TomVH: OL Kyle Kalis Offered Yesterday.

Submitted by TomVH on

Ohio State commit OL Kyle Kalis (6'5", 300 lbs) from St. Edward High School in Ohio was offered by Michigan yesterday. This is the second Ohio State commit (RB Bri'onte Dunn) to receive a Michigan offer. However, this one might be different. 

Michigan is also recruiting his St. Edward teammates TE Sam Grant, DT Greg Kuhar, and OL Tyler Orlosky who all have offers. Here's what Kyle had to say about the offer and the future.

I was offered by Michigan yesterday. I'm pretty much set on Ohio State, but my mind is still open at this point. I talked to Coach Funk yesterday and he said they would have offered me when I was 15 if they were the coaches here. He said they really want me, they really need me, and how excited they are to get to know me. They want me to come up to see Michigan and get the blue carpet treatment.

Kalis said he's pretty much set on Ohio State, but as the conversation went on he told me more about would could potentially transpire in the future, especially with his teammates. 

I might go up there with either Sam [Grant] or [Greg] Kuhar sometime. I think they like Michigan, and I know that [Tyler] Orlosky is definitely the most interested. Me and Orlosky are very close and we've always talked about playing together at the next level somewhere, so time will tell. I know Orlosky is a Michigan fan and excited to get up there to see what they're all about. I think I'll definitely give [Michigan] a chance to recruit me and I'll see where my teammates go.

Michigan has some work cut out for them if they'd like to land more than one St. Edward prospect. It sounds like Tyler Orlosky could be a big help with Michigan landing a few of his teammates, and they all happen to be at positions of need. I wouldn't get too excited about this yet, since Ohio State is very good at keeping kids committed, but it's definitely interesting to hear. We'll see what happens.

JustGoBlue

February 25th, 2011 at 12:27 PM ^

I didn't really like the offering of OSU committs, since we're probably not going to get any of them anyways.  But then, if you think about it, we're not really expected to flip any OSU committs, so if we don't, no big deal.  But if we do, it's a pretty decent chink in the armor for OSU, Hoke probably gets some more pretty good PR and, most importantly, we probably get a really good player.  Also, even just offering these kids probably helps us with future classes in Ohio.  Not to mention, I really dig the mentality of fighting OSU for evenrything, even their committed recruits and not backing down just because they're committed. 

I'm probably overanalyzing this way too much, but it's the offseason and the kool-aid is always most plentiful around now.

Mud

February 25th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^

I agree, I like Hoke's aggresiveness with OSU. But like anything else success is measured by results. If Hoke spends alot  of time on OSU commits and cannot turn them, then he has burned up alot of time that may have given him better results elsewhere. Again, I like his tenacity and I hope it works but it is a bit of a gamble.

2014

February 25th, 2011 at 3:24 PM ^

The flip side is, he's making Tressel work to keep his kids when it's usually just a given they'll stay. Might keep his hands out of other pockets we're interested in. Should be interesting to see how it plays out this year...

JimLahey

February 25th, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^

I love it, the Hokester is showing those shidiots that he's not afraid to go after their top guys. He may not get them right away, but he's comin for them, and eventually he'll break through.

BigCat14

February 25th, 2011 at 12:58 PM ^

Let master Yoda (al bogess) teach you the ways of the Force.  sounds like a bunch of good prospects and heck while we are at it lets really begin this Beating osu in all phases of the game thing!  bring them home safely Hokester,

Go Blue!

The Claw

February 25th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^

I think we have a good shot at Kuhar.  His brother is a R/Jr Hwt. wrestler at Northwestern.  Greg himself will probably be a state champ for the mighty St. Ed's this year too at Hwt.  If his brother left the state, I'm pretty sure Kuhar would be open to leaving Ohio as well.  Just need to show him the love and maybe the new wrestling facilities.  It would be cool if he wrestled his brother in college!

FingerMustache

February 25th, 2011 at 1:32 PM ^

the bottom line is that if you don't try, uv got no shot at these kids. It really bothered me that in years past I'd look at the offer sheets of the top 100 kids and see OSU, Alabama, USC, Florida, etc on everyone, and Id see michigan on 5-10. Why not make a go at the top talent in the country. Even if we don't land them, all it will cost us is a phone call every few weeks.

Hoken's Heroes

February 25th, 2011 at 1:55 PM ^

A verbal is as worthless as Lindsay Lohan's word that she will return the jewelry she stole from you. The main point is that Hoke and his staff have put out the message that they are going to go after any and all football players who are needed to help bring Michigan back from the grave. It tells the players in Ohio that UM is serious and they want the best. If anything, it brings back a level of respect that seemed to disappear the last several years. And remember, relationships can change a kid's mind quickly. If a kid finds a better fit and better relationship with another coach or coaches (and players)at another school, he will go to that school. UM just has make that connection and hopefully they will with some of these kids who seem to be dead set with OSU or any other school.

True Blue Grit

February 25th, 2011 at 1:42 PM ^

It's going to take time to become competitive with OSU in central to southern Ohio.  Their staff has been in place for a while now and have a lot of relationships built up with the H.S. coaches down there.  Plus, they've been talking to many of these kids for awhile - much longer than our new staff has.  But that will change gradually.  Even if we can't turn a lot of these kids who've committed to OSU, our staff is building relationships with these coaches and becoming visible down there.  That WILL pay off.  There's way more talented players in Ohio than the Suckeyes can take.  We'll get our share. 

Don

February 25th, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^

Hoke has a one- or two-year window in which to turn the heads of top Ohio kids since he's a new commodity. If we lose the next two years, then the sales job will get much harder after that.