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GREENSBORO — Once measured in legal motions and courtroom appeals, the lengths to which Gabe King will go to finish his high school football career can now be measured in miles — 2,904 to be exact.

That’s how far it is from Northern Guilford High, King’s old school, to South Eugene (Ore.) High, where King spent Monday getting to know his fellow classmates and, later in the day, practicing with his new teammates.

King did not return phone calls Monday, and his mother Patricia Hughes would only say that King “is living somewhere far from Guilford County so he can enjoy his senior year.”

South Eugene athletics director Dave Hancock confirmed Monday that King enrolled in the school Friday afternoon.

“He seems like a nice young man,” said Hancock. “He and his family seem like they want to put a lot of things behind them and enjoy a quiet last year of high school.”

Perhaps, but King’s arrival at South Eugene — his third school in six months — has been anything but quiet. At South Eugene’s football game on Friday, King, one of the nation’s most recruited defensive players, stood on the sidelines wearing a South Eugene No. 9 football jersey. In the second half, fans at the game began serenading King: “We want Gabe! We want Gabe!”

They’ll have to wait a little longer. King must first practice nine days with the Axemen before the Oregon School Activities League allows him to suit up for a game.

It’s not just South Eugene fans piqued by King’s cross-country move. King is being recruited by more than a dozen universities and has pared his choices to Cal, Oregon and Alabama, with Cal being the top choice. South Eugene High is seven blocks from Oregon’s campus, fueling speculation that King’s allegiances might have abruptly changed.

Internet sites from Berkley to Tuscaloosa to Chapel Hill were working overtime Monday about King’s curious move. A source close to the family said Monday night King remains committed to California.

Sources in Oregon said King moved to Eugene after Oak Ridge Academy athletic director Otis Yelverton — a former assistant coach at Page, Grimsley and, until this year, Northern — recommended to King and his family that they move to Eugene. Yelverton’s cousin, former Carolina Panther and Dudley grad Dino Philyaw, played at Oregon and still lives in Eugene.

Yelverton declined to comment.

King’s parents spent the weekend in Eugene with their son before returning to Greensboro on Sunday. Even though King is 18 and legally an adult, the Oregon School Activities Association does not recognize legal guardianship to play sports. Athletes who transfer during the season can play for their new school if the family moves and vacates their previous residence, according to a spokesman.

Hancock said Monday night he is waiting to hear from Kings’ parents on whether they would move to Oregon.

“They need to come to a decision on this really soon,” he said.

King’s father, Leon Hughes, said his wife, Patricia Hughes, would be moving to Oregon in the near future. Hughes declined to say where or with whom King is living this week.

King spent Monday working out with his new team. It’s been nearly 11 months since he last played in a sanctioned football game. He said last week he was hoping to find a school to play this year so he could play in the Army All-American Bowl. Athletes can compete in the game, which invites the nation’s top high school seniors, only if they played football their senior year.

South Eugene coach Travis Johnson said he had never heard of King until word began to spread last week that King was considering moving to Oregon.

“He’s a very likeable kid, a very honest kid,” said Johnson. “I don’t like him because he’s apparently a very talented football player, I like him because he seems like he wants to do the right thing with his life. Whatever happened to him in North Carolina he seems like he wants to put it behind him and move on.”

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com