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Versatile Va. star picks Pirates
Hoops hopes turned into
football scholarship for Abu Kai Kai
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By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
Abu Kai Kai fancied himself a
basketball player upon arrival at Kettle Run High School in Nokeville,
VA.
Kai Kai was so immersed in basketball
that as a freshman he didn't even try out for football, a sport he'd
played and excelled at in middle school.
But one day as Kai Kai was heading to
class, he was intercepted by Kettle Run varsity football coach Jeff
Lloyd.
"I pulled him aside in the hallway
one day and told him if he committed to the weight room he could be a
scholarship kid (in football),'' Lloyd said. "He had the frame. He was
athletic.
"I had to do a pretty good sales job,
truthfully. He thought he was a basketball player. But I told him,
'trust me.' And he did.''
Kai Kai's trust in Lloyd was rewarded
last February when East Carolina defensive line coach Marc Yellock took
notice of his talents. A scholarship offer came soon after Yellock's
initial contact and on April 12 Kai Kai accepted while in Greenville
attending
the
annual Purple-Gold spring scrimmage.
The 6-foot-2, 250-pound
linebacker-defensive end became the second member of ECU's
recruiting Class of 2015. Kai Kai was also being
pursued by Old Dominion, but the visit to Greenville for the spring game
sold him on becoming a Pirate.
"Old Dominion had offered,'' Lloyd
said. "He'd been over there for their junior day, and it was OK, but he
wasn't sold on it.
"After he went down to East Carolina
he came back and told me it felt like the right place. I encourage our
kids, once they start getting offers, not to stockpile offers. If you
find a place you like, go ahead and commit. That's what he did.''
Kai Kai joined Lloyd's varsity team
as a sophomore when he was a mere 5-11, 190-pounder. He worked as a
backup at defensive end that season before emerging as a varsity starter
in his junior year after experiencing a major growth spurt.
Between his sophomore and junior
years, Kai Kai grew two inches taller and added about 45 to 50 pounds of
bulk to his frame.
“He's a weight room freak,'' Llloyd
said. “His weight room numbers are astronomical.''
Kai Kai owns the Kettle Run school
records in the power clean (315 pounds) and the dead lift (6-05). He's
also produced personal bests of 335 pounds on the bench press and 545 in
the squat.
Those physical gains translated into
improved production on the field last season. As the Cougars starter at
strongside defensive end, Kai Kai made 77 tackles and registered seven
quarterback sacks . The performance earned first-team all-conference,
All 3-A East Region and second-team all-state honors.
“He had a fantastic year,'' Lloyd
said. “He had gotten into some games as a sophomore in a backup role,
and you saw flashes. But in the off season he really concentrated on
getting his body bigger. By his junior season he was eager and really
dominated at times.''
Kai Kai demonstrated his ability to
dominate in the very first game of the season.
“On the very first play of the game
he shot through the gap and destroyed their tailback,'' Lloyd said.
“That really opened our eyes to, 'Hey, this kid could have a great
year.'
“He showed his athleticism on another
play (in opener) when he went to rush the quarterback. He hit the
quarterback, but the quarterback got rid of the football on a route to
his running back. Abu chased the running back down and tackled him 10
yards down the field. He made up some serious ground to go from almost
sacking the quarterback to making the play on the running back.''
That sort of athleticism and
versatility is exactly what attracted the Pirates to Kai Kai. They
envision him as a hybrid athlete in their 3-4 alignment, who can put his
hand on the ground and rush the passer or stand up and play in pass
coverage.
Lloyd will give Kai Kai the
opportunity play some at tight end on offense and at outside linebacker
on defense as a senior at Kettle Run.
“Right now they think he can play end
for them,'' Lloyd said. “But they're eager to see some tape of him on
his feet playing at the linebacker position. Last year during our
practices before the playoffs we stood him up just to see what he could
do. He destroyed our backup quarterback from the outside linebacker
spot.''
Kai Kai isn't the only Kettle Run
player on East Carolina's scope.
David Eldridge, a 6-1, 165-pound wide
receiver-defensive back-kick returner, has already earned scholarship
offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Illinois, Old Dominion and
Virginia after scoring 15 touchdowns and accumulating 1,463 yards
receiving as a junior.
Lloyd said the Pirates are interested
in Eldridge as well, but want to see him in person before offering.
“They want to eyeball him first,''
Lloyd said.''
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06/02/2014 03:48 PM |
