BLOG 12: Loss of King means late adjustment for Ferris

By Sandy Gholston

Big Rapids - - One of the prize catches of Ferris State University’s football recruiting class of 2008 was defensive tackle Ryan King, a native of El Cajon, Calif., who now is no longer a part of the program’s future.

King, a 6-foot-1 and 290-pound junior college transfer who was competing for Southwestern College near San Diego, has decided not to play football at Ferris, according to head football coach Jeff Pierce. Considering the loss the Bulldogs already had on their defensive line (the graduations of tackle Kurt Hout and end Erik Schumacher), King’s loss looms as a sizable one the Bulldogs will begin to address in the weeks to come.

“We’ve had a disappointing loss now that Ryan King is no longer going to be in the picture for us as one of our recruits coming in for the defensive line,” said Pierce, whose team conducted its annual Crimson & Gold Spring Game Friday at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids. “(King) is no longer in the formula for us and I’m going to be on my way back to California to spend a week out there to begin to look at some more junior-college kids who might fit our team for the upcoming year.”

King played two seasons at Southwestern College and totaled nine tackles and five solos in spite of missing five games due to an injury in 2007. The season prior, as a freshman, King was a California Community College Athletic Association Foothills Conference Honorable Mention team selection. JCfootball.com, an online publication that specializes in coverage of junior college football, ranked King as one of its top prospects up front. He also had been ranked 16th by Scout.com among top junior college defensive tackles.

In recent years, Ferris has had success recruiting from California junior colleges with the additions of receiver Robert Miller (Carson), receiver Mike Guevara (Oakland), defensive back Kyle Williams (Oakland) and offensive lineman Alex DeKok (Valencia) as players from the state on the Bulldogs’ 2007 roster.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com