Dawgs to Watch No. 11: Tavarres King

From the first day he spent as a Georgia Bulldog, Tavarres King was destined to be "the other wide receiver."

King was part of the same recruiting class as A.J. Green, the much-hyped freshman with the lanky frame and sprinter speed. So it wasn't surprising when the vast majority of media inquiries revolved around Green, not the other freshman wideout.

Playing co-star to Green's leading man, however, is fine by King. There's no jealousy, he said. After all, he has all the spotlight he needs.

"Just being a student athlete, you're life's being scrutinized enough, so I haven't felt that way at all," King said. "A.J.'s a great guy, and he's everything the media said he was. He's an awesome player, and he's going to be great here."

To hear King's teammates tell it, he has a pretty good chance to do great things in Athens, too. Since arriving at Georgia in January, King has made a habit of impressing people with his game.

"He's got a chance of surprising some people, coming in the same year as A.J.," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "Everybody's talking about A.J. this, A.J. that, Tavarres is a good player in his own right."

Green may have a few inches of height and about 30 pounds on his fellow freshman, but cornerback Asher Allen said King's size won't hurt him. Allen compared King to former Bulldogs wide receiver Sean Bailey, and head coach Mark Richt said he expects King to get significant playing time this season.

That, however, is not something King is worrying about right now.

"I'd love to play, I really hope I'll play, I feel good about playing," King said. "But it's not my job to decide how that happens. It's my job to give 110 percent in practice."

That effort is earning King plenty of fans within Georgia's locker room, even if fans and media are still paying a bit more attention to Green. After all, King said, now that he's surrounded by talented players, he's just happy to have a few teammates think of him as a future star.

"Confidence is a big thing in anybody's life, and when you go from being the man in high school to coming and everybody else is the man, it's very eye-opening," King said. "Your confidence is all you've got, and that is a huge confidence booster."