Can tell you this was a situation where it looked like it could go either way between Kentucky and Kansas State. Caleb Redd took official visits to both schools earlier this month and coming out of his official to K-State there was still some hopefulness in Manhattan that he might end up there. I think what happened was Redd went back home and really thought everything through and made a mature decision. He's the kind of guy who approached the process with a lot more maturity than some other guys, maybe a bit of a throwback if you will.
Spoke at length with DeSmet's defensive line coach (and a d-line trainer) and recruiting coordinator Terrance Poe and one positive here is I'll be able to watch Redd a couple of times this year.
"He's a very quiet kid so he never really does much talking," Poe told me today. "He's extremely humble. He works his butt off. He's a kid who's going to do everything it takes to fit within the program. But at the same time he's a standout type of player. He's just not the kind of kid who will deliberately go out of his way to stand out. He's super fast. He's extremely coachable. When I met him going into his junior year, my first year with him, he had four sacks his sophomore year. He had 21 sacks his junior year so he's very coachable. Once he realized what I was trying to teach him and how it fits his skill set the sky was the limit,. I think he's going to put on more weight. He's powerful. He's one of those wiry, strong kind of kids. He can probably carry 240 or 245 pounds. He's 230 right now and 6'4. Extremely fast, quick, catches onto everything quick. He can play in space. He's a team first kid. Really quiet, really humble. Not really into the glitz and the glamor and the partying.
"I'm not going to say I was surprised but he had some options. Me and him talk pretty much every day. He was weighing things out with a few different situations. K-State was definitely in the loop. Oklahoma was in the loop for a while. I think Kentucky's situation was just it felt like home for him as far as his personality. I think it felt like home for him as far as the scheme. We do a lot of the things they do. He plays Buck for us and he's pretty much going to play that there. He's going to feel comfortable as far as the scheme is concerned. Him and Buffano had a really good relationship so I think that had a lot to do with it. Some of the guys he met on the recruiting trail as far as kids he met there kind of linked up with him and they started to have a good relationship and started bouncing ideas back and forth. That helped out. He's a really family-oriented kid. I think it's an opportunity for his family to see him play and not be so far away from home so they can come check him out. It's a really faith-based family. His dad's a pastor. That played into his decision. So I'm not going to say I was surprised," Poe continued.
"K-State was definitely something he was interested in. USC, Pitt, Oklahoma, Oregon ... I think he was interested in everybody he got an offer from. I think he did a good job of sitting down an weighing out the checks and balances, where do I fit as far as scheme, personality ... Is it going to be a situation where I have to come in Day 1 and play or am I going somewhere I can be developed and not rush to get on the field. Education and all of that played into it," he said.
"As far as what schools saw, it's his ability to adjust on the fly. His speed is unreal. His relentlessness... He's got a motor and just the way he goes about his business being so quiet, no nonsense. He doesn't even celebrate when he makes plays. A lot of people look at that and see a kid who's going to put his head down and do what they ask him to do. He goes about his business like a professional. He's ahead of his time in terms of his mentality. Coaches would come in to see him and then when they would talk to him and ask what he's looking for he would say, "I want to be developed." He wouldn't say he's going where the money is. He didn't say he wanted to play on Day 1. He said he wants to be developed and to grow in the right system.
"As far as what he's working on it's being able to drop in coverage. He's going to do some things this year to drop in coverage. That's one of the things we're working on this summer, being able to play in space. Dropping into coverage and playing underneath routes. That's something he's gotten better at. A lot of the coaches are like, 'How is this dude covering Will routes and he's a defensive end?' Well, he's probably a 4.5/40 too so it's a situation where he has that athletic ability. He's got pass rush. Everybody knows he can rush, he can set the edge, he's got heavy hands and good feet. It's more sitting down and understanding how to play the game. Athletically, he's got that. It's God given. I don't have to teach him that. It's about teaching his eyes, hands, feet, and what he's thinking on down and distance. But one thing we're working on is being able to drop into coverage."
Spoke at length with DeSmet's defensive line coach (and a d-line trainer) and recruiting coordinator Terrance Poe and one positive here is I'll be able to watch Redd a couple of times this year.
"He's a very quiet kid so he never really does much talking," Poe told me today. "He's extremely humble. He works his butt off. He's a kid who's going to do everything it takes to fit within the program. But at the same time he's a standout type of player. He's just not the kind of kid who will deliberately go out of his way to stand out. He's super fast. He's extremely coachable. When I met him going into his junior year, my first year with him, he had four sacks his sophomore year. He had 21 sacks his junior year so he's very coachable. Once he realized what I was trying to teach him and how it fits his skill set the sky was the limit,. I think he's going to put on more weight. He's powerful. He's one of those wiry, strong kind of kids. He can probably carry 240 or 245 pounds. He's 230 right now and 6'4. Extremely fast, quick, catches onto everything quick. He can play in space. He's a team first kid. Really quiet, really humble. Not really into the glitz and the glamor and the partying.
"I'm not going to say I was surprised but he had some options. Me and him talk pretty much every day. He was weighing things out with a few different situations. K-State was definitely in the loop. Oklahoma was in the loop for a while. I think Kentucky's situation was just it felt like home for him as far as his personality. I think it felt like home for him as far as the scheme. We do a lot of the things they do. He plays Buck for us and he's pretty much going to play that there. He's going to feel comfortable as far as the scheme is concerned. Him and Buffano had a really good relationship so I think that had a lot to do with it. Some of the guys he met on the recruiting trail as far as kids he met there kind of linked up with him and they started to have a good relationship and started bouncing ideas back and forth. That helped out. He's a really family-oriented kid. I think it's an opportunity for his family to see him play and not be so far away from home so they can come check him out. It's a really faith-based family. His dad's a pastor. That played into his decision. So I'm not going to say I was surprised," Poe continued.
"K-State was definitely something he was interested in. USC, Pitt, Oklahoma, Oregon ... I think he was interested in everybody he got an offer from. I think he did a good job of sitting down an weighing out the checks and balances, where do I fit as far as scheme, personality ... Is it going to be a situation where I have to come in Day 1 and play or am I going somewhere I can be developed and not rush to get on the field. Education and all of that played into it," he said.
"As far as what schools saw, it's his ability to adjust on the fly. His speed is unreal. His relentlessness... He's got a motor and just the way he goes about his business being so quiet, no nonsense. He doesn't even celebrate when he makes plays. A lot of people look at that and see a kid who's going to put his head down and do what they ask him to do. He goes about his business like a professional. He's ahead of his time in terms of his mentality. Coaches would come in to see him and then when they would talk to him and ask what he's looking for he would say, "I want to be developed." He wouldn't say he's going where the money is. He didn't say he wanted to play on Day 1. He said he wants to be developed and to grow in the right system.
"As far as what he's working on it's being able to drop in coverage. He's going to do some things this year to drop in coverage. That's one of the things we're working on this summer, being able to play in space. Dropping into coverage and playing underneath routes. That's something he's gotten better at. A lot of the coaches are like, 'How is this dude covering Will routes and he's a defensive end?' Well, he's probably a 4.5/40 too so it's a situation where he has that athletic ability. He's got pass rush. Everybody knows he can rush, he can set the edge, he's got heavy hands and good feet. It's more sitting down and understanding how to play the game. Athletically, he's got that. It's God given. I don't have to teach him that. It's about teaching his eyes, hands, feet, and what he's thinking on down and distance. But one thing we're working on is being able to drop into coverage."
