Football is in Matt Kalil’s blood. His father played centre in college before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1982, then his big brother Ryan paved the way for him at USC, where he starred before being drafted in the second round in 2007.
Ryan Kalil is now regarded as one of the best interior lineman in the league, and he was recently rewarded with an enormous 6-year, $49 million contract. But many regard the younger Kalil as the best of the bunch.
Matt came to USC in 2008 as a five-star recruit out of powerhouse Servite High School in Anaheim. He red-shirted his first year on campus, but has since blown the competition away when it comes to technique and skills.
He has been protecting the blindside of Matt Barkley for three years now, and he has done an exceptional job at it. Some draft pundits believe that Barkley is not in fact as elite as he seems to be, but instead benefits greatly from having Kalil protect him and give him all sorts of time in the pocket.
Gone are the days when offensive lineman tip in around four bills. Unless you are Bryant McKinnie that is. Kalil is an athletic 6-foot-7 and tips in at 295-pounds. This mix of size, strength and athleticism allows him to be effective in both pass protection and run blocking.
When Barkley is dropping back to find Robert Woods downfield, Kalil is usually manhandling at least one oncoming blitzer. But when Lane Kiffin calls a run to one of his twenty seven running backs, you can find Kalil shedding his man and getting to the second level.
So how does Mr. Kalil stack up against the other offensive tackles in the class of 2012? For that matter, how does he stack up against the rest of the class as a whole?
Well he seems to have supplanted himself as the 1A option to the 1B that is Jonathan Martin, the man protecting Andrew Luck’s blindside. Funny how two of the top quarterback prospects in the nation happen to have the two top tackles protecting them. It will make for an interesting story line if/when either Barkley or Luck struggle making the jump to the pro’s, as their tackles might be better in college than they will be in the league.
Martin has better hands than Kalil is pass protection, and is able to shed oncoming blockers more effectively. But Kalil has more of that mean streak that you look for in offensive linemen. He would be described as more of a “mauler” by Mel Kiper and co.
Barring some sort of injury, it seems etched in stone that Kalil and Martin will both be taken in the top-10 in the 2012 draft, and possibly both in the top-5 depending upon who is making the picks.
For now it seems as if Kalil is a better all around player, and his bloodline nearly assures teams around the league that he will be successful at the next level.
