Cardinals Moving on to the Next Level

News surfaced yesterday that two of Webb City's football standouts will be continuing their grid-iron careers next fall.

Mack Kyle is reportedly (and I say reportedly because I haven't seen that in print or gotten it directly from a WC official or his family yet) headed to Pitt State. I wondered where Mack would land. Clearly he is a talented player with a lot of heart. I will be even more curious to learn what position he ends up playing for the Gorillas. I'm not an expert on Pitt State football, but I won't be shocked when Coach Broyles moves Mack to a running back slot or uses him as an outside linebacker or strong safety on defense. That's not to say he couldn't take snaps for Pitt, that just may not be the position where he can have the biggest impact for the Gorillas.

The other news that surfaced yesterday and I was able to confirm on ESPN.com is that Parker Graham has verbally committed to Oklahoma State. At a basketball game over in Carthage a couple of weeks ago (see related blog), Parker's mom mentioned that OSU was among the schools he was visiting and expecting an offer from before making a decision. I'm excited to see how Parker's career at O-State progresses. That's a big school and a big program, but Parker has the type of stature that would lend itself to becoming a big-time offensive lineman. I suspect that he will probably go from 260 lbs. to up around 300 lbs. over the next couple of years. At 6'8" and 300 lbs. he will have the size to play on the line at a D1 school. I hope that his experience in Stillwater is as great as mine was. Of course I didn't play football (or any other university sponsored sport), but had a great experience as a student there and I hope that he will as well. It's a great school and a very welcoming university family for a school so large. Don't give me any junk about being "just a number" with reference to OSU unless you have been there. It's not like that!

Good luck to Mack and Parker, I hope you both enjoy the same success in college as you have in high school. We will certainly be cheering you on.