UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Justin King experienced some special moments while wearing a black-and-gold football uniform at Gateway High School.

The former Penn State cornerback would like nothing better than to slip on the same colors again, this time with his hometown Steelers.

"You never know what might happen," King said after his Pro Day workout yesterday at Holuba Hall. "We'll see. I've heard nothing but good things so far, but you never know in this game."

King, who is bypassing his senior-year eligibility to enter next month's NFL draft, ran the fastest 40-yard dash among defensive players at last month's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, clocking a 4.31.

He didn't run yesterday, opting instead to try and improve his scores in the three-cone drill, the two shuttles and the vertical jump.

King did so under the watchful eye of a handful of representatives from the Steelers, including coach Mike Tomlin and director of football operations Kevin Colbert.

The Steelers have the 23rd pick overall in the first round.

"When you get a guy like coach Tomlin and a general manager like Kevin Colbert right here, you want to show them that you're an anytime, anywhere kind of guy," said King's agent, Eric Metz, who also graduated from Gateway and Penn State. "... [Justin] looked pretty good in black and gold in high school. You never know. Maybe lightning will strike twice."

Colbert was impressed with King's effort.

"He worked out very well," Colbert said. "It was the same drill work he did at the Combine. He just did some different things this time and had a chance to improve."

Tim Lewis, secondary coach for the Carolina Panthers, said King has all the necessary tools to play in the NFL. The Panthers pick No. 13.

"I really like him," said Lewis, a former Pitt All-American cornerback and one-time Steelers defensive coordinator. "I think he's a very good player. In grading all of the corners in the draft, he's one of my higher-rated ones."

King, 5 feet 11, 192 pounds, also has been attracting interest from the San Diego Chargers, who have the 27th selection.

"Some people think he's a first-rounder," Metz said. "Some people think he's a high second-round guy. There's still 5 1/2 weeks to go and teams haven't even conducted their draft meetings yet.

"Nobody in the know thinks he had a down year. They thought he played very well. ... It's rare to find somebody who can do all those things he does -- run a 4.3, jump through the roof, understand what's happening on both sides of the ball and have that high degree of character."

King was one of 11 former Penn State players who worked out for NFL scouts yesterday.

Quarterback Anthony Morelli from Penn Hills didn't do well in the physical drills at the Combine. But he said he improved in all areas yesterday, running a 4.9.

"I'm happy," Morelli said. "I did a lot of things better. A lot of coaches were talking about my workout, saying, 'You have all the tools, just need to get in a training camp.'

"If I get into a camp, I know I can play with anybody."

Linebacker Dan Connor, whom many project as a first-round pick, had his first individual workout for the NFL scouts after leaving the Combine early because he had the flu.

Asked to rank his performance, Connor said: "On a scale of 1 to 10, it was like a 13."

Tailback Austin Scott, who was suspended the final eight games of the season and is due to stand trial next month on rape and sexual assault charges, also worked out.