Mitch King (born May 5, 1986) 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 ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

and was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2009.

Early life

King attended Burlington Community High School in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...

. He was a Class 4A first-team All-State selection from as a senior and a member of SuperPrep all-Region team . He was also First-team All-Conference as both a linebacker and running back as a senior and Second-team All-Conference linebacker as a junior. For his career he career with 1,400 rushing yards including, 850 yards as a senior. He was a two-year letterman in football, swimming and he was also a letterman in baseball and track.

College career

King was selected to play in

2009 Senior Bowl The 2009 Senior Bowl was an All-star game, all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, 2008 college football season, and prospects for the 2009 NFL draft, 2009 draft of the profess ...

after becoming the 60th player in Iowa football to record over 200 career tackles. He ranks 41st in career tackles with 228 career stops. In 2008, he was

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Defensive Lineman of the Year, First-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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and Second-team All-American by

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit ...

, Associated Press and SI.Com as well as Third-team All-American by Rivals.com. He was a consensus First-team All-Big Ten In his year of honors he Started all 13 games at defensive tackle, recording 27 solo tackles and 27 assists, including 15.5 tackles for loss and four QB sacks. In 2007, he was named First-team All-Big Ten and named First-team All-Big Ten by Rivals.com. His stats were as follows: He made 58 (25 solo) tackles (14.5 for losses) and 4.5 sacks and 7 passed deflected and forced a fumble. 2006 King made 56 (21 solo) and as four of them went for losses. He also made 7 sacks and deflected 4 passes and forced three fumbles. 2005 he was First-team Freshman All-America 2005 after he totaled 60 tackles (36 solo) 60 11 tackles for a loss and two sacks, 3 passes deflected, 3 forced fumbles. In 2004, he redshirted.

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

King was predicted to go somewhere in the 5th to 7th round in the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

, but went undrafted.

Tennessee Titans

King was signed by the

as an

in 2009. He chose to go to Tennessee to learn under Kyle Vanden Bosch and defensive line coach Jim Washburn even though he had many offers from other teams. He was waived on September 4, 2009. He was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day.

Indianapolis Colts

King signed a future contract with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on January 23, 2010, after his contract with the Titans expired. King was given his release from the Colts on October 5, 2010.

St. Louis Rams

Shortly after King was released from the Colts he was signed to the Rams practice squad. The Rams released Mitch King on December 14.

New Orleans Saints

After being released by the Rams, King was signed to the Saints practice squad. He was re-signed on January 18, 2012. King was waived on June 2, 2012.

Houston Texans

The

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

signed King on July 30, 2012, and was released in final cuts in August.

References

External links

Houston Texans bioNew Orleans Saints bioSt. Louis Rams bioTennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Mitch 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Iowa People from Burlington, Iowa American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Iowa Hawkeyes football players Tennessee Titans players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen