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Eastside’s King earns All-State punting honors
Ezra King
Ezra King (25) and Devin Brown (1) watch as King's kick clears the uprights. Photo by Anthony Banks.

COVINGTON, Ga.  - Eastside Eagles senior punter Ezra King was named the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s AAAA All-State punter, and his play on special teams makes this no surprise. 

King could easily have earned honors for his special teams play in kicking or punting, but his punting numbers were truly staggering over the course of his senior season. 

King finished his season with a punting average of 43.3 yards per punt with a long of 65 yards. Even more staggering is the fact that of King’s 39 punts, he landed 17 inside the 20-yard line pinning the opposition deep within their own territory.

King worked on two main things over the offseason in preparation for his senior year, and they were getting stronger and technique. 

“The entire offseason, all I did was workout. I went to the gym just about every day, and If I wasn’t at the gym, I was on the field. I just got a lot stronger, and I think I put on about 20 pounds from last season to this season,” King said. “I really worked on technique and just focused on placement, which was something I didn’t really have last year. It was kind of hit it wherever, but this year I really worked on different ways to catch them off guard.”


With King coming to Eastside in his junior season having never punted in the past, earning such an honor is just a testament to the work he put in over the offseason. He says that the way he excelled in punting this season is something he is the proudest of in his young career.

“It probably would be my punting. When I came to Eastside, I had never punted before,” King said when asked what he was most proud of in his career. “I came to Eastside my junior year. We, obviously had Kade Mote, and we were about the same as far as kicking goes. Kade started as our kicker because he was a senior and had been in the program. So I wanted to do something, and they asked me if I knew how to punt, and I said, I’ll figure it out.”


That he did as King was named the top punter in the state for AAAA football. With King being a senior, he does have a decision looming on where he will play football in the future. 

He’s looking at offers from Oberlin College, Berry College, and Shorter University but has been in contact with the University of Louisville about punting for the Cardinals and would love to receive an offer from there as well.

Despite King’s future, his emergence from never having punted before to one of the state’s best punters is a testament to his hard work.