When Justin King transferred to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last spring, he found a new home.
Two of them, actually.
King, who spent three football seasons at the University of Tennessee, has fully made the transition to defensive tackle while becoming a team leader entering his fifth and final college season. While in Knoxville, he spent time playing quarterback (in wildcat packages), fullback and linebacker while trying to do whatever it took to earn playing time.
After spending a lot of time trying to make yet another move - to the interior defensive line - after arriving in Chattanooga, King played in the last nine games of the season and started the final four after an injury to four-year starter Josh Freeman. King finished with 12 tackles, a sack, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
He did that while admittedly feeling "uncomfortable" at times as a new guy for the Mocs, but King said now he feels at home at UTC - both on the field and off.
"It's a blessing to be here," he said Friday. "I'm grateful that Coach (Russ) Huesman gave me the opportunity to come back and play my last year here. It's great to be in the weight room or on the field with those guys grinding.
"The D-line is doing a great job this spring, getting better, learning Coach (Carey) Bailey's system. You can see we're all buying in, and that's only going to carry over to the field during the season, because at the end of the day we're here to win ballgames, and that's what we're going to try to do."
King has definitely caught the eyes of coaches, who witnessed his quick change from someone feeling his way into a new school, a new atmosphere and a new scheme to a fifth-year senior who wants to contribute to a championship-caliber team.
"I like his leadership," Huesman asid. "He's really gotten better in all aspects. He doesn't take things for granted anymore, and he understands he's got to work for everything he gets. He's really done a good job, even shown some leadership out here in what is really his first full year with them.
"I'm awful proud of the strides he's made."
King said the continual moving around with the Volunteers was "tough." Not having one position to focus on led to early-morning meetings with one position group, then an afternoon meeting with another.
He settled in on defense during the 2014 season - his last in Knoxville - but when he transferred to UTC, he made yet another adjustment to tackle, a position he'd never played. Once again, he had to figure things out, but he was starting to make strides toward the end of the year.
Because of his versatility, he flirted with playing fullback for the Mocs, although he hasn't been at the position during a UTC game.
"It's just a blessing to finally be able to hone into one specific position and to learn that one," he said. "You don't have a lot of stress to learn so many different things, it's just about honing in and learning how to be the best defensive tackle in the country, which is what we all strive for in the (position) room.
"We push each other, we grind for each other, because at the end of the day, we're here to win ballgames. We all hold each other accountable and make sure you do your role, because if we do our role as a defensive unit, we'll be successful."
It's unlikely there will be another position change for King at UTC, which is perfectly all right with him.
That gives him more time to focus on his goals, which are much more team-oriented than individual-based.
"I really feel at home here," he said. "Taylor (Reynolds), D.J. (Prather), KD (Keionta Davis), those guys brought me in. Last year I didn't know anybody, but now I feel at home.
"Since I've been playing ball at a young age, my dad said whatever I need to do to help the team win, to put my head down, attack, and I'm going to do that. Whatever I've got to do to help us win ballgames and get to the national championship is what I'm going to do."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.