2017 East-West Shrine Game

Tag: Kyle Kalis


21Jan 2017
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2017 East-West Shrine Game

The 2017 East-West Shrine Game will be played on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. EST. The broadcast will be on NFL Network.

Here are some players to watch for Michigan fans:

EAST

De’Veon Smith – RB – Michigan
Erik Magnuson – OT – Michigan
Dan Skipper – OT – Arkansas
Kyle Kalis – OG – Michigan
Alex Kozan – OG – Auburn
Matt Godin – DT – Michigan
James Onwualu – LB – Notre Dame
Jalen Myrick – CB – Minnesota
Channing Stribling – CB – Michigan
Delano Hill – S – Michigan
Dymonte Thomas – S – Michigan
Damarious Travis – S – Minnesota

WEST

Gunner Kiel – QB – Cincinnati
Wes Lunt – QB – Illinois
Dare Ogunbowale – RB – Wisconsin
Austin Carr – WR – Northwestern
Hardy Nickerson, Jr. – LB – Illinois
Leon McQuay III – S – USC

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28Dec 2016
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Orange Bowl Preview: Michigan Offensive Line vs. Florida State Defensive Line

DeMarcus Walker (image via Jacksonville )

MICHIGAN

Starters:

  • LT: Fifth year senior Ben Braden (6’6″, 335 lbs.)
  • LG: Freshman Ben Bredeson (6’5″, 310 lbs.)
  • C: Junior Mason Cole (6’5″, 305 lbs.)
  • RG: Fifth year senior Kyle Kalis (6’5″, 305 lbs.)
  • RT: Fifth year senior Erik Magnuson (6’6″, 305 lbs.)

After suffering a mid-season injury at left tackle, the offensive line was in flux for a while after trying a few different combinations. The players above played the several games together, and they did . . . okay. Michigan is #49 in Adjusted Line Yards and #41 in Power Success Rate, but #114 in Passing Down Line Yards and #80 in Opportunity Rate. They fare better in the passing game (#27 in Adjusted Sack Rate, #26 in sacks allowed), but it’s just a mediocre line altogether. Magnuson was named the team’s lineman of the year by the coaching staff, and Kalis earned some post-season accolades, but that might be more of a lifetime achievement award. Most of the time, the linemen block the right people and stay engaged, but they don’t get a lot of push in the running game and lack some athleticism at the tackle spots.

Key backups: The Wolverines have found a couple solid blocking tight ends in Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. and Devin Asiasi, so the need isn’t there quite as often to play six or seven offensive linemen at a time. However, redshirt junior center/guard Patrick Kugler (6’5″, 303 lbs.) and redshirt sophomore tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty (6’6″, 311 lbs.) are the primary backups, and Bushell-Beatty has donned an eligible number at times to play a jumbo tight end position.

Hit the jump for a look at Florida State’s defensive line.

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1Sep 2016
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2016 Season Predictions

Jourdan Lewis 311x

Jourdan Lewis

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LEADING RUSHER
This one doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Michigan’s leading rusher from last season returns, and nothing that happened this off-season suggests that he will lose his mantle as Michigan’s top back. Unless a serious injury befalls him, it will be . . .
Prediction: De’Veon Smith, 870 yards

LEADING RECEIVER
Last year I had Amara Darboh with 650 yards, and I was a little low with that yardage total. He also lost out late in the season to Jehu Chesson, who became a big-time deep threat down the stretch. There’s talk that Darboh is the #1 receiver and has stepped up this fall, but I don’t expect him to change much from his redshirt junior season to his redshirt senior year.
Prediction: Jehu Chesson, 900 yards

Hit the jump for the rest of the season predictions.

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23Aug 2016
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2016 Season Countdown: #18 Kyle Kalis

Kyle Kalis, Willie Henry

Kyle Kalis (#67) with Willie Henry (image via MLive)




Name: Kyle Kalis
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 305 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #67
Last year: I ranked Kalis #9 and said he would be the starting right guard and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (LINK). He started all thirteen games.

Kalis was largely unchallenged for the right guard job going into 2015. I thought offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Tim Drevno would make a positive impact on him and the rest of the line, and that was true. It still wasn’t quite as big of a step forward as I had hoped. Kalis missed blocks at times, and I thought he was the weakest member of the starting unit. It’s more mental than physical with him, because he has the bulk, strength, and athleticism to get the job done. He just doesn’t seem to process the blocking schemes and defenses as well as I would expect for the son of an NFL lineman and a veteran player.

Now it’s year five for the touted recruit that was once committed to Ohio State. It seems like a long time ago that he was receiving hate mail from Buckeye fans for flipping to the Wolverines, and now we’re on the precipice of his final year at Michigan. He’s a multi-year starter and the most experienced player on the line with 29 career starts, but so far he hasn’t performed like the 5-star player he was coming out of Ohio. After some strange rumors from Rivals this off-season saying the coaches were looking to push Kalis out the door, he’s back to reprise his role as the starting right guard. Redshirt junior David Dawson has stepped in to play some right guard in August, and rumors have gone around that Kalis is dealing with back issues (which also hampered him early in his college career). They shouldn’t hold him out long-term, but that will be something to watch. Dawson has a fair amount of experience for a backup, and redshirt freshman Jon Runyan, Jr. looked pretty decent this spring. There are options if Kalis has to miss a chunk of time, but it would be a step backward for an offensive line that isn’t expected to be stellar in the first place.

Prediction: Starting right guard; Second Team All-Big Ten

26Feb 2016
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Spring Football Preview: Offensive Line

Mason Cole 934x

Mason Cole

Projected starters: LT Grant Newsome (So.), LG Ben Braden (RS Sr.), C Mason Cole (Jr.), RG Kyle Kalis (RS Sr.), RT Erik Magnuson (RS Sr.). Newsome was the sixth lineman by the end of the season. Jim Harbaugh said recently that Cole would start getting snaps at center as soon as spring practices starts, those two developments seem to be related. Braden, Kalis, and Magnuson all started at those respective positions for the entirety of 2015.

Hit the jump for the rest of the offensive line preview.

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