VALUABLE NHS OFFENSIVE PLAYER TAKES PRIDE IN GETTING STRONGER AND FASTER

He may not be the biggest or fastest player on the field for the Northside Grizzlies. Pound-for-pound, though, they may not come any tougher than Jackson King, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior who primarily plays slot receiver. “I think for my size, I’m a strong guy,” King said. “I pride myself on hitting the weight room and not being pushed around easily. “I think if I can line up against another defensive back or even an outside linebacker, if I’m stronger and faster than them, what are they going to do about it? So I think just being able to outrun and be quicker than the other guys, it’s definitely something I think I’m good at.” King said he can bench at least 250 pounds, and can back squat approximately 450 pounds. His 40-yard dash time was reduced to 4.5 seconds. And King immediately pointed out he was able to put on even more weight this off-season, though not too much. “Over spring and early summer, I was being consistent hitting the weight room every three or four days and eating the right things, eating a lot of protein like chicken breast. ... I’ve been trying to put on muscle, but not get into overload and getting too big or I’ll lose some speed,” King said. “So I think it’s good to find a balance, having speed and strength at the same time that I’ve tried to keep.” As a sophomore two seasons ago, King was primarily a running back before being shifted to receiver as a junior. There, he caught 38 passes for 377 yards and seven touchdowns while still being able to rush for 282 yards and four TDs. King also proved to be a valuable weapon during the Grizzlies’ drive to the 7A semifinals. In the opening-round playoff win against Van Buren, King scored three touchdowns. A week later, during the Grizzlies’ quarterfinal win at Bentonville, King caught seven passes for 48 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing TD. King had actually missed two games late in the regular season as the result of a hand injury, which he suffered after hitting it in frustration over a loss — in flag football. The Grizzlies lost both of those games King sat out. But he returned in time for the Grizzlies’ regular-season finale against Southside. Despite playing with a cast on his hand, King was able to haul in a big 41-yard reception near the goal line in the third quarter, which set up a Grizzly touchdown to give them a 17-7 lead. King then recovered a late onside kick to preserve Northside’s 23-13 win. “We were glad to get him back, he made a huge difference (down the stretch),” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “Tough, like he talked about, catches the ball, runs the ball, does a good job blocking on the perimeter. “He’s just a good football player; kids respond when they’re around him. He makes other people better.” Oh, and for the record, King doesn’t plan to play anymore flag football, at least during the season. Falleur also made sure other players won’t be doing that due to the possible injury risks. “I know he’s learned from it and I’ve learned from it to make sure those guys know that we don’t want you doing that kind of stuff,” Falleur said. “But it is what it is and he came back and played Southside, Van Buren, Bentonville and Bryant (in the 7A semifinals) and did a great job for us.” Fresh off the Grizzlies’ semifinal trip, King believes the team can attain even loftier goals this season. He is part of a returning group of skill players, including tailback Demarion Shepard, receivers J.T. Thorne and Preston Baugh and tight ends James Clayton and Colt Ferguson. It’s just a matter if the Grizzlies’ new quarterback, junior Dreyden Norwood, as well as a rebuilt offensive line can take advantage of those returning assets. “Dreyden’s doing great; of course, we miss Deuce (Wise), he was a great quarterback but I think Dreyden’s doing a great job filling in,” King said. “He’s making great throws, he’s running the ball really good, he’s making the right reads. “The offensive line’s coming together; coach (David) Little is working with them every day and they’re getting stronger, hitting the weight room and they’re getting big. I think it’s all coming together nice; we’ll have an offense similar to last year, maybe even better. We were pretty good last year, and I think we’ll have a pretty dominant offense this year as well.” An A and B student, King is hoping to get a shot at playing football somewhere else after graduating from Northside. But he’s totally focused on this senior season, and one thing he wants to do is increase his leadership abilities. “I think (one goal is) stepping up as a leader, making sure everyone on the offense, we all know what we’re doing and if someone doesn’t know what they’re doing, they can ask me and they know to ask me and I can tell them what’s going on,” King said. “If we’re lacking confidence, I can kind of bring the guys up and make sure we’re all doing good. ... If we’re winning a lot, making sure we’re not getting our heads too high, just kind of keeping that even level but definitely stepping up as a leader I think is something I have to do.” Northside will go to Bentonville West for a scrimmage on Tuesday. The Grizzlies kick off the 2019 season on Aug. 30 at Rogers Heritage.

VALUABLE NHS OFFENSIVE PLAYER TAKES PRIDE IN GETTING STRONGER AND FASTER

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 8/18/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie Mitchell