Coach Speak: Carey Davis on New Offensive Tackle Commit Kyle Long
Maryland landed their first offensive lineman in the 2021 class today after Hazelwood Central (MO) offensive tackle Kyle Long joined the class. The former Central Michigan commit fills a key need for Maryland as the 6-foot-6, 308-pound Missouri lineman becomes another piece to help the Terps bolster the offensive line. Maryland went into commitment watch beginning on Saturday when offensive line coach John Reagan officially offered Long, setting the stage for the Terps’ first flip of the cycle. Hazelwood Central head coach Carey Davis reiterated the same excitement that Long paraded following the news as Davis provided more insight into the Terps’ newest pledge.
“God blessed him with the height, size and ability,” Davis told All Terrapins. “We’re just fine tuning everything to prepare him to play at a high level. He’s a great kid, very intelligent, understands defensive schemes and things of that nature. Works his butt off, doesn’t miss a weight room session, doesn’t miss anything, shows up on time and ready to roll. It’s really going into his senior year, taking on a leadership role not just in his position room.” Long joins the class with the obvious size needed to make an impact at the Big Ten level, but according to his head coach, his intangibles and focus to his craft has helped make the development possible.
“He’s one of those kids that’s going to give everything he has. He doesn’t mind being coached hard. If he does it wrong, he probably won’t do it wrong again. If you tell him what to do, it clicks and he understands to do it the way he’s coached to do it. He loves finishing blocks and really getting that nasty mentality that you have to have in an offensive lineman and making sure his guy isn’t the one making the tackle.” The attention to the meniscal details to his craft have helped him take the next step and going into his senior year, Long will look to hone in on his technique to prepare him for Big Ten play.
“I think most offensive linemen, especially high school kids, can always get lower. I think if you go to any high school practice, you’ll always hear coaches saying ‘get lower,’ and him being 6’6”, it’s definitely extremely important for him to get lower because he’s already bigger than most of the kids he’ll go against, especially in high school. Just working on bent knees and really exciting through those drive blocks and finishing them even better than he has already.”
The Terps were one of two schools to officially offer Long over the weekend, joining Central Michigan, as schools reevaluate their recruiting boards despite minimal in-person recruiting this cycle. The abnormal cycle has sent ripple effects throughout college football as staffs adapt to scouting prospective prospects without seeing them in-person, but Davis sent each coach a picture of Long to provide reassurance for his measurables.
“I sent every single coach a picture of him in the doorway with his head almost touching the top. It’s a little bit different this offseason because coaches weren’t able to go out on the road and see kids in person; you can look at the film and like the kid but they mainly want to come and meet in person to get a feel for them. With the pandemic the way it is, coaches like me look to film study and talking to the guys on Facetime. It’s definitely a little bit had we not had this pandemic, I’m certain that he would’ve had tons more offers. At the end of the day you can only choose one school, so I’m thankful and I’m happy for him.”
