With a smile on his face, Landen King poised to be next great Utah tight end

SALT LAKE CITY — There's a good chance Landen King is smiling right now.

Some may see him as the "class clown," while others view the 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end as a charismatic guy that simply brings a smile to others' face. To King, life doesn't always have to be so serious, especially when times are hard and a smile isn't the first thing to cross the mind.

"I guess I was just born with it," King said of his natural disposition to always have a smile on his face. "I've always been — not like a class clown, but I just like putting smiles on people's faces, for real. I feel like it's better to smile through an awkward situation or something, really, so that's really where I got it from."

You can't help yourself from being happy around King, in any situation.

Whether it's a teammate feeling the frustration of a dropped pass, or maybe it's losing playing time on the field or a loss in general, or even something more serious off the field, King uses his bright smile and personable laugh — the one that makes you feel like you've been friends for ages — to cut through whatever may be ailing that person.

His intent is to give that person a little glimpse into a better time.

"I 100% think that helps," King said. "People are going through a lot of stuff, not even football related. I feel like that's one of the reasons why I do that, too, because I know the type of mental battles that you can have with yourself when you're all alone, for real, and sometimes all you need is like a little laugh, for real. So, I mean, if I can just help, especially my teammates with that, like they make a bad drop or pass or something, I usually dap 'em up and I just tell them, 'Look at me,' and I'll smile, and then they'll just smile back and say, 'I'm pretty good.' Just trying to keep them accountable."

His definition of accountable could just as well be translated into being seen. It's a little thing, but one that means something bigger to those around him. If anything, he's there to simply lighten the mood in a pressure-filled sport, but it's often more than that.

"This guy is like one of the funniest guys that I know, one of the funniest guys on the team," fellow tight end Miki Suguturaga said. "He just has a character to him that brightens your mood when you talk to him, and he's always laughing, having a good time, so I enjoy that about him."

For all his own individual successes, which are slowly starting to emerge as the season progresses, King is the ultimate team player ... and cheerleader. He's often one of the first players to run up to a teammate and celebrate their successes — a long run, a big catch, or the ultimate prize of a touchdown, King will be there.

He's happy to celebrate it all.

King, a native of Beaumont, Texas, transferred to Utah ahead of the 2023 season after a freshman season at Auburn, following a busy recruiting process that included many of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Washington, among many others.

The highly sought after tight end initially committed to Texas before eventually switching to Auburn, where he enrolled in 2021 before he put his name in the transfer portal first in October 2022. He withdrew his entry into the transfer portal before going back on April 30, 2023. Just 10 days later, King quickly committed to Utah.

"It was really like a no-brainer when coach (Andy Ludwig) got on my phone," King said. "I mean, he's one of the great offensive coordinators in college, so, I mean, when that happened, it was a no-brainer. I already knew I was coming here on my visit."

And it didn't take long for King to feel at home.

Even as an under-sized tight end — at least for now, according to head coach Kyle Whittingham — King has embraced everything about being a Utah football player and the process it takes to get better in pursuit of an eventual NFL dream.

From the designed meal plans to help him bulk up to the extra work on the field to build upon an already budding skill set, King is fully engaged in being one of the next best Utah tight ends — even with that patented smile.

"The only thing that's keeping him from absolute greatness is getting bigger," Whittingham said. "He's still only about 220 pounds, so he still need to put some weight on that frame, but he lacks nothing as far as athleticism, hands, route running ability, all that. To be a complete tight end — and he's working hard at it; he's gained some weight since he's been here — but he's about 15-20 pounds away from really having a chance to be a top tier tight end."

"Yeah, I gotta put on some weight, but I honestly feel like right now this is where my confidence is at," King said. "I mean, I can compete with anybody on the field. This is football at the end of the day."

In small glimpses, King has looked like the next great tight end to come out of Utah. His stats don't jump off the page — yet — but he's proven to be a consistent threat on offense, especially as the season develops and he feels more comfortable in his role within the offense.

King only has seven receptions to his name this season, but three of those have been touchdowns. Not bad for the sophomore transfer, but he says it's just the beginning.

"Honestly, just staying consistent," King said of his development. "My coaches are on me hard — I love that; I'm on myself hard, so I expect the finished product, I want it now, but I know that's not how it is, you've gotta grind for it. So I'm just trying to take everything day-by-day and just make the most out of my opportunities.

"I want to be more of a force in the run game — like, I actually like to block," he added. "Honestly, even with me being a little light, like I actually like coming back and just zip blocking. So once I put on the weight, I feel like I'll have more confidence in doing that. I think once those two things go hand in hand, like it's gonna be a real problem."

A real problem with a permanent smile on his face.

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