Iowa City, IA (U-WIRE) -- In theory, the young Iowa defensive line works best as a rotation. In theory, the system provides fresh legs and a crutch for inexperience. In theory, the revolving door is necessary to mask a lack of proven athletes.

Theory doesn't account for Mitch King.

King, just a redshirt freshman, was a one-man wrecking crew last weekend in the Hawks' 45-21 win over Northern Iowa. Excluding all-universe linebackers Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge, King led Iowa with nine tackles against the Panthers, including three for loss. Fellow lineman Kenny Iwebema says King is set apart by one valuable attribute.

"His quickness," Iwebema said. "Everybody knows it - he's barely like what, 240, 250? He's the quickest d-lineman we got, hands down. And at the same time, he can be physical when he needs to be."

The statistics back Iwebema up. After three games, the 6-3, 250-pound King leads the squad with six tackles for loss and one forced fumble. The defensive tackle owns zero starts but 16 tackles - third best on the team and best among all linemen. In contrast, the starting tackles, Matt Kroul and Alex Willcox, have just seven stops between them.

What makes King's contribution even more surprising is that he's still learning a new position. The former all-state linebacker moved to the defensive line midway through spring, and he admitted the switch wasn't easy.

"It's like comparing apples and oranges," he said after the win, his knuckles still scraped and bloodied. "There are totally different techniques, totally different reads. My biggest weakness is my pads come up a lot. I don't stay low every play, which hurts me quite a bit. I need to start reading my keys a little better - I'm slow on that I think.

"I still have a lot to work on."

That may be, but the work he's already put in hasn't gone unnoticed. Coach Kirk Ferentz said the position switch put the Burlington native a little behind on the learning curve, but he was pleased with King's progress.

"He's learning at every opportunity out there, not only in games but in practice," Ferentz said. "Mitch is a tough, high-energy player, and he really has a good future on that defensive line. We want to get those guys on the field, and the only way they're going to learn is playing in games."

Which is something King did with style against the Panthers. Several times in the first half, he sliced through UNI's blocking schemes, cutting down tailbacks and blowing up running lanes. He even broke up a pass in the third quarter. Center Brian Ferentz says it's something to get used to.

"I don't think he has any ceiling," he said. "He's going to get bigger, and stronger, and faster, and as time goes on for him - thankfully, I'll be gone. I won't have to deal with him in practice anymore. But I think he's just going to keep improving."

(C) 2004 The Daily Iowan via U-WIRE