The 25th player on our list knew how to run with an opportunity when it came his way.
After backing up Yancy Shipp in 1977, Troy King took over as feature back in 1978 and led the Pretzels to their best season since 1964. King rushed for 1,423 while powering Freeport to a 9-2 record and its first trip to the IHSA playoffs. He won the conference rushing title by 531 yards.
King was a solid four-year contributor, never taking a redshirt season. He had 855 yards rushing and receiving over the first three seasons. In 1982, he finally took over the feature back role with eight games to go in the season. He rushed for 715 yards as a senior on 7.2 yards per carry. He finished sixth in the Big Ten in rushing yards, fifth in rushing touchdowns (7) and first in yards per carry.
The Badgers finished King's senior season with a 14-3 win over Kansas State in the Independence Bowl to finish the season at 7-5. The Badgers went 22-24 over King's four seasons and Tory ended up averaging 5.6 yards per carry on 1,398 career yards. Only three NIC-10 running backs have more yards than King at the highest level of college football (Merwin Hodel, Jerry Latin and Ira Matthews).
There was some NFL interest in King after his senior season, but he was playing with cartilage damage in his knee and he passed on the opportunity. King eventually settled in Georgia and works in medical sales.
| No. 25 - Troy King, Freeport | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Level | School | Accomplishments | Points |
| 1977 | High School | Freeport | Winning Team | 1 |
| Conference Champion | 1 | |||
| 1978 | High School | Freeport | First Team All-Conference | 2 |
| Conference Champion | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| League Leader | 1 | |||
| All-State | 1 | |||
| 1979 | College | Wisconsin | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| 1980 | College | Wisconsin | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| 1981 | College | Wisconsin | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| 1982 | College | Wisconsin | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| League Leader | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| Total | 30 | |||
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