Ensworth's Jaylon King is No. 8 on Dandy Dozen

It didn’t take long for Ensworth’s Jaylon King to make an impact at the quarterback position.

Just over a quarter into his first career start under center — against nationally ranked Trinity (Ky.), no less — the recently converted wide receiver scrambled in the end zone for an 8-yard rushing score.

Just like the 7-0 lead he helped build, however, King’s quarterback debut was short-lived.

The Tigers were unable to upset the 19th-ranked Shamrocks, suffering a 14-7 defeat, but King, who missed much of the second half with cramps, learned a valuable lesson on that hot and humid August night.

“When I first got to the position I was all like, 'I want to play defense, too,’” said King, who is No. 8 on the 2017 Tennessean Dandy Dozen. “But after that first game where I cramped up playing both ways, I had to kind of adapt.”

The Dandy Dozen is a collection of the top 12 college football prospects from the Nashville area who are seniors, as named by The Tennessean.

► MORE: See who else made the 2017 Dandy Dozen

“My team needed me at the quarterback position for us to be successful,” added King, a three-star prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Ole Miss, Purdue, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. “And I know my teammates can hold it down on defense while I’m doing my thing on offense.”

He was right on both accounts.

Once he dialed back the defense a bit, King was free to focus almost entirely on the offensive side of the ball, where he quickly became the unit's catalyst, throwing for 1,362 yards, running for 760 more and accounting for 25 of the team’s 42 offensive touchdowns.

“He’s an exciting guy to watch,” Ensworth coach Ricky Bowers said. “He’s pretty unpredictable and difficult to defend, and every week he just kept getting better and better and better.”

Meanwhile, the Tigers’ star-studded defense, led by now-Louisville freshman Rodney Owens, fellow 2017 Dandy Dozen selection Tanner Antonutti, and prized 2019 prospect Wesley Walker, barely missed a beat without him in the lineup full time as the Tigers advanced to the DII-AA semifinals.

“It was almost unfair that he had to play quarterback last year because he had never done it,” Bowers said of King, who also posted 14 tackles and six pass breakups at safety. “In a perfect world he’d have been a running back or receiver, but he’s a coachable kid, he wants what is best for the team and he’s willing to do what is best for the team.”

King will be Ensworth's quarterback again this season and will play sparingly in the secondary, although that's where he will likely end up in college.

Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com, 615-259-8026 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.

Jaylon King

Ensworth, Athlete

Height: 6-1 Weight: 170
247Sports composite: 3 stars
College: Offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Ole Miss, Purdue, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
Key stat: Dual-threat quarterback threw for 1,362 yards, ran for 760 and accounted for 25 of the DII-AA semifinalist Tigers' 42 touchdowns.