Marquette King facts for kids
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King with the Arlington Renegades in 2024
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| No. 7 – Arlington Renegades | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Punter | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | October 26, 1988 Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Rutland (Macon, Georgia) |
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| College: | Fort Valley State (2008–2011) |
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| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
Marquette King Jr. (born October 26, 1988) is a talented American football punter. He currently plays for the Arlington Renegades in the United Football League (UFL). King played college football at Fort Valley State. He became a professional player in 2012 when he joined the Oakland Raiders. In 2014, he led the entire NFL in punting yards.
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Early Life and Football Dreams
Marquette King Jr. grew up in Macon, Georgia. His parents are Audrey and Marquette King Sr. He also has a younger sister named Jasmine. From a young age, Marquette loved football. He dreamed of becoming a wide receiver.
In high school, Marquette played for Rutland High School. After his regular practices, he would often stay late to practice punting. He would challenge himself to see how far he could kick the ball. His high school coach soon noticed his amazing kicking ability. Because of this, Marquette became the team's punter, in addition to playing wide receiver.
College Career at Fort Valley State
King went to Fort Valley State University. He was first recruited to play as a wide receiver. However, he found it hard to get playing time in that position. During his third year, a new head coach learned that King practiced punting in his free time. The coach told King he would lose his athletic scholarship (money given to students for sports) if he didn't focus on becoming a full-time punter.
King decided to make punting exciting. He said, "If you want to take my scholarship away from me to focus on being a punter, I'm going to find a way to make this position look fun." In his final year, King was named an All-First-team member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He was also the Most Valuable Player for the FVSU Wildcats in 2011.
During the 2011 season, King made an amazing 80-yard punt against Bethune-Cookman University. He led the SIAC Conference in punting that year, averaging 43 yards per punt. Twenty-one of his punts landed inside his opponents' 20-yard-line. Sixteen of his punts went for 50 yards or more. After college, King played in the first ever NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in 2012.
Professional Football Journey
Joining the Oakland Raiders
After the 2012 NFL draft, Marquette King was not chosen by any team. However, the Oakland Raiders invited him to try out. On April 29, 2012, the Raiders signed King to a three-year contract. During training camp, King got a lot of chances to punt because the team's main punter, Shane Lechler, was injured. King impressed the coaches so much that they kept him on the team. He spent the entire 2012 NFL season on the injured reserve list.
In 2013, Shane Lechler left the Raiders. This meant King had a chance to become the team's main punter. He competed against an experienced punter named Chris Kluwe during the preseason. King won the job, and Kluwe was released. In the 2013 NFL season, King led the entire league in gross yards per punt, with an average of 48.9 yards.
In 2014, King led the league in both total punting yards and total punts. He had 4,930 yards on 109 punts. These numbers also set new records for the Oakland Raiders team in a single season.
On March 11, 2015, King signed a new one-year contract to stay with the Raiders. He was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 15 of that season.
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On February 29, 2016, the Raiders signed King to a big five-year contract extension. During the 2016 NFL season, King was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 7. Throughout his time with the Raiders, King became well-known for his fun and attention-grabbing celebrations and dances after his punts.
On March 30, 2018, the Raiders released King from the team.
Time with the Denver Broncos
On April 5, 2018, the Denver Broncos signed Marquette King to a three-year contract. However, he was placed on injured reserve on October 6, 2018, because of a thigh injury. Two days later, the Broncos released him.
Playing for the St. Louis Battlehawks
King was chosen by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the 2020 XFL Supplemental Draft on November 22, 2019. He played in 5 games for them, punting for 868 yards. His contract ended when the league stopped playing games on April 10, 2020.
With the Arlington Renegades
Marquette King was selected by the Arlington Renegades in the 2023 XFL Draft. He re-signed with the team on January 29, 2024. On June 5, 2024, he was named to the 2024 All-UFL team. He re-signed with the Renegades again on October 25, 2024.
See also
In Spanish: Marquette King para niños
