Akeem Jerome King (born August 29, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Early life and college playing career

Born in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, King graduated from

Nipomo High School Nipomo High School is an American public high school located in Nipomo, California. It serves grades 9-12 as part of the Lucia Mar Unified School District. History Nipomo High School opened in 2002. Initially, students in Nipomo attended Arroyo ...

in 2010. King lettered in football, track, and basketball at Nipomo High and played three offensive positions (fullback, wide receiver, and tight end) and two defensive positions (cornerback and linebacker). During track & field season, he set the Titans' school record for the 100-meter dash in 10.74 seconds. In his senior season, King had 4 touchdowns, 30 tackles, and 2 interceptions. A two-star recruit, King attracted one offer from

. On January 17, 2010, King signed with

. A two-star recruit, King attracted one offer from

. On January 17, 2010, King signed with

. Initially recruited as a wide receiver in

Mike MacIntyre George Michael MacIntyre (born March 14, 1965) is an American football coach. He is the head coach at FIU. MacIntyre served as the head football coach at San Jose State University from 2010 to 2013 and the University of Colorado Boulder from 2 ...

's first recruiting class at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

, King redshirted his freshman season in 2010, then switched to

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, King played the final two games of the season on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. In his sophomore season of 2012, King played eight games, including San Jose State's win in the

2012 Military Bowl The 2012 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 27, 2012, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. The fifth edition of the Military Bowl began at 3:00&n ...

, all on special teams. King played all 11 games in the season as a junior in 2013. He began playing as a reserve defensive back in addition to special teams. King had 15 tackles on the season and defended two passes, both in San Jose State's season-ending upset of #16

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

. King completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in

business marketing Business marketing is a marketing practice of individuals or organizations (including commercial businesses, governments and institutions). It allows them to sell products or services to other companies or organizations that resell them, use them ...

in May 2014 and was enrolled in San Jose State's

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

program for his senior football season. King started all 12 games of 2014. He had 71 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and two passes defended. On November 21, King had a career-high 11 tackles against Utah State.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

King was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round, 249th overall, in the 2015 NFL draft. On September 5, 2015, King was waived by the Falcons in the final cuts before the start of the regular season. On September 7, 2015, he was signed to the Falcons' practice squad. On November 6, 2015, he was elevated to the active roster. On September 3, 2016, King was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. In the 2016 season, the Falcons reached

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

, but King did not get to participate due to his injury. The Falcons fell to the New England Patriots in a 34–28 overtime defeat. On September 1, 2017, King was waived by the Falcons.

Seattle Seahawks

On September 13, 2017, King was signed to the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad. He re-signed with the Seahawks on March 16, 2018. On September 1, 2018, King was waived by the Seahawks and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 8, 2018.

Buffalo Bills

On August 2, 2020, King signed with the Buffalo Bills, but was released a week later.

Miami Dolphins

On December 2, 2020, King was signed to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

' practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.

References

External links

San Jose State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Akeem 1992 births Living people Players of American football from San Luis Obispo County, California Sportspeople from Visalia, California Players of American football from Tulare County, California American football cornerbacks American football safeties San Jose State Spartans football players Atlanta Falcons players Seattle Seahawks players Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players