Kyle Brockton Kalis (born December 21, 1993) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and center in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected as a first-team All-American by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' and ''

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'' magazine during his senior year in high school, as well as the number one recruit in Ohio for the class of 2012. He became one of the top recruits in the 2012 college football recruiting class. Kalis played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, starting 47 games at right guard. He was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2017.

Early life

Kalis is the son of Todd Kalis, an offensive lineman who played eight years in the NFL with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He was the only freshman on the varsity football team at Seneca Valley High School in Harmony, PA. He played the remainder of his high school football career at St. Edward High School in Lakewood Ohio near Bay Village, where he lived with his mother, Stephanie Garvin Schwarz. In December 2011, he was one of five offensive linemen selected by ''Sports Illustrated'' for its high school football All-America first-team. In January 2012, he was also named to ''

'' magazine and U.S. Army All-American football teams. He was one of six finalists for the Anthony Munoz Lineman of the Year Award, presented to the best high school lineman in the United States.

Recruiting

Kalis was one of the top-rated recruits in the 2012 college football recruiting class. He was rated as a five-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. He was also a finalist for the U.S. Army Player of the Year award. He was rated as the No. 1 prospect from Ohio and the No. 4-ranked offensive tackle in the United States by Rivals.com. In September 2010, Kalis verbally committed to

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. In July 2011, Kalis switched his commitment from Ohio State to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the wake of a memorabilia-for-gifts scandal that led to the resignation of head coach

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...

College career

Kalis conveyed his commitment to Michigan head coach Brady Hoke from the "M" logo at the middle of the field at

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "the Big House," is the American football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third-largest stadium in the wo ...

. He also told reporters, "I believe the Michigan-Ohio border is now open. I think you're going to see eight or nine guys from the state of Ohio going over to Michigan this year." Kalis became the subject of threats from Ohio State fans. Kalis commented on the threats, "There are really a lot of stupid people out there. I'd get people telling me they were going to come to my house with bats to tear my ACL. I got plenty of threats, even a few death threats. I gave my address out to about 20 people and told them to come find me. Nobody came." Kalis enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 2012. In late August 2012, the ''International Business Times'' selected Kalis as one of the five best incoming freshmen in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. He played for the Wolverines from 2013 to 2016. Following the 2016 season, Kalis was named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media, and was named a Second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

Professional career

Washington Redskins (first stint)

After going undrafted in the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

, Kalis signed with the

as an

on May 4, 2017. On September 2, 2017, he was waived by the team and was signed to the practice squad the next day.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 3, 2017, Kalis was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

off the Redskins' practice squad. He soon earned playing time and saw his first offensive game action against the Bengals, starting the second half. He went on to start 2 more games, against the Texans, and the Steelers. He was waived/injured by the Colts on December 2, 2017.

Washington Redskins (second stint)

On December 4, 2017, Kalis was claimed off waivers by the Redskins, where he then remained inactive for the last 4 games of the season. On September 1, 2018, Kalis was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the 2018 season.

Cleveland Browns

On September 3, 2018, Kalis was signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

' practice squad. The Browns signed Kalis to their active roster on December 1, 2018. Kalis was waived with an injury designation during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, and subsequently reverted to injured reserve the next day. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 11.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

On October 23, 2019, Kalis was signed to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

practice squad. He was released on December 4, 2019. He was re-signed on December 11. On December 30, 2019, Kalis was signed to a reserve/future contract. He was waived on May 5, 2020.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalis, Kyle 1993 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive linemen Michigan Wolverines football players Sportspeople from Lakewood, Ohio Players of American football from Cuyahoga County, Ohio St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni Washington Redskins players Indianapolis Colts players Cleveland Browns players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players