King Always Felt UW was College Football Royalty

Since he was a young kid, the new linebacker was a fan of the Huskies.

Demario King has been a big fan of the University of Washington football program, unsolicited, prior to any recruitment on his behalf. 

Going on eight years now.

The 6-foot-3, 203-pound inside linebacker from Los Alamitos, California, grew up watching UW games on TV, was in awe of Husky Stadium and admired punt returner Dante Pettis' elusiveness from afar.

In 2014, King from Los Alamitos, California, got a close-up look. He attended the spring game and made the UW his first college summer camp and was hooked.

"It's the best place on Earth," he said.

Still, a lot had to happen before King officially became a Husky football player this past winter.

He played for two-year Cerritos College in and around the pandemic in 2019 and 2021, with a middle season canceled by COVID.

Last October, King received a scholarship offer from Fresno State, then-coach Kalen DeBoer and his defensive-backs coach Juice Brown, was ready to accept it and then everything changed for everyone. 

"The day before they switched to Washington, they asked me and my coach how I felt about the staff, and I said I liked them," he said. "The next day, when they were at Washington, they said, 'Let's ride,' and I couldn't say no."

While he was primarily a safety at Cerritos and at Los Alamitos High, DeBoer's staff saw a linebacker in King.  

They wanted to put his exceptional speed to use on the second row of their defense. In his last year of high school football, where he also played wide receiver and special teams, King scored 25 times, including on four kickoff returns.

With 2020 second-team All-Pac-12 linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio out for the spring with a knee injury and the Huskies low on players at the position, King has pulled more reps than he otherwise might have as a newcomer. He's fit right in. 

"My first day here, everybody treated me like I was their brother," he said. 

King feels right at home with the Huskies, in a place he wanted to be at  before it wanted him. Sometimes, things just work out.

"Ever since I was in eighth grade," he reminded, "Washington has been my dream school."

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