King: Unquestioned Toughness
November 20, 2003 02:13 PM | General
Return to Mountaineer Illustrated
November 15, 2003
West Virginia senior defensive back Brian King's toughness is unquestioned. Imagine playing college football only being able to use one hand. Essentially, that has what King has had to endure with little movement in his right hand for the past seven years.
"The way Dr. Stoll (WVU team doctor David Stoll) explained it, I've got what looks like arthritis and scar tissue of a 65-year-old man in my right wrist," says King.
King cracked his right (throwing) wrist as a sophomore at Damascus High School in Maryland and has had it operated on multiple times since. Last year against Syracuse, he fractured his throwing thumb on an already present cast when an Orangeman ball-carrier pinned it backwards. Then, against Rutgers this October, he jammed his wrist again.
"It hurts the most when I'm just doing things you'd never think about," says King. "Cutting a piece of steak, holding the phone, brushing my teeth ... just about anything with my right hand."
King's injured wrist isn't the only malady he has had to overcome as a Mountaineer. He missed most of the Maryland game this season with back spasms. He had shin splints at the end of preseason practice in August. You name it, King has had it, but he has learned to overcome.
"Fortunately, the injuries and surgeries that I have had haven't set me back, and I've always been able to move forward and get better," says King. "When it's all said and done, I won't have any regrets – that's not my style. I just go out each and every game and give it my all.
"It's definitely been a process. I can't lie about the fact that I've been at the very top. I've been the one who has won the game for my team, and I've been the one who has lost the game, in my mind."
Over the years, King has covered some of the best in the BIG EAST. He has lined up across from the likes of Antonio Bryant of Pitt, Andre Davis of Virginia Tech and Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss of Miami – all now having successful careers in the NFL.
"Looking back, it had an effect on my confidence with guys like that lining up every week across from you," recalls King. "I had a rough time my freshman year, battling the highs and lows of playing the best talent in the league and getting scored on."
King remembers one play during his freshman season when the Mountaineers were facing Syracuse at Mountaineer Field. R.J. Anderson completed a 13-yard fade to Malik Campbell with just 10 seconds left as the Orangemen marched 84 yards to the 31-27 victory.
"I've seen pictures and I'm right there. I actually put my hand on top of the ball, instead of coming up from underneath. You always have the ‘what ifs', but I didn't kill myself about it. I was there but didn't make the play; it's worked out for the best for me.
"Coach Nehlen announced his retirement after the game. That wasn't a good feeling, but it was a building block in my life and I learned from it."
Two years later at Virginia Tech, a better script could not have been written as the Mountaineers faced the 12th-ranked Hokies.
Playing with a broken thumb and a heavilydraped cast, King intercepted Tech quarterback Bryan Randall in the end zone with 12 seconds left in a nationally televised upset of the Hokies. Without question, it was the 2002 team's signature play.
"That ball came at me as clear as day," recalls King. "It looked like a watermelon. I put two hands on it, took a quick knee and we're all running around celebrating and screaming."
King has been through the highs and lows of college football. A proven starter since his freshman season, he has battled numerous injuries to become the school's all-time passes broken up leader, passing the likes of former WVU greats Aaron Beasley and Mike Collins. Playing cornerback and free safety, King has had his best games in recent weeks, including two more interceptions of Randall that helped the Mountaineers upset the No. 3 Hokies.
"There isn't anyone of any talent that I haven't seen, guys that are playing in the NFL that I played against when I was 19 years old," says King, who already has his bachelor's degree in athletic coaching education. "That's a big boost from a mental standpoint and physically, it feels like I can play with anybody.
"I'm a 23-year old senior. I like to think I can stand six inches from anyone, look him in the face and run with him all the way down the field."
It seems like yesterday that King was making his first start against Boston College in the 2000 season opener. And it's even harder to believe that King's career is winding up. With a handful of games remaining, the fan favorite is looking to add that final piece to a highlight-filled career that has produced many memories that Mountaineer fans will never forget.
Bryan Messerly is the associate sports information director in the West Virginia University sports communications office.
