Undersized, relentless Rice walk-on who’s earned real snaps
Cooper King is a redshirt junior linebacker for Rice in the 2026 season, and the big story is his hustle: he’s gone from walk-on to meaningful defensive and special-teams snaps while balancing a demanding internship and Rice academics. In the 2025 season, he logged 8 tackles and 0.5 sacks, after 2 tackles as a freshman in 2024. What separates him isn’t just production — it’s the work rate, toughness, and coach-trust profile that gets an undersized LB on the field. He looks like a fit for teams that value smart, high-motor, high-character defenders who’ll do the dirty work.
