Mt. Pleasant grad Jonas King ramps up play on defensive line as Mercyhurst football faces Division I schedule for 1st time

There’s a running joke among some of Jonas King’s Mercyhurst football teammates that he is the second-best athlete in his family. King, a senior defensive lineman for the Lakers, is the older brother of Mt. Pleasant senior swimmer Lily King.

Lily King is a multiple WPIAL and PIAA gold medalist who also competed in the Olympic Trials this summer. She is committed to swim at N.C. State.

With a resume like that, it’s no wonder Jonas King’s teammates needle him about his athletic standing in the family.

“And I don’t necessarily think they’re wrong,” King said with a chuckle.

“It’s cool to see what she’s doing. I’m always proud of her. She always supports me in what I’m doing, so it’s good that we have that.”

King has at least one bit of bragging rights over his younger sibling: He is the first one to compete for a Division I program.

In April, Mercyhurst officials announced the school’s athletic programs would begin the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. The Lakers joined the Northeast Conference, and this fall marks the program’s first year of Division I competition, although there is a probationary period of four years before they are eligible for the postseason.

Through its first seven games, the Mercyhurst football team was 2-5 and still was seeking its first win over a Division I program entering Saturday’s game at Sacred Heart. The Lakers came close in their first game against an FCS foe, losing 32-31 at Howard on Sept. 7.

“We’ve made some really good strides,” said coach Ryan Riemedio, in his third season at the helm. “I think the guys, just after playing our first Division I game against Howard and going to (current No. 2) Montana State and playing Robert Morris … they understand the speed of the game is a little bit different.

“We’ve gone through our bumps and bruises, but we’ve been in every game we’ve played so far at certain points. I think the biggest thing for us … we’ve got to play four full quarters and play complementary football. I think that’s where the bigger frustrations are coming from.”

As for King, he is making more contributions than at any time during his Mercyhurst tenure. Entering Saturday’s game, he had 16 total tackles, with his 3¹⁄₂ tackles for loss ranking fourth on the team. He also registered his first career sack, has two quarterback hurries and used his 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame to swat a pass at the line of scrimmage.

His best game was against Howard, when he had three solo stops as well as both QB hurries and the pass breakup. His first sack came Oct. 12 against Central Connecticut State, when he had a personal-best five total tackles (four solo).

A couple of factors have helped King elevate his game just in time for the move to Division I:

• He is healthy after coming off ACL reconstruction late in his sophomore season. He said he wasn’t back to full strength for his junior season but now feels the best he has felt at any time in his college career.

• He is comfortable in a new position. He spent his first couple of seasons as an outside linebacker — Riemedio said the staff even considered using King at tight end — but now is a bona fide, hand-in-the-dirt defensive end.

“I truly believe when we were recruiting Jonas, we got him as a steal,” said Riemedio, who was still the Lakers’ defensive coordinator during King’s recruitment. “You just talk about a body type, he has a Division I body type.

“… Everyone’s dream is to play Division I … and I just told (the players), now we’re here, what are you going to do about it? He is one of the many guys on the team that took that very seriously and took their approach in the summer to change some of the little things that become bigger down the road.”

King said he is more comfortable at defensive line than at linebacker. Much of that has to do with his desire to play a physical game.

“That’s kind of one of the things I have been able to keep up no matter where I’m at,” King said. “Just try to beat the guy in front of me up as much as possible. Especially playing D-line now at the college level, I think that’s just something that’s helped me.

“I like getting down in the trenches and getting physical with other guys.”

Of course, playing an FCS schedule means facing opposing offensive linemen who are a little bigger and stronger than what he had been used to seeing in the PSAC. King, though, said the PSAC prepared him well for the level of competition he would face in Division I.

King has one more year of eligibility, so, Riemedio said, he figures to be one of the cornerstones of the defense next season. And, after a year of FCS competition, the Lakers will have higher expectations for Year 2 in Division I.

Despite the team’s growing pains this fall, King said he believes the Lakers have performed better than what their record shows.

“We’ve definitely had our highs and lows,” he said. “… We’ve had a lot of games this year that we made very close, if not could have won, and I think that’s definitely something people need to keep in consideration. We are good enough to do this and not let some of the bumps in the road take over.”

King, meanwhile, is looking forward to a big finish to his career. Now firmly established as one of the Lakers’ key defensive players, he is intent on taking his game to another level.

And, perhaps, overtaking Lily as the best athlete in the family.

“Just making sure I continue to do what I did this summer and just kind of refine all the basics,” King said. “And definitely in terms of football knowledge, between X’s and O’s, be better at analyzing film. That’s something I’ve always struggled with.

“And then just keep trying to become a better version of myself. I feel like this year I made a big jump.”