Recapping 2012 Commit Kyle Kalis

Moving right along with the offensive line, we have Kyle Kalis.  Kyle created quite the storm when he pledged his allegiance to Michigan as he was a verbal to Ohio State and Jim Tressel.  However, he opened his recruitment after Tressel's scandal. Kyle decided to make the trip to Ann Arbor and he pulled the trigger.  Kyle is a monster and was definitely a huge pick up for the 2012 class.  He's one of the top linemen in the country and definitely has the size and the ability to come in and play right away as a freshman.  The four linemen commits that Michigan got in 2012 are all good, but Kyle is definitely the best in my opinion.  Kyle is also another one of those great Ohio players that Michigan has poached and is from Lakewood, Ohio. He's one of my favorite recruits because he has said that he called Coach Hoke from the 50 yard line in the Big House and pledged his commitment to Michigan.  He really spurned a lot of Ohio people with his switch and brings a lot of talent to Michigan.

Like I said, Kyle is definitely the most college ready offensive lineman in the 2012 class and he could definitely see some immediate playing time.  At 6'5" and over 300 lbs, he already has the body to do so and his skills are ridiculous.  I've seen comparisons to Joe Thomas and we all know how good he turned out to be.  Kalis has a great chance to get on the field as a guard next season and it will be interesting to see if or when he wins a starting position.  The biggest parts of his game are his tremendous size, run blocking, footwork, and his mean streak.  In this way, he's pretty similar to Lewan.  Taylor Lewan struggled with extreme aggression issues in his younger years at Michigan and it will definitely be interesting to see whether Kalis will take a similar trend.  Hopefully not.  Either way, even if he does commit a few pointless penalties, his positives probably strongly outweigh his negatives, which is good news for Michigan.
Here are the basis stats for Kalis:

	ESPN	Rivals	Scout	247Sports
Height	6’5”	6’5”	6’5”	6’5”
Weight	305 lbs	305 lbs	305 lbs	300 lbs
Position	OG	OT	OT	OG
Rating	4*	5*	5*	4*
Position Rank	#10	#4	#6	#6
National Rank	#132	#22	N/A	#61

So as you can see a bit of mixed reviews on Kalis.  He's rated at a 5* on the sites that he's listed as an Offensive Tackle.  But as a Offensive Guard he's listed as a 4*.  In my personal opinion, I think Rivals and Scout are both the better of the two sites anways when it comes to evaluating players, so those 5* ratings might mean more.  What's even more exciting is that many of the negative comments were about Kalis playing the guard position.  For instance, Scout talked about how his arms weren't long enough.  Since he's being recruited at guard this "arm length" issue shouldn't be too evident.  Guys can line up far to the outside if they are speed rushers, etc. so the Guard position should fit Kyle a lot better.  He's very physical and is good at sustaining his blocks and that's something you need on the inside.  Add in his impressive size and you have one heck of an offensive lineman.

Freshman impact could be huge for Kyle.  He definitely has the ability to come in and play right away. It just depends on where he fits in on the depth chart and how well he does in camp.  Don't be surprised if you see him taking the field Week 1 against Alabama. However, like I said, a lot of that will depend on fall camp because he should be in a hotly contested race for that guard spot.

Even if Kyle doesn't play right away, expect to see him get some playing time as a freshman.  If he's not the starter, he should be the first one off the bench and with the chance for injury (yes, fingers crossed nothing happens) they will no doubt look to him to fill the spot.  Regardless, he should be one of the best recruits in this class and one of the better ones in the future.  He has the chance to not only be a solid player for the next few years, but to become a legend for Michigan's offense line such as Jeff Backus, Steve Hutchinson, Jake Long, and David Molk.  The sky is endless for Kalis.

Here is his highlight video: