Cougars’ King in waiting no more
Sophomore will get first career start at QB against Pirates
After leading the University of Houston to its biggest win of the season against South Florida, D’Eriq King’s cellphone was inundated with text messages. Family and friends wanted to congratulate the sophomore, who took over at quarterback and scored the winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining. East Carolina at Houston When/where: 11 a.m. today; TDECU Stadium. TV/radio: CBSSN; 950 AM.
One of those to reach out was the guy he replaced.
“Just keep being me,” King said he was told by Greg Ward Jr., one of the most successful quarterbacks in school history who King has been drawing comparisons to since the day he arrived on campus for his dual-threat style.
The King era at quarterback for the Cougars began with 8 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first quarter. It was capped by a 20-yard run to upset then-No. 17 South Florida 28-24, snapping the nation’s longest winning streak at 12 games.
The next chapter begins Saturday, when King makes his first career start against East Carolina at TDECU Stadium. A win would make the Cougars (5-3, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.
“Yes, he’s the starter,” coach
Major Applewhite said this week, clearing up any doubt about his plans moving forward the rest of the season.
The plan all along Applewhite said, was to give King a shot at quarterback. A top national recruit out of Manvel, King signed with former coach Tom Herman with the promise he would someday play quarterback. When the Cougars lacked depth at wide receiver last season, King was asked to briefly switch positions.
“I trusted the coaching staff,” King said.
Expected to finally get his chance, King re-injured his knee early in preseason camp and missed the first two games. At the time of King’s injury, Applewhite said the quarterback competition — which also included Kyle Allen and Kyle Postma — was a “three-way deadlock.”
When he made his debut, King was used in varying roles as the Cougars searched for ways to get the talented sophomore playmaker on the field.
“It’s always been a goal to get him some snaps at quarterback,” Applewhite said.
All along, King has never been far away. He’s been in quarterback meetings, while also spending time with the receivers and special team groups.
“Just knowing you’re the starting quarterback, you can focus on everything you have to do as a quarterback rather than other things,” he said.
King learns quickly
That means knowledge of the playbook. Applewhite said King is up to speed with the offense and, in fact, his athleticism allows the team to simplify some things.
“He’s fine. He’s not behind. He understands. He’s a quick learner,” Applewhite said. “You just want to be cautious as a coach to run what he’s run, run what he knows and just keep building on that. The more athletic your quarterback is,
the less offense you need to carry. Your playbook starts to get a little bit smaller.”
While the UH offense sputtered, failing to produce points in the first half against USF, Applewhite said King deserved to stay in the game after halftime.
“There were no situations where I thought he had a disregard for the ball and he was going to turn it over,” Applewhite said of the same turnovers that plagued the Cougars in earlier losses this season to Texas Tech, Tulsa and Memphis. “I felt like some of things that were going on in the first half in terms of not moving it were things we could fix at halftime.”
There were plays that King showed poise beyond his limited collegiate game experience. Like a 23-yard pass to Linell Bonner onthird-and-12 late in the second quarter. Or the 30-yard completion to Courtney Lark on fourth-and-24 to extend the final drive of the game.
“But then in other plays, he’s not loud enough for the cadence so we jump offside,” Applewhite said. “It’s just growth and shaking the rust off and getting more comfortable and running the operation. He’s highly capable of doing it.
“He’s just got to continue to get more comfortable playing quarterback. He looked comfortable out there.”
King, who accounted for 220 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against USF, said it took a few drives to settle down.
“After the first two or three drives I just thought to myself, ‘Be calm back there and go out there play football the way you’ve done your whole life,’” King said.
Studying Flowers
Along the way, the Cougars plan to make everything a learning process as King moves forward as the future-is-now quarterback. To get the process started, Applewhite and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson put together a one-hour video of how USF’s Quinton Flowers, one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, protects himself at the end of plays.
“I’ve learned a lot from him already,” King said.
Ward, now a receiver on the practice squad roster of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, had one more piece of advice.
“Stay level-headed, keep grinding and become a leader,” King said.