‘Live legged' King wants more than to be punting prince

ALAMEDA -- The first time Marquette King met Shane Lechler, King had to figuratively pinch himself. And look for some soap."I kind of almost forgot I was in the NFL because I was like, 'Man, that's Shane Lechler I'm shaking hands with,'" King recalled Wednesday. "I almost didn't wash my hand.' But it was cool. I had to chill myself and get calm."King is one of the more intriguing figures on the Raiders' minicamp roster, what with a booming punting leg and Oakland already boasting what many already say is the best punter in the history of the NFL in Lechler.Especially since you don't see too many African-American kickers in the league. King laughed at his relative trailblazing when explaining how punting appealed to him, even before he enrolled at Fort Valley State."When I got bored at the house, the higher and the farther I ended up kicking the ball, the more I started getting in love with the position," King said. "When I went to college, we had a coaching change and I was playing receiver so in order for me to keep my scholarship, when the coach found out I could punt, he let me stay there, rather than take it from me. So I had to make something out of it."King averaged 43 yards per punt last season at Fort Valley State on 60 kicks, while 16 were at least 50 yards, including an 80-yarder. Twenty of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line and five were fair catches, nine were touchbacks and one was blocked.Tuesday at practice, King launched a booming punt that appeared to be at least 60 yards."I think it was like 75," he said. "I counted it on film. I had so much adrenaline. It was kind of like I almost forgot the technique that Coach (Steve) Hoffman was teaching me just to get off a good ball because I want to do as much as I can to impress the coaches and try to be a part of this team."King's next few punts did not travel nearly as far, though Lechler was impressed."Hes good, hes got a live leg," Lechler said. "Hes got a real live leg. Hes got some little mechanical things that he can clean up. He hit his first one, a big one, then the four after were (not so good). Thats where you run into young punters. It will be interesting to see in the preseason games. Ive been with some guys that can come out to practice and can really crush it all day, then you get to the game and its just not there."The kids got a bright future but time will tell."Before then, King, who looked up to Lechler and New Orleans punter Thomas Morstead, will learn at the leg of Lechler. And compete against all odds. He had no plans on coming to Oakland, but a call from Hoffman, the Raiders' special teams coordinator put the plan in motion."Really, my mindset is just to learn as much as I can," King said. "It's one of the best situations I can be in, learning from the best player, punter, and learning from the best coach. Even as he's the best, I'm going to still compete. That's my nature."