Jordan King's excitement level grows as he talks about the details and intricacies of running pass routes.

"I'm just in love with the wide receiver position," Cal's fourth-year wide receiver said. "I like seeing different techniques, watching how guys run their routes and all the technical details of it. Learning those things and paying attention to those types of details help make me better."

King has always loved everything about football as far back as he can remember.

"It's always been football, football and more football, in a good way," King said.

There's actually much more to King as proven by his bachelor's degree from Cal and his status as a graduate student in the school's cultural studies and sport program in education. But football is certainly important.
"I might be known to watch football right up until class starts and as soon as it's over," King said with a smile. "Being able to play football at this level and get a world-class education at Cal has been literally perfect."

King grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, where his father, Cliff, is the Director of Sports Marketing for the Jordan brand at Nike. Jordan's dad named him after arguably the best basketball player to ever walk the planet and had clients like Larry Fitzgerald and Ndamukong Suh – both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-2010s Team.

"My dad is around a lot of professional athletes in his job, so I had the opportunity to meet a lot of those guys and be around them," King said. "It was very helpful because they gave me a lot of great advice that I have tried to implement into my own life and career."

King may have had the opportunity to learn from top NFL players at a young age, but they are far from the only ones from which he has learned. In fact, King prides himself on being an equal-opportunity listener and learner with a long line of coaches, teammates, family and friends throughout the years offering advice.

"I just take the emotions out of what people say and try to get at the substance," King said. "There is so much information that you can get from other people. It's not like you have to take everything, but there is always something you can take and learn just by hearing what other people have to say and thinking critically about it."

One of his newest teachers is Kyle Cefalo, who became Cal's wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator last December.

"Jordan has been terrific," Cefalo said. "You can really see him applying the things we're trying to instill. His confidence has grown. He believes in himself and he believes in his ability to do whatever it takes to help the team."

King's love of the game has also been obvious to Cefalo.

"When he's not playing football, he's usually watching football," Cefalo said. "He obviously loves watching our opponent, but he also watches a lot of NFL film and different wide receivers. He's always in the building and you can just tell he's got a true passion for football."

King's passion for football is obvious, and it is that love for the game combined with his work ethic that has got him to where he is today.

King started his Cal career as a walk-on in 2022, did not catch his first collegiate pass until 2024, and did not become a scholarship player until last spring.

"It's crazy to think about sometimes," King said.

This year, his hard work is paying dividends. King has been one of the Golden Bears' top pass catchers over the first half of the regular season with 11 receptions for 110 yards and two touchdown catches. In the last two games, he has made seven of those grabs for 80 yards and one touchdown while showing his versatility to line up as either an inside or outside receiver.

Fellow former walk-on Trond Grizzell – who now has career totals of 90 receptions, nearly 1500 yards receiving and seven touchdown catches after not catching a pass in his first two seasons – is not surprised by King's emergence.

"Watch him practice every day," Grizzell said. "He just loves everything about football – playing, watching, learning. You knew at some point he was going to get his chance."

Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox, who coined King's nickname "The Mailman" during the Bears' most recent training camp this past August despite his total of just four career catches at the time, also knew King would thrive when he got his opportunity.

"We call Jordan 'The Mailman' because he always delivers," Wilcox said. "He is such a student of the game, he really loves football, and I love his work ethic and attention to detail. Jordan always wants to know what he can do to be better. He deserves the success he has had, and there is a lot more out there for him if he continues to work hard and study football the way he does, which I am very confident he will do."