Sawvel and Co. Think TK King Can be Missing Piece in Passing Game

LARAMIE -- Quinn Ewers took the shotgun snap and quickly fired a pass toward the boundary.

There, Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy was all alone at the line of scrimmage. He hauled in the fourth-quarter toss and turned up field, effortlessly shaking off a would-be tackle by Wyoming cornerback Tyrecus Davis.

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It appeared safety Wyett Ekeler had the angle to knock the Longhorns' speedster out of bounds.

He didn't.

Neither did Isaac White.

Worthy bolted down the sideline and 44 yards later was racing through the back of the end zone, pointer finger extended high in the sky as the No. 3 team in the country took a 17-10 lead.

Jay Sawvel still envisions that moment. It's not a form of torment anymore, though. In fact, it's given Wyoming's rookie head coach an idea.

"One thing I felt like was, hey, we need a Xavier Worthy guy that you can just throw something so simple to," Sawvel said. "OK, let's run you deep. That's great. But let's start with something so simple that if you make one guy miss, this could turn into a home run."

Sawvel believes they found that guy in TK King.

The sophomore wide out, who spent the previous two seasons in Lubbock at Texas Tech, certainly has the wheels and elusiveness to make guys miss.

While Worthy ran a 10.55 100-meter dash in high school, King excelled in the 200, hitting a personal-best mark of 20.74. He also ran the 4x100 relay, finishing with a school-record time of 40.50 during his junior year at Alief Taylor in Houston.

For good measure, King also ran a 10.20 in the 100.

Sawvel has already got a first-hand glimpse of that burst during offseason workouts.

"You go in and watch TK run -- he can run," he said, shaking his head and laughing. "He is fast. You're glad that he's here."

King wasn't on the sideline in Laramie last September when the Cowboys upset Texas Tech 35-33 in double overtime. He watched it on television.

That didn't have any bearing on his decision to come to Wyoming.

Coaches did.

"I chose Wyoming because of the opportunity to play in Jay Johnson’s offense and also because of my relationship with coach Mike Grant," King said, referring to the Cowboys' new offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, respectively. "Also, I’ll be teaming up with (freshman wide receiver) Bricen Brantly again like the high school days."

King, a four-star prospect, snagged 40 passes for 780 yards and nine touchdowns during his final prep season. He also played a major role on special teams, earning District 23-6A Return Specialist of the Year after averaging 17.4 yards per kick return and adding a touchdown. He was also named to the All-District team at the wide receiver spot.

Wyoming's Border War rival Colorado State offered the 5-foot-9, 180-pound speedster. So did Indiana, Houston, UTSA, Buffalo, North Texas, Memphis and Texas State, among others.

We know what Sawvel and Co. expect from King. He's no different.

"You’ll see me everywhere in the offense -- outside, slot -- I’m a route runner and a deep threat," King said. "What I do with the ball in my hands will speak for itself."

What should fans anticipate? King was blunt.

"Touchdowns, speed, energy and elusiveness," he added.

King never got the opportunity to display that in Lubbock. A scout team mainstay, he caught just one ball for six yards during his tenure at Tech. That came in the 2022 season opener. He never saw the field again, falling in line behind a plethora of standout pass catchers like Xavier White, Jerand Bradley, Drae McCray and Myles Price, among others.

Those four combined to haul in 23 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns in that loss inside War Memorial Stadium.

Gordie Haug, Wyoming's running backs coach and Executive Director of Recruiting, simply smiled when asked if he daydreams about what King can do in space.

"Yeah, there's no doubt," he said. "A 10.2 is pretty rare, you know? So to be able to get the ball in somebody's hands on a simple thing like a (run-pass option) bubble and, what can you do with it? ... That's a piece that you can do some special things with and develop explosive plays, because that's what football is nowadays."

Wyoming's spring practice is scheduled to begin March 26 in Laramie.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players