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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at San Jose State and was selected by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the seventh round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

Early life

Born in Visalia, California, King graduated from Nipomo High School in 2010. King lettered in

, track, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

at Nipomo High and played three offensive positions ( fullback,

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

, and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

) and two defensive positions (

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

). 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 A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, 30

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, and 2

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. A two-star recruit, King attracted one offer from San Jose State. On January 17, 2010, King signed with San Jose State.

College career

Initially recruited as a wide receiver in Mike MacIntyre's first recruiting class at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, King

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman season in 2010, then switched to

safety Safety is the state 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 The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, King played the final two games of the season on special teams. In his sophomore season of 2012, King played eight games, including San Jose State's win in the 2012 Military Bowl, 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. King completed his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in business marketing in May 2014 and was enrolled in San Jose State's

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

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

in the seventh round, 249th overall, in the

. 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 The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a foot injury. In the 2016 season, the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, but King did not get to participate due to his injury. The Falcons fell to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

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 The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, 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. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

' 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