Kyle Tudor enjoys the
physical side of football so much that as an 8-year-old he traveled to
the next county just so he could play a tackle brand of the sport.
“In Columbia County (GA),
where I live, you could only play flag football at that age,’’ Tudor
said. “So I went over to Richmond County so I could play tackle. I was
obsessed with football. I ran home with my helmet on after the first
practice.’’
That kind of passion
helped Tudor become the leading tackler as a sophomore and junior at
Lakeside High School in Evans, GA, and it was probably a factor when
East Carolina’s coaching staff decided to offer him a scholarship in
April.
The 6-foot-3 1/2-inch,
220-pound safety-linebacker accepted via verbal commitment on June 12 to
become the sixth member of ECU’s recruiting Class of 2009.
“Bone crusher’’ is how
Tudor describes the style he used to lead Columbia County with 109
tackles (32 solos) in 2008. The performance earned Tudor All-Area honors
from The Augusta Chronicle.
“I like to knock people
out,’’ Tudor said. “I’d rather hit somebody hard than to pick a ball
off.’’
He’s not kidding.
Just ask the quarterback
last year at Butler High, who had the unfortunate experience of meeting
Tudor up close and personal in a scrimmage.
“It was at the very end of
the scrimmage, they were leading us by two points and they were trying
to drive to score again,’’ Tudor said. “The quarterback rolled out like
he was going to pass, but instead he took off running. He tried a spin
move off one of our players.
“I was playing safety.
When he came out of that spin, I hit him and knocked him down. He tried
to get up, but he stumbled and fell back over. He eventually had to
crawl off the field.’’
Duke, Georgia, Louisville,
Vanderbilt and several Mid-American Conference schools were showing
interest in Tudor. East Carolina was the first school to offer, and that
made an impression on Tudor, according to Lakeside coach Jody Grooms.
“East Carolina was one of
the first schools to jump on Kyle and take an active interest in
recruiting him,’’ Grooms said. “You’re talking about a kid in Kyle who
is big on loyalty and commitment and trust. So when East Carolina
stepped out on the limb early with an offer, that was big to him.’’
Grooms already knew a
thing or two about how loyal the ECU coaching staff can be. In the
spring of 2007, Grooms was finishing up the school year at Anson County
High in Wadebsoro, NC, before moving to his new position at Lakeside.
One of Grooms’ players at
Anson that season was Michael Bowman, a talented scat back who had
signed a national letter-of-intent to play at South Carolina. But in
July, after Grooms had moved on to Lakeside, Bowman was denied admission
to South Carolina even though he was academically qualified under NCAA
rules.
The ECU staff came to
Bowman’s rescue, got him enrolled at Greenville and he’s expected to
make a contribution at wide receiver as a redshirt freshman next fall.
“I couldn’t tell him
anything bad about East Carolina,’’ Grooms said. “I have a lot of
respect after what they did for Michael last year.’’
Tudor was used strictly at
safety during his first two varsity seasons at Lakeside, but Grooms
plans to shift him to inside linebacker in 2008. ECU has recruited him
as a linebacker.
“East Carolina likes to
recruit safeties for linebacker so they already have speed,’’ Tudor
said. “They can always get you stronger and bigger.’’
The Pirates are expected
to have Tudor on campus by the spring of 2009. He’s on schedule to
graduate from high school in December and hopes to enroll early at ECU
so he can participate in spring practice.
Grooms said the Pirates
will be getting a player whose work ethic is second to none.
“The guy punches the clock
every day,’’ he said. “He does not miss practice or workouts. When his
family goes on summer vacations, he stays here to make sure the team is
doing what it’s supposed to be doing. I’ve never coached any player who
loves the game more than this kid. Some love it as much, but none more
than he does.’’
Grooms also sees good
things down the road for Bowman, who finished spring practice as the
backup to Dwayne Harris at the H receiver spot.
“I still think Michael may
be a year away,’’ Grooms said. “But I think he’s the kind of kid who
could help them on special teams. He’s explosive when he gets the ball
in his hands.
“He has to learn how to be
a college receiver. And he has to get tougher and stronger. But Michael
is adjusting well and I think he’s got a good future at East Carolina.’’
