King to get spotlight on G-Day

ATHENS – Caleb King has his sights set on Knowshon Moreno.

Moreno, Georgia’s sophomore starter at running back and an expected Heisman Trophy candidate next year, has something King wants, and the redshirt freshman plans to take it.

The thing is not Moreno’s starting job. King is not nearly so bold as to publicly stake a claim to that. It’s Moreno’s totally meaningless mark of having worn a hospital I.D. bracelet for two months after a precautionary trip to St. Mary’s Hospital last year.

King got one of the white plastic bracelets last weekend when he went to St. Mary’s for an MRI on his slightly injured right knee, and he’s still cherishing it.

“He was wearing it a long time so I’m going to try to wear it longer than him,” King said pointing at Moreno. “Just for fun.”

Georgia fans are hoping the combination of Moreno and King will be fun for the Bulldogs in the fall. Saturday’s G-Day game, which will kick off at 2:07 p.m. at Sanford Stadium, will be the fans first chance to see the duo in action.

King hasn’t played live action football in front of a crowd since late 2006, when he broke his leg midway through his senior season at Greater Atlanta Christian. He sat out last year as a redshirt.

“Nobody has really seen me play in a year and a half so I’ll try to showcase my skills the best way I can,” he said.

King can sense the anticipation of the fan base, he said. He was considered the No. 4 running back in the nation by Scout.com and was the MVP of the U.S. Army National Combine in 2006.

“I think he’s going to be a spark for us,” quarterback Matthew Stafford. “He’s working hard in drills. He’s got the potential to take it to the house every time. I think he can run between the tackles just fine, too.”

That, apparently, was a question among King’s teammates before his arrival.

“Everybody told me that he was shifty all the time and didn’t want to stick it in there, but he was running some people over at the end of the year last year,” Stafford said. “That was surprising me and a lot of people I think.”

King is quicker than he was during his redshirt season, head coach Mark Richt said.

“I’ve seen him break a lot of tackles,” Richt said. “I’ve seen him kind of, I don’t know to describe it. He’ll work his way toward his landmark and once he sees it he can dart through it pretty good. Some guys from the moment the ball is snapped they’re going to go as hard as they can, but he seems to have good patience and good vision and the ability to burst into the crease.”

Richt also likes King’s attitude, he said.

“He kind of has a mental edge about him,” Richt said, “a this-doesn’t-really-phase-me kind of attitude.”

King missed a week of spring practice due to his knee sprain, but he returned Monday at near full speed, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.

“Is he going to come out and wow everybody with what everybody is looking for? I don’t know,” Bobo said. “I think it’s a process and sometimes guys are able to reach the level we want faster than others, and sometimes it takes a while. I think he’s on the right track.”