Coach's Corner: An Inside Look At What Vols Are Getting in Kalib Perry
Tennessee just landed the commitment of 2022 Great Crossing (Ky.) linebacker Kailb Perry. The 6'4", 215lbs prospect bring a tremendous amount to the table, and his defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, Russell Floyd, offers up an inside look at what Perry brings to the college level.
"Kalib is very explosive," Floyd said of what stands out about Perry's game. "He sees the play well, and when he plants and comes up on the ball, he is 100 mph, and he really studies film and knows what is going on. He is very impressive. His twitch is unbelievable; when he sees something, he can react immediately."
Perry's versatility and frame raise the question of where he will best fit at the next level.
"I think and most of the coaches I have talked to have said that outside linebacker that can be physical in the run game but also athletic enough to cover receivers and running backs out of the backfield," Floyd said. "A few of them have mentioned safety, but mainly, it is an outside linebacker/hybrid type player. A couple of them have talked about with his aggressiveness and speed, which is another huge asset, being able to blitz him off the outside."
One reason for Perry's high upside is his phenomenal work ethic and leadership ability.
"His work ethic is incredible," said Floyd. "He is very self-motivated. He came in after his sophomore year, and one of our offensive line coaches played at Tennessee and in the NFL, and he told coach (Rob)Smith, I want to be at these numbers; what do I need to do? So coach Smith sat down and showed him what he needed to do, and he (Kalib) is a kid who plays basketball, so after school, he can't come to lift with us, but we have before school lifting and in-school lifting, and he will come to both of those sessions and lift with us. During the season, he is making sure he is doing everything right. He is never happy with where he is. He always wants to improve, whether it's on the field or in the weight room and even academically. He wants to be the best, and he works at all of it to make sure he gets there."
Perry's ability to lead in multiple ways is another huge asset that he brings to the table. "It makes a difference because when you have a kid that is that talented and getting the D1 offers, but that is working as hard as he is and getting on the other kids, not bad, but in a way to push them to 'let's get through this drill' or 'let's get through this last sprint,' and he is leading it and not falling behind, so none of the players can get mad or upset because here is your D1 prospect pushing and saying, 'come on guys, let's get a little bit better.'" It is something he has always done, even before the D1 offers. He is not as a vocal leader as he is a this is what I do, let's do it this way, leader. He will get vocal when he needs to, so when he does get on a player or group, it is never negative; when I say get on, he wants to push. But, when he does it, you can just see them stop and listen."