Kobe King waved to fans as he left the Hard Rock Stadium turf following Penn State’s 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. It was then unclear what his plans for the future were. Apparently, it was a goodbye. King, a two-year starter at linebacker for the Nittany Lions, will forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.
He announced his decision on Instagram on Tuesday.
King has exponentially improved across his four-year college career. He joined in 2021 alongside his brother, Kalen, who is now with Green Bay Packers. And since then, King has turned into the team’s most effective linebacker. He was named a consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection this past season.
His 97 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks this season were all career highs.
With King departing, Penn State will look to fill one of its three starting linebacker spots. The other two are likely to be held down by returnees Tony Rojas and Dominic DeLuca, but King’s spot in the middle should create a competition. Anthony Speca, Ta’Mere Robinson, DaKaari Nelson are names to keep an eye on, as well as incoming freshmen LaVar Arrington II, Cam Smith and Alex Tatsch.
King’s exit comes shortly after the departure of defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who has been hired for the same position at Clemson. It’s unclear who Allen’s replacement will be, but whoever it is will inherit a defense set to return a handful of key starters in defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, defensive tackle Zane Durant and safety Zakee Wheatley.
“I’m still proud of my guys. Everything they did this year, everything I did this year, everything we did together, all the success we had together, all the failures,” King said after the Orange Bowl. “But it’s heartbreaking, and I think it’s definitely something for guys to look forward to next year. Some guys should put it on their shoulder as a chip to overcome and learn from.”
