Working class prospect waiting for offers
HARRISONBURG: If Kyle Linn was like most
uncommitted college football prospects, he'd be hitting the summer combine
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circuit with full force, hoping to attract the attention of college coaches and
receive a scholarship offer.
His parents, however, told him he'd be spending it a little differently.
"Yeah, they said I was costing them too much money," Linn said with a laugh
recently. "They said, 'You're going to work.'"
So rather than having college coaches run him through drills, Linn - Turner
Ashby High School's versatile senior quarterback/receiver/safety/punter - is
spending 32 hours a week working at the Harrisonburg Water Department with
teammate Alex Collins and Spotswood linebacker Andrew Palmer, making $9 an hour.
Not that it's exactly backbreaking labor, though.
"We just go out and test the fire hydrants and take the PSI and that kind of
stuff," Linn said. "We have a good time, though."
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Linn has still managed to make it to one-day camps at
Virginia Tech, Marshall and James Madison, the three schools that he said have
been recruiting him the hardest.
"I've talked to coaching staffs, just touched base with them," he said. "Yeah
[the job] has, kind of - I think not necessarily hurt me, but it could have
helped me more if I was doing a few more camps. But the camps I've been going
to, there's been a lot of colleges there, so I'm hoping that helps my name get
spread around a little bit."
In 2008, as a junior, Linn earned first-team All-Group AA and All-Region III
honors at safety, and was named the Massanutten District Defensive Player of the
Year after tallying 102 tackles with four interceptions and six pass breakups.
Offensively, he started the season at receiver, but moved to quarterback after
starter Tanner Croy was injured in the season opener. He went on to account for
1,209 yards of total offense (822 passing, 239 rushing and 148 receiving) and a
district-leading 13 touchdowns.
Such versatility is what has schools considering Linn, who rates two out of five
stars, according to Rivals.com. In addition to the aforementioned three suitors,
I-AA Liberty and Virginia Military Institute also have shown interest, and TA
coach Charlie Newman said Connecticut assistant Hank Hughes - a JMU assistant in
the late 1980's - stopped by to inquire about him.
"[Tech, Marshall and JMU] are the main three," Linn said. "... I try to call
them and touch base with them and just see what's going on and what they're
thinking. I mean, they've been straight up with whether they think I can play
for them or not."
What position he would play, though, is still a mystery.
Linn's personal-best 40-yard dash time of 4.65 seconds isn't considered fast
enough to play defensive back at the Division I level, but it's fairly swift for
an outside linebacker, which Linn could become if he redshirts and puts on some
more weight. Linn said schools have told him that 210- to 215-pound linebackers
are good for matching up against spread offenses.
"I feel like right now it's probably going to be maybe an outside linebacker,"
Linn said of his future position, "or it depends on where I go to to maybe still
play safety. I'd like to play safety; maybe be like a rover back and play a
little linebacker but then be able to come back still. That's basically where
all three of them have kind of been. They're just not quite sure."
Newman, who played football at Madison from 1979-82, said former Dukes
All-American safety Tony LeZotte was a player whose measurables were dwarfed by
his actual production on the field.
"He wasn't a big guy, and he wasn't one of those blazing running guys, either,"
Newman said. "I mean, he had a great nose for the football, and he made plays
and made things happen. He was a student of the game. Kyle has the size to play
an outside linebacker like that at 215, 220, that's another 25 to 30 pounds.
Shoot, JMU's got linebackers that are 210, 205 on the outside."
Click Here to view this Link.Newman
said that while he thinks summer camps have become more important than they used
to be in terms of evaluating prospects, he didn't feel Linn hurt himself by not
attending a ton of them.
"I think how you play during the season is probably the most important thing,"
he said. "They can put on the film and watch it and they see that a guy can
play. Either you're a player or you're not, you know?"