Tag: Kyle Kalis

2015 All-Big Ten Offensive Team

The 2015 All-Big Ten Offense was released on Tuesday night (LINK). Junior tight end Jake Butt was named Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year. Butt has 48 catches (#2 on the team), 620 yards (#3), and 3 touchdowns (#3). Among tight ends in the Big Ten, he was ahead of Iowa’s Henry Krieger Cole by 19 catches and Minnesota’s Brandon Lingen by 225 yards, though a couple tight ends had more touchdown catches.

Hit the jump for the Coaches and Media teams.

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2015 Season Countdown: #10 Kyle Kalis

Kyle Kalis (#67)

Name: Kyle Kalis
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 292 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #67
Last year: I ranked Kalis #9 and said he would be the starting right guard. He started seven games at right guard.

For the past couple years, we have been waiting for Kalis to break out as a player. A 5-star in high school, he redshirted as a freshman and has spent the last couple seasons playing part-time as Michigan has struggled on the offensive line. Kalis has had lingering back issues during that stretch, the tail end of which caused him to miss out on some playing time last year. He eventually recovered enough to wrench the starting right guard job away from Erik Magnuson approximately halfway through the season. Overall, the offensive line improved, as the team gained 3.28 yards/carry in 2013 and 4.60 yards/carry in 2014. Advanced stats are unavailable for 2013, but an abysmal season turned into a mediocre #50 in Adjusted Line Yards for 2014, as well as being #72 in Adjusted Sack Rate.  It was better, but not great. For a few years, I had been pointing to the 2014 season as the year when Michigan really got back to having a good offensive line, but it was a little hit-and-miss, resulting in those middle-of-the-pack numbers.

Kalis is back to right guard most of the time, although he has also reportedly been practicing left guard occasionally. One of the guard jobs is his to lose. He is the second-most experienced lineman on the team (16 starts), behind only fifth year senior Graham Glasgow (24 starts). A large impediment for Michigan’s line the past couple years was offensive line coach Darrell Funk, who I think struggled mightily to teach players the nuances of the game. Imported offensive coordinator/line coach Tim Drevno is a step (or two or three) up from Funk, and he had a pretty decent running game at USC last year with three true freshmen starting on the line. Drevno should be able to polish up Kalis, who has a nasty streak and could be a mauler despite dropping six pounds (298 lbs. to 292) since last year.

Prediction: Starting right guard; Big Ten honorable mention

Video: Kyle Kalis, Chase Winovich talk football

Phil Steele’s 2015 Pre-season All-Big Ten team

Is Joe Bolden really Michigan’s best player?

Phil Steele released his pre-season All-Big Ten teams (LINK). Since these are almost all potential opponents this season, instead I’ll highlight guys whom Michigan recruited out of high school. Ohio State leads the way with 15 players on the four teams. Michigan State is second with 13. Rather than listing all of the teams ahead of Michigan, I’ll just say that Michigan’s six players on the list are only ahead of Illinois, Northwestern, and Purdue.

FIRST TEAM
Corey Clement – RB – Wisconsin
Leonte Carroo – WR – Rutgers
Taylor Decker – OT – Ohio State
Joey Bosa – DE – Ohio State
Anthony Zettel – DE – Penn State
Adolphus Washington – DT – Ohio State
Vince Biegel – LB – Wisconsin

SECOND TEAM
Nick Vannett – TE – Ohio State
Dan Voltz – C – Wisconsin
Darius Hamilton – DE – Rutgers
Ed Davis – LB – Michigan State
Joe Bolden – LB – Michigan
Mike Caputo – DB – Wisconsin

THIRD TEAM
Robert Kugler – C – Purdue*
Kyle Kalis – OL – Michigan
Chris Muller – OL – Rutgers
Vincent Valentine – DT – Rutgers
Desmond Morgan – LB – Michigan
Eli Apple – DB – Ohio State

FOURTH TEAM
Amara Darboh – WR – Michigan
Billy Price – C – Ohio State
Malik McDowell – DT – Michigan State
Lawrence Thomas – DT – Michigan State
Yannick Ngakoue – DE – Maryland
David Santos – LB – Nebraska
Jabrill Peppers – DB – Michigan
Blake O’Neill – P – Michigan

*Was not recruited by Michigan, but is the brother of Michigan center Patrick Kugler

2014 Season Countdown: #9 Kyle Kalis

Kyle Kalis

Name: Kyle Kalis
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 298 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #67
Last year: I ranked Kalis #29 and said he would start at right guard. He started eight games at right guard.

Kalis disappointed a lot of Michigan fans in 2013 with his unspectacular play. Despite being a redshirt freshman, a lot of the frustration for Michigan’s failure to run the ball came down on Kalis. He would probably admit that he had a subpar season, but that could apply to the whole offensive line; it was a systemic failure that started with the offensive coordinator and trickled on down. Not only were the hogs up front not getting any push, but there were communication failures that allowed defenders to slice through the line at will. After the season, Kalis revealed that he had been hampered by an ankle injury and a back injury, which saw him get benched for a short mid-season stretch. He still managed to be named to the ESPN Freshman All-Big Ten team.

Unfortunately, the back issue still appears to be lingering. Kalis has missed several practices recently, including last Saturday night’s open scrimmage. Head coach Brady Hoke stated strongly to the affirmative that Kalis would be starting if he were healthy. Considering the lineup sent out there on Saturday, my guess is that Graham Glasgow would slide back to center, Jack Miller would return to the bench, and Kalis would enter at right guard. Back injuries are notoriously tricky and can persist for long stretches of time, so it will be interesting to see how long this lasts for Kalis. I was frustrated by the line’s play in 2013, but that does not dampen my hopes that Kalis can be a good college player moving forward.

Prediction: Starting right guard when healthy