Penn State junior cornerback Justin King is considering skipping his senior year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft in April.

His stepfather, Gateway High School football coach Terry Smith, said yesterday that King has sent his paperwork to the NFL advisory committee to find out where he could be drafted.

King, who graduated from Gateway, will earn his bachelor's degree in letters, arts and sciences from Penn State Dec. 22, just 35 months after enrolling. He will play in the Alamo Bowl a week later against Texas A&M.

Many figure the postseason game will be King's final one in a Penn State uniform.

"I'd say it's 50-50 right now," said Smith, a receiver who played for coach Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions from 1988-91. "Justin's got to decide if he wants to come back and pursue a master's degree for free in 2008, or whether he wants to get paid and test the waters of the NFL."

Smith said he expects King to make his final decision shortly after the Alamo Bowl. The deadline for underclassmen to file for the NFL draft is Jan. 15.

"When Justin comes home for a day or two after the bowl game, his mom [Alison] and I are going to sit down with him and kind of plot his course in life," Smith said.

"Still, this decision of whether to stay or go is strictly Justin's. He has to figure out what he wants to do. The beauty of it is that he will have something few other juniors do -- he will have his degree -- and I'm sure that will weigh in his decision."

The Sporting News rated King, 6 feet, 186 pounds, the best cover corner in the Big Ten Conference last season. NFLDraftScout.com ranked him the top junior cornerback in the country earlier this season.

But after struggling down the stretch, King has slipped to No. 8 in the latest rankings. He also has fallen out of the first round.

"We have him ranked as a second-rounder because he obviously gave up some big plays the second half of the season," said Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com. "But if you watch him on film, he has all the natural tools that get people excited.

"If he comes out, and I think there's a good chance he will, he could wow some people with his speed and workout at the NFL scouting combine and inch has way back up into the first round. He's a super talent."

King was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the media and coaches this season. He is tied for sixth on the team in tackles with 44. He has two interceptions.

NFLDraftScout.com ranks senior middle linebacker Dan Connor as a first-round NFL draft pick. Senior quarterback Anthony Morelli from Penn Hills High School is targeted as a "sixth- or seventh-round" selection. Senior Rodney Kinlaw is the 26th-ranked running back, not projected to be picked.

NOTE -- Kermit Buggs, a member of the Penn State football staff since 2003, has been named the Nittany Lions' safeties coach. He replaces Brian Norwood, who was hired as defensive coordinator at Baylor earlier this week. Buggs is in his fifth season with the Lions and has served as coordinator of player personnel the past two years. From 2003-05, he was a graduate assistant coach.