away from really having a chance to be a top-tier tight end.”
That’s some pretty lofty praise for a guy who has all of nine catches for 85 yards on the season, and who was not initially expected to see much time on the field beyond special teams duty.
When the season began, King was listed as the backup at the “U” tight end position behind returning star Brant Kuithe, while Suguturaga (in his debut season as a tight end after previously playing defensive end) was backing up Thomas Yassmin at the “Y” position. And even when Kuithe’s ACL rehab kept him on the shelf longer than expected, it was Suguturaga who joined Yassmin in the lineup whenever the Utes deployed two-tight end “12″ personnel.
But Yassmin suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. And Kuithe was ultimately ruled out for good, too. So King finally got his chance.
Utah’s coaches have been impressed with his raw ability thus far, while conceding that his game still needs a bit of refining.
“I do believe that Landen King has shown some growth in the system, learning the ropes of the Utah offense and how we do things. I look for that to continue,” said offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
That’s complimentary enough, if a bit robotic.
“Landen is a very good receiving tight end right now,” said tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham. “In his development, what I would like to see more of is him putting on bulk and getting up to the weight of a true tight end. He’s got to take that upon himself to make sure that he is adding weight every single week to get to that level where we can line him up at the line of scrimmage against a 270-pound defensive end and feel good about it.”
That’s noteworthy.
“He still needs to put some weight on that frame, but he lacks nothing as far as athleticism, hands, route-running ability, all that, to be a complete tight end,” said Kyle Whittingham.
That’s a line worth remembering.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes tight end Landen King (82) following a play against the Arizona State Sun Devils in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
The head coach praised King for putting some pounds on since he entered Utah’s program after transferring from Auburn, and said that with his big frame, he should be able to add more, but guessed that he’s playing around 220 right now. For what it’s worth, the tight end is officially listed at 6-foot-5 and 225.
Whatever his weight, King is decidedly more sleek and quick than sturdy. If tight ends were originally intended to be hybrids of wide receivers and offensive linemen, he definitely appears closer to the former than the latter.
Which is OK, to some degree. Certainly many of the most-hyped tight end prospects in the NFL in recent years have been more renowned for their pass-catching than their blocking — Travis Kelce, Kyle Pitts, hey, even former Utes standout Dalton Kincaid, who was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills this year on the strength of his resembling a supersized slot receiver.
Then again, Kelce is listed at 250 pounds, Pitts at 247, and Kincaid 240.
“I’m seeing a lot of athleticism, he’s got great length, he’s very good in the throw game as a receiving tight end, and I see a lot of want-to with his blocking — he’s very aggressive with his blocking,” said Freddie Whittingham. “He does need to add some weight, as I tell him all the time; look at the NFL rosters and see how many tight ends that don’t weigh at least 235 pounds on the low end.”
King knows there’s work to be done — “Yes sir, yes sir,” he agrees, nodding his head vigorously when asked about needing to bulk up — though he’s quick to challenge the notion that he’s out there getting road-graded by strong and physical defensive ends.
“I feel like my blocking right now has honestly been not too bad. Honestly, better than I expected!” he said. “But I’ll say this: It’s really getting better because I’m going against Van [Fillinger], Jonah [Elliss] at practice. So. I mean, we’re just getting better at that and adding mass. … I’m gonna get in front of him, somehow. He’s not gonna make the play [on me]!”
Fillinger has had a ton of reps against King.
And he has seen significant progress made over the course of the year.
“Yeah, I think Landen came in here not knowing exactly just how to lower your head and block. [But] the improvement that he’s made since summer, in fall camp, every day just getting better and working on his craft, is so noticeable,” Fillinger said. “You can tell he’s not scared to block. He’s not scared to get better at it, either. So I mean, he’s just constantly getting better, and I think that shows his work ethic.”
But then, no one ever doubted his dedication.
“He just keeps his head down, just keeps grinding, you know?” said Barnes. “There’ll be some games where maybe he doesn’t get a catch, and then he’ll come around the next game and catch a couple and maybe a touchdown or two. So it’s just definitely great to see him keeping his nose down, working. Great player. It’s good to get the ball in his hands so he can make some plays.”
King has shown he can do that. Three of his nine receptions this season have gone for TDs. Beyond the one vs. USC, he also had catches in the end zone against UCLA and Arizona State.
But it’s not just a third of his catches going for scores that endears him to his teammates.
It’s that he always uses that aforementioned big personality to get everyone going.
“Man, this guy’s one of the funniest guys that I know, one of the funniest guys on the team,” said Suguturaga. “He just has a character to him that brightens your mood when you talk to him. He’s always laughing, having a good time. So I enjoy that about him.”
Indeed, up until Saturday’s loss in Seattle, those two had a running joke about how King may have had all the touchdowns, but that he couldn’t touch Suguturaga in the first-down catches department. (Suguturaga got his first career touchdown in Utah’s 35-28 defeat vs. Washington.)
Meanwhile, even if King is choreographing post-touchdown routines, he’s not one to focus only on celebrating his own scores.
Whenever the Utes’ offense gets in the end zone, if No. 82 was on the field for the play, chances are he’s congratulating whoever just got across the goal line.
Utah running back Sione Vaki, right, celebrates after his touchdown with tight end Landen King during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Southern California, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
(Mark J. Terrill | AP) Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes, right, celebrates with teammates offensive lineman Kolinu'u Faaiu, left, running back Jaylon Glover, second from left, and tight end Landen King during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern California Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles.
“I mean, we work so hard for this — ain’t no point for me to just celebrate by myself. This is a whole team aspect,” King said. “So, I feel like everybody should be celebrating everybody. Whoever’s on the field, I feel like we all need to be celebrating. We work so hard, just for that seven seconds of that feeling. So [it’s about] really just embracing that, just loving on your teammates, man.”
Despite King’s fear about angering coaches, they actually appreciate the infectious enthusiasm he brings.
“He’s got a lot of personality, which I love. And he’s been really contagious, rubbing off on the guys around him with his energy,” said Freddie Whittingham. “It’s not just when he scores touchdowns — I mean, he’ll take a flat pass in practice and run it 60 yards full-speed up the sideline; and he’s always the first one to go celebrate with his teammates when they make a big play and help them off the ground. So that energy and that personality is infectious, and I would never do anything to put any kind of damper on that with him.”
It’s not the easiest thing to step in for injured teammates and be counted on to produce. And it’s not necessarily the easiest thing to have coaches pumping up your skillset.
Expectations can be tough to live up to, especially when they’ve only just recently come into existence.
But the tight end isn’t ducking them. No, the only thing he’s running away from are the linebackers and safeties who are trying to keep up.
“Honestly, I feel like it’s coming along good. [With Kuithe and Yassmin] out, I’m really just trying to take advantage of my opportunities, and I feel like I’m really starting to do that,” King said. “… I probably hold myself higher than Coach Whitt or Coach Freddie ever could. But, honestly, nah, there’s really no pressure. I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid, and this is really what I hoped for, this is probably what every college athlete hopes for — the opportunity.”
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