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Hoke's Mad Magicians: How does it feel being part of the #1 Recruiting Class in the country?
Kyle: I'm really excited about it and it's a great honor. We had that crazy day back in February where 5 of us committed at one time it was a pretty cool thing to see. If my phone had died for a day or two I easily could have missed out and not have the chance to play for Michigan. With this class I easily see us playing for a National championship by my Junior year, Rose Bowl all of that.
HMM: Michigan has recruited some monster offensive linemen in 2012 and 2013, yourself being one of them, how excited are you are about that?
Kyle: I love it, the coaches told me that they are going back to the pro style offense when I get there so it's going to be fun to get in the trenches, get dirty and compete. Bringing guys in like Henry Poggi and Maurice Hurst is going to make for some great competition in practice especially guys like Taco who have great speed off the edge. I'm looking forward to it.
HMM: Alright I have to ask, what do you think about Logan Tuley-Tillman and the whole "burning the letter" situation?
Kyle: Ya know, he's a kid and sure maybe it was a little unneccesary or inappropriate, but at the end of the day we are just kids. Then you have a 43 year old Ohio State fan sending him and his mother death threats, it's just sickening. I think the Ohio State recruiting coordinators are somewhat to blame, why keep sending him letters? I also think the media blew it way out of proportion, sure it was unneccesary but it was on USA Today. My tweet also I think got taken out of context I said if they want to threaten Logan on the way to my house they better bring a gun and by no means was I saying I'm going to shoot anyone. I was just defending Logan and they had better bring one with them when they stop by my house because that's just the type of guy I am. Logan is my brother and I'd put my life on the line for him just like I know he would for me. I understand being passionate about your program but that's just outta line, at the end of the day we are just 16-17 year old kids and God love em for giving us all the media attention.
HMM: Recruiting can be a pretty crazy process, are you glad to be committed and just have the process overwith?
Kyle: It's definitely nice to be overwith. I'll be honest, I kind of had reservations at first about committing so early, but at the end of the day UofM is my home. I have no ill will towards MSU, it's a great program and they have great coaches. I built a great relationship with the staff over there and to me they're the spitting image of Coach Hoke and the staff at Michigan. They really care about you as a person and want to make sure you develop into a great man and that you succeed in life after football. That's why I had Michigan, MSU, and Stanford in my top 3 because I felt all of those programs had a you as person first feel. They aren't all about collecting paychecks they genuinely care about you. I was looking for a home, and Michigan was definitely it. I've been all over the country checking out different schools but when you know you know so why not pull the trigger and commit. I tried making a highlight film using that Huddle program, needless to say it wasn't a success. Took me over 3 hours to make 1:31 of film. I just said to heck with it haha.
HMM: With the recent blow up of Twitter and social media, how big of an advantage do you think all of the Team 134 commits have when they set foot on campus given the bond that you have all built with each other?
Kyle: Absolutely a big advantage. We're all very close and that's just going to transition into the football field. As for me, I'm enrolling early so I will get a jump on things. To tell you the truth, I wish I knew more of the 2012 freshmen because I am going to be getting there early. I do know the Glasgow brothers because I played against them in high school, I also talk to Taylor Lewan and Kenny Demens every now and then so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm just really excited and looking forward to it.
HMM: Are you doing any recruiting yourself, there's still a few more spots open in your class?
Kyle: To be honest, not a whole lot, I was on Ty Isaac pretty hard for a long time and then he chose to attend USC. I was like, oh man, did I say something wrong haha. But no good on him and I wish him the best of luck, hopefully he sees the light and decomits haha. I've known Henry for a while also we've camped quite often so I feel like I helped out a little bit with him. He kept it pretty quiet, even the day that he committed early that morning I asked him if he was going to commit and he said, oh I don't know man, it's too soon. Then the coaches told me so I had to call him and give him a hard time about it haha. I've also been on Laquon Treadwell pretty hard. I talk to him a lot and his mom seemed to be impressed with what I knew about Michigan. They are ranked 16th in the world as a university, Notre Dame is 131st I think which is remarkable to me. Mrs. Treadwell was very impressed with that. A lot of people don't know about this program Michigan has called M Pact. It's basically where UofM alums come back and interview football players and other student athletes helping you get set up with a job and opportunities for life after sports if you don't go pro. Again it shows that Michigan really cares about you as a person and that was one of the major factors in me choosing them. I also think that there's only going to be 2 or 3 more kids taken in this class, WR, RB, DB.
HMM: Alright let's hear something about you that the fans may not know, non-football related?
Kyle: Oh jeez, nothing too flashy about me I'm just your typical smashmouth offensive lineman. I love the outdoors, hunting and fishing. Going to movies with friends, stuff like that.
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I've gotta tell you, I was blown away with Kyle. He's definitely mature beyond his years and shows just what type of kids Coach Hoke is bringing in to Ann Arbor. He's respectful, kind, and you can tell that he cares about his teammates and is a hard worker. I had told him I was in the Navy and he took an immediate interest in that, asking me questions about it, as his cousin is in the Navy over in Afghanistan right now. Great person and easy to talk to. He also dropped a little hint at how the coaches are looking to finish the class up. Now, obviously he isn't Coach Hoke, but him saying WR, RB, DB sounds about right haha. It will be interesting to see how things finish up. Kyle had said he'd love to do another interview with me again, so I will most definitely be catching back up with him sometime during his senior season to see how things are going. This kid is a great fit for Michigan and we should all be thankful that he is part of this amazing class.
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