STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Kalen King and Kobe King were seated next to each other in Holuba Hall when the conversation turned to the college football program 45 minutes from their hometown of Detroit.

“Michigan?” the twins said in unison as they smiled.

“Oh. We watched them all the time,” said Kobe, Penn State’s starting middle linebacker.

“Michigan was probably the one we visited most out of any school — not even close,” added Kalen, a starting cornerback for the Nittany Lions.

Of course it was. Like most impressionable kids in the Wolverines’ orbit, the King twins didn’t merely follow Michigan football; when the brothers jogged through their neighborhood at 6 a.m., they wanted to be like the stars who took the field in The Big House.

Kalen, a projected early-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, wore No. 2 from youth football through high school because of Michigan legend Charles Woodson. Their father, TaDarrell, made sure his sons knew about the Michigan glory days he followed as a fan.

“My dad used to always show me videos of when Woodson was at Michigan, when he was in the NFL,” Kalen said. “Charles Woodson made me love being a cornerback.”

Kobe, a minute older and forever the bigger twin, was always a linebacker. There’s something about getting everyone aligned and on the same page that’s always come naturally to him. Penn State has found that out this season as Kobe stepped into a starting role.

“I was in love with Devin Bush, one of their linebackers,” Kobe said. “I just liked the way he played. He looked good out there when he flashed around.”

Many of the Kings’ Cass Tech classmates went to Ann Arbor. But as college recruitments often go, the King twins fell in love with another school. Their parents never imagined they’d end up at Penn State. It was a place they knew little about until Saquon Barkley burst onto the college football scene.

“I could always see myself being there,” Kalen said of Michigan. “But when you grow older, I feel like you start to see things for what they really are, and you start to take other opportunities and see them for what they really are. … We wanted to see all the other possibilities because you never know.”

When No. 3 Michigan visits No. 10 Penn State for a top-10 showdown Saturday afternoon, the Kings will not only start against the program they once contemplated playing for but also have a chance to help reshape the narrative surrounding Penn State’s season.

A Nittany Lions upset could add some chaos to the College Football Playoff race and have fans of Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan eying the conference’s tiebreaking procedures. The Kings will play important roles, both with something to prove: Kalen as the highly regarded cornerback trying to bounce back from a tough game against Marvin Harrison Jr. in the loss to Ohio State, and Kobe as the middle linebacker trying to prevent a repeat of last year when Michigan overpowered Penn State with 418 rushing yards.

If Penn State is going to pull off an upset, there’s a good chance it will be because of the defense, which is up there with Michigan as one of the top units in the country. The Nittany Lions lead the nation in yards per play allowed and rank No. 2 against the run and No. 12 against the pass.

Moments on big stages like this, regardless of what jersey color they’re wearing, are what the twins dreamed of when they headed to the park with their dad as little kids. When Kalen and Kobe were 6, TaDarrell wanted to gauge just how interested they were in football. He asked if they wanted to be good or great at the sport.

In unison they gave the same answer.

“They wanted to be great, and from there I told them that there were going to be some sacrifices that were gonna have to be made,” TaDarrell said. “You guys might miss out on a lot of Chuck E. Cheese parties and all of that because you gotta put the work in. With great aspirations, you have to dedicate yourself.”

Around age 8, once they were old enough to be trusted to jog in the streets with TaDarrell, Kalen and Kobe would set off on 3-mile runs around the neighborhood early in the morning. Of course, there were mornings when they didn’t want to get out of bed, but TaDarrell would remind them that the early bird gets the worm. And nobody wants to go to work every day, right?

“Being each other’s first competitor, we can probably bring the best out of each other and the worst,” Kobe said.

Kalen would like to expound on that detail. He’s just 5 feet 11, 190 pounds. Kobe is 6-1, 242. The cornerback learned from the get-go that tackling his twin wouldn’t be easy.

“How would you like to learn to tackle by having to tackle him?” Kalen says. “My dad took us to the field one day, and we were hitting each other. You know the drill where you lay on your back and get up? We were doing that. He was running me over! Every time! … I got super mad and I was crying. The next rep? I got up and I tackled him. My dad was super happy. He was my first competitor. Before anybody else. It was him.”

Their mother, Felicia, was adamant they form their own identities, so she made sure they were in separate classes. They shared a room at home, but she didn’t want to put all the scheming they got into as kids onto a teacher. As they grew older, Kobe branched out into wrestling and Kalen played basketball. Still, together on the football field, they always seemed to know how to complement each other.

“It’s that twin connection they have,” Felicia said.

They still finish each other’s sentences and play off each other. If Kalen praises Kobe, Kobe is sure to hype up his brother, too. It’s just natural. They still share a living space, now in an apartment with wide receiver Kaden Saunders, who gets to mediate when the video games get tense.

“He’s the better roommate,” Kalen said, pointing at Kobe. “I’m a little irresponsible. I’ll be a little lazy, too, with that stuff.”

“I tend to like things done a certain way,” Kobe said.

Kobe King is fourth on the Nittany Lions with 30 tackles. (David Banks / USA Today)

There was a bit of internal panic among their parents as their recruitments panned out and Kalen was bought in on Penn State while Kobe nearly committed to Wisconsin. Their parents didn’t want to think about having to divide and conquer on fall weekends, but they would have done so if that’s how it unfolded. Instead, Penn State won over Kobe too, and Felicia has since mastered the art of supporting both kids with custom game day outfits, just like she’s always done.

Kalen’s No. 4 and Kobe’s No. 41 are equally represented, whether it’s on her sweatshirt, earrings or socks.

There’s also comfort in familiarity, something both recognize as they navigate college and college football together. Kobe will head into Kalen’s room if he wants to know what he’s thinking on a particular play. Kalen knows if they’re in a game and it’s so loud that he can’t hear the signal or misses it, Kobe will get him right.

“Just having him around, just being at the same school as my brother, that’s always going to center me,” Kalen said. “Whether we’re on the field at the same time or not, just him being here with me is enough. Imagine if we went to different schools. You’re living every day by yourself, away from somebody who you spent your whole life with. I feel like that would be a harder challenge.”

It’s a challenge that’s likely on the horizon, as Kalen remains a projected early-round draft pick who could leave early, while Kobe, who redshirted as a freshman, could continue on as an integral part of Penn State’s 2024 defense.

They laugh when the subject of being separated is broached. Kalen openly ponders how he’ll do living on his own without Kobe there to make sure the dishes are done and to keep him on course.

“We knew this was gonna happen,” Kalen said. “We’re not gonna live with each other for life!”

“I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be using FaceTime a lot,” TaDarrell said.

For now, there’s a season to finish, perhaps one last go-around as teammates and roommates. Fittingly, Penn State will end the regular season in Detroit at Ford Field against Michigan State. It’s just minutes from where the King twins’ football dreams started.

Their parents are already planning a tailgate for that game while still trying to wrap their heads around how they’ve arrived here.

“It goes by so fast,” Felicia said. “I blinked my eyes and they were graduating high school. Now, they’re in their third season in college. I’m like, ‘What just happened to my little babies that were just having fun and being kids?’”

(Top photos: G Fiume / Getty Images, Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)