Ka'Lial Glaud, the 6-foot-2, 222 pound three-star middle linebacker from Winslow Township in Atco, N.J., played most of his junior season at quarterback until an injury put his throwing hand in a cast, forcing his move to linebacker. "I wanted to play linebacker all year," Glaud said. "Linebacker is where I played when I was a kid, but I played quarterback as a sophomore and my team needed me to play quarterback my junior year too."
Glaud, ranked as the No. 23 middle linebacker in the country by Scout.com, finished his senior season throwing for approximately 1,700 yards and 23 touchdowns. He rushed for 470 yards and 10 touchdowns. In three games at linebacker Glaud had 35 tackles and four fumbles caused.
"I react to the ball fast and I run hard," he said. "I've got some good strength and I'm physical. I'm very aggressive on the field."
While Glaud says that his reaction time is a strength, he also feels he sometimes reacts too quickly. "I think I need a little more patience sometimes," he admitted. "I can react too fast and should just read the play more."
He says he runs five times a week and lifts four times a week. "I don't really max out, but I know I can do 225 17 times," he said.
Glaud has six scholarship offers and said he now favors West Virginia slightly over Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, East Carolina and Iowa. His favorites have all offered, except for the Vols and Hokies. He also has offers from Cincinnati and Syracuse.
"I like West Virginia a lot," he said. "They said they'll be coming to one of my practices soon. I haven't really talked to coaches a lot so I want to get to know them better."
Glaud admits that it was West Virginia's vaunted offense under former coach Rich Rodriguez that first caught his eye. "I really liked their offense and when I was playing quarterback I thought it would be cool to play there because I liked the offense so much," he said. "But now I play linebacker and I want to see what their defense is gonna be like. They are a top team and even with the new coaches I think they'll stay that way."
So while it was the Mountaineers offense that appealed to Glaud, he says he grew up following Ohio State because of their defense. "I love the defense they play," he said. "Plus, they always win. They've been recruiting me, but haven't offered yet. If they offer me they'll definitely be in my top five."
Another school that Glaud followed as a youngster was Iowa because his uncle, LeRoy Smith, played linebacker for the Hawkeyes. "He doesn’t tell me where to go, but he's really helpful," Glaud said. "He told me to take my visits and get to know the coaches well and get really comfortable with them. He says to go where I'm the most comfortable."
Glaud says he has a great relationship with Iowa linebacker coach Darrell Wilson. "He's from New Jersey and we get along really well," he said. "I have a great relationship with him and feel like we can talk about anything."
Another coach that Glaud has developed a good relationship with is East Carolina's defensive end coach Vernon Hargreaves. "East Carolina was my first offer (in January)," he said. "I bonded with coach Hargreaves and he's like an uncle or something. He's laid-back and I like talking to him. We don't even talk much football."
Glaud was born in Florida and says he lived in the Jacksonville area until his seventh grade. "I love the South," he said. "It's just a different atmosphere in the south. The people are great and they love football. It's just different from the North."
In fact, one of the reasons that Glaud likes Tennesssee so much is that they are in the South. "I think I'd like to go back to the South for college," he admitted. "Tennessee has a great defense. My coach's nephew went there and he really liked it. He has a lot of good things to say about them."
Glaud plans to attend a camp at Rutgers on May 8 and will also go to the Nike camp at Penn State this summer.
One of the few schools that he's already visited is Maryland. "It's a great atmosphere there," he said. "They have a great family bond and the coaches are cool. We just talked about stuff and not just football.
"I also really like the facilities and campus at Maryland," he said.
Glaud says he's still very open and doesn't plan on making a decision until before signing day. "I really want to take my visits," he said. "I'm not in a hurry."
He reports a 2.9 core GPA and is taking the SAT on May 3.