East Tennessee OL lands two more big offers

Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic offensive tackle Kyler Kerbyson is becoming a popular guy among some high profile folks. Already with a host of scholarship offers from major programs around the country, Kerbyson recently landed two more major offers and they came with two major phone calls.

The first offer came from USC last week, followed by Alabama.

"I got one from Alabama and talked to Nick Saban on the phone after school," Kerbyson said. "I got one from USC a few days ago and I talked to Lane Kiffin on the phone. They're definitely big offers and those are really big schools and I'm really flattered to have any offer I get."

Kerbyson's conversations with the two head coaches were among some of the first communications that he had had with either.

"I hadn't really talked to them that much," he said. "It was over just a few days that they started talking to me and getting interested. Coach Saban just told me that he really liked my film and thought I'd be a great fit for Alabama and wanted to offer a scholarship and told me all the things Alabama had to offer. It was a very similar conversation with Coach Kiffin too."

With offers continuing to pile up, Kerbyson is not ready to make any decisions or even name any favorites. However he does hope to commit before the start of his senior season.

"I want to see how many offers I get and try to narrow down the list," he said. "I do want to commit before my senior season so I'm going to start doing that before the summer. I'm really just going to go off of my gut feeling and what I really like about the school. I'm not going to fall over a school based on a phone call. I'm going to just find the school in my heart."

Though he is not ready to name favorites or narrow his list and he is hesitant to show his hand, Kerbyson admits that Alabama and Tennessee are among the schools that he likes at this point.

"I do like Tennessee," he said. "I'm not going to say that they're in my top five or anything. And I do like Alabama. I'm a very home-bound kind of guy but I do like all the schools and I'm still trying to figure out what's best for me. I'm pretty wide open."

Kerbyson is also excited to get back in the pads for the start of spring practice.

"I'm definitely trying to improve on my speed, playing that tackle position and going against the top defensive ends in my class," he said. "We've been working out every day at my school with the coaches and everything, just running and lifting weights and getting ready."

Kerbyson is being recruited primarily as an offensive tackle but has also gotten some interest as a defensive lineman. At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, Kerbyson has terrific size and continues a recent trend of highly-touted linemen emerging from the Knoxville Catholic program.