Penn State's King hopes added muscle will help

Tony Davis from Howland has moved from cornerback to safety this spring.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- With his blazing speed, cornerback Justin King can keep up with just about any opposing receiver.
His brawn is another story.
So the 6-foot, 188-pound King arrived at Penn State practice this spring with a little more muscle, in part because he hopes to add another dimension to his game.
"Just trying to play more fearless. Just try to play with more poise and presence," King said Wednesday. "More physical presence."
King gets to show off his bulked-up abdominal muscles Saturday at the Blue-White game, the annual culmination of the Nittany Lions' spring practice.
Not that he might be on the field for long anyway. The starters typically don't play that much -- especially players like King, who appears poised for a breakout 2007 campaign.
King arrived at Penn State with receiver Derrick Williams as part of coach Joe Paterno's much-ballyhooed 2005 recruiting class. They were such promising talents that they played a lot as freshmen -- a Paterno rarity.
Played just cornerback
After playing both offense and defense his first year, King played just cornerback in 2006. Opposing quarterbacks threw his way less and less as the season wore on, and when they did, King had the speed to shut down opponents.
But King also had some trouble tackling at times. The new, added muscle might help. King said he's about nine pounds heavier than his listed weight from the Outback Bowl in January.
Experience might help, too. King is one of three returning starters from last year's secondary, along with Anthony Scirrotto and Tony Davis. Davis, though, has moved from cornerback to the other safety spot opposite Scirrotto this spring.
Davis is a Howland High graduate.
"I'm bigger. It's a little more maturity," King said about differences between now and last year. "After playing for a while, you know how strong and big you are. I'm a smarter football player."
Friends King and Williams trained with the track team this offseason. While it helped, King said he stopped about 10 weeks ago after tweaking his left hamstring.
Tried to get strong
That's when he focused on strength training -- though Williams said the added muscle hasn't taken away from King's speed.
"He can run with anybody," said Williams, pretty fast himself.
Linebacker, with standouts Dan Connor and Sean Lee returning, and the secondary appear to be the strength of the Nittany Lions defense in 2007. They'll need to step up as Paterno breaks in a young, inexperienced defensive line that lost three starters.
Connor has moved to the middle this spring after spending much of the last two seasons at outside linebacker. While he admits he's not a vocal guy, he'll likely be counted on to be a leader regardless since Paul Posluszny has left.
Connor in 2007 will be the only senior on defense with starting experience.
"I knew right as soon as Paul left that I would have big shoes to fill, both as a player and as a leader on defense," he said. "I'm a quiet guy. Most of my leadership is by example and through work ethic."
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