Ex-receiver Shane King is ‘one of the most athletic tight ends’ at Arizona

A few years later, that decision has led King to rotational role in Arizona’s tight ends room in 2026, a group that is led by Illinois transfer Cole Rusk and fifth-year Phoenix native Tyler Powell.

“Shane is an outstanding player,” Powell said. “He’s one of the most athletic tight ends in the room. He does some things in the pass game that I would love to learn from. I think he’s going to be an outstanding player. From where I was in the early stages of my college career, I think Shane is in a really good spot. I’m looking forward to see what he can do.”

King’s nickname growing up was “Sugar Bear,” a name given to him by his mother.

“When I got older, my dad called me Suge instead of Sugar Bear,” King said.

Everyone in the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, including head coach Brent Brennan, refer to King as Suge.

King lived in Houston for part of his life and prepped at Fort Bend Hightower High School, but finished his high school career at Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Georgia. King had 51 catches for 817 yards and six touchdowns in his high school career.

“You saw his versatility, his athleticism and toughness,” said Arizona tight ends coach Josh Miller.

King’s receiver skillsets and body are shades of NFL tight end Quintin Morris, who played for Miller at Bowling Green.

“Just a dense kid that could never keep the weight on,” Miller said. “Quintin could be 230 and he looked famish. Suge reminds me us of that in his athleticism and versatility.”

Miller started recruiting King to Purdue, but after Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege took his first play-calling job at Marshall, Miller followed him — and so did King.

King signed with Marshall to play for Doege and Miller, who both held the same positions for the Thundering Herd. After Marshall head coach Charles Huff took the same job at Southern Miss, King followed Huff for one season. 

King caught two passes for 24 yards in four games and redshirted his only season at Southern Miss. At Southern Miss, he received the nickname “Mini Kyle Pitts” after the receiver-esque tight end for the Atlanta Falcons.

King said Miller and Doege, after the tight end entered the transfer portal following the 2025 season, “heavily recruited me” and “I had a connection with them and I knew they had a plan for me.”

King was one of five additions at tight end this offseason, along with Rusk, San Diego State transfer Arthur Ban, four-star tight end Henry Gabalis and Australia native and rugby player Lachlan Teissier — after the Wildcats lost several tight ends in Sam Olson, Cameron Barmore, Keyan Burnett and Kayden Luke, who transferred to West Virginia.

“The guys that Doege and Miller brought in are all super talented,” Powell said. “The room is in a spot where it’s really deep and we have a lot of talent in the room. It’s motivating for me to come back and be the best player I can be and use the years that I’ve put into college football and be a mentor for the younger guys and also get mentored by the older guys.”

King is in a similar situation as Barmore a year ago: a receiver still in the process of transitioning into a tight end. An important component to playing tight end, which is often a growing pain for players learning the position, is blocking.

“The hardest thing is understanding the physicality in some of the run-blocking techniques that you need to use within the core,” Miller said. “As long as you have the mentality to do it, I’ll teach you the rest.”

Added Miller: “But, if we’re being honest, how many tight ends are actually physical in the run game anyways? Most of them are position blockers and want to take plays off and get dented on the front side. That’s not what I teach or what we do. I’m pretty confident they’re going to be better suited off with what we’re teaching. As long as they have the confidence and physicality to do it, they’ll have success.”

When King was playing in high school, “I was mostly blocking on the perimeter and running routes on some of the top corners and DBs in the country. Moving in as a tight end, I always had the mentality, ‘I’m not going to turn down anything.’ Learning the footwork, it’s been challenging, but it’s getting there, for sure.”

Miller is aware, using baseball terms, that Arizona won’t bat 1.000 when it comes to finding success in a receiver-converted-tight end. If Miller is ever skeptical about a potential tight end, “that’s when I lean into the families and their upbringing, understanding how they were raised and what their values are,” he said.

"You try to find things like that. Then obviously they gotta go do it physically as well,” added Miller.

Powell and Rusk have taken King under their wing and play “the good cop to Coach Miller’s bad cop” role, according to the Arizona tight ends coach.

“It’s been great,” King said. “I have two older guys above me, just learning from them and they’re teaching me everything. I’m teaching them stuff, too, like route-running and stuff. They’re teaching me how to block and be smarter as a player. … They teach me a lot. Like, a lot. I can say (quarterback Noah Fifita) does as well. Watching film with him after practices, it helps me a lot, learning the game.”

Tucson’s weather is a stark contrast to the muggy conditions of Houston, Georgia or Mississippi. King’s impressions of Tucson, to no surprise, is “it’s way hotter, but it’s not as humid. It’s scorching hot,” he said.

King recently visited Page, Arizona near the Utah border, which he called “eye-opening.”

“It was really nice out there, something I’ve never seen before,” King said.

When he’s done with football, whenever that time comes, he’s majoring in finance at Eller College of Management, with aspirations to own a veterinarian clinic.

With up to four years of eligibility remaining, King has positioned himself into being an effective tight end for the near and long-term future in Tucson.

King and the rest of Arizona’s tight ends, “I’ve been very pleased with their growth,” Miller said.

“They’ve all leaned into the physicality they need to be successful,” Miller said. “None of them are scared. They’re going to throw it up in there, be violent. I’m super proud of them for choosing violence for most of the practices. … I’ve been very pleased with how the room has come along. We understand what they can do within their own skin so to speak, putting those guys in the best situation to go out there to be successful.”

Extra points

— Powell, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener last year, “just got cleared to be back fully and doing everything,” he said. Added Powell: “It’s just been a steady process rehabbing right after the injury happened, and then getting back into the football skills the further along in my recovery. … For me, coming back in the summer, I felt a little rusty. … I feel like I’ve worked that out and now I’m at a point where I don’t even think about my knee when I’m playing, which I’m super fortunate.”

— Powell’s return to full strength has “been very heartwarming,” Miller said. Said Miller: “His process has been very fun to watch. After his parents, I’ll be his next biggest fan. He deserves it. He has worked extremely hard for this opportunity. There’s nothing more that I want than for him to flourish.”

— Ban “has done a great job” putting on good weight, moving from 235 to around 250 pounds since joining the Wildcats. Miller said, “As he’s getting more used to carrying that weight, which he has never carried before, you start to see that athleticism come back and that confidence.”

— Miller, on Tucson native and Pusch Ridge Christian product Tyler Mustain: “He does a great job. If all the boys are stumped, I know there’s one person in the room who’s not and that’s Tyler Mustain. I appreciate his professionalism that he shows up with every day. … His self-motivation and drive are special. He’s going to be successful in whatever he does. I’m super proud of that kid.”

— Miller, on what makes Doege a potentially good head coach: “I don’t think he could be, I know he will be, if that’s what he wants. That’s how much I believe in him. The reason I believe that is his relentlessness for perfection. It’s not about him. We all have egos, but it’s not about him; it’s about the kids. He wants to do things the right way and part of the right way is putting kids in a position to be successful.”

— Miller on Fifita’s arm talent: “Noah is just a completely special human being in general. … There is not a throw Noah Fifita can’t make. His arm is second to none. … Noah is the best I’ve ever been around. His heart, his mind and his talent, he’s second to none. He’s special. He deserves everything positive that he receives.”