Ka'Lial Glaud, the 6-foot-2, 222 pound three-star middle linebacker from Winslow Township in Atco, N.J., says he has over 20 scholarship offers and while continuing to deny a leader, he’s focused on a top six.
Glaud, aka “KG”, now favors Iowa, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Rutgers. All have offered.
He took his first official visit to Iowa on Nov. 15 for the Purdue game. "It was real cool," Glaud said. "It was definitely more than I expected. I thought it as gonna be in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, but it's a great town. Everything revolves around the college and football."
Glaud was especially impressed by the fans’ football knowledge. "You can tell people love Hawkeye football over there," he said. "They follow recruiting too and people knew my name and who I was. That was great."
Last Wednesday (Dec. 17) Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz visited with Glaud and his family. "He's cool guy," he said. "I had already talked to him a lot during my visit, so I just kind of sat back and let him talk to my family.
"He's really laid-back and I think my family really likes him," he said. "But they already love Iowa because my uncle (linebacker LeRoy Smith) played there."
Glaud took an official visit to West Virginia on Dec. 6. "It was a good visit too," he said. "West Virginia has a great team atmosphere and reminded me of Iowa. They really support their team in Morgantown. I think it helps that there are no pro teams in Iowa and West Virginia and college football is much bigger.
"We went to a basketball game which was really cool," he said. "And I really liked all the people we met."
The Mountaineer coaches also paid a visit to Glaud's home last Thursday (Dec. 18). "The whole defensive staff came over," he said. "That was real surprising. It was just supposed to be the two coordinators but then I get home and the whole staff is there. It was crazy. The house was packed."
Having the entire defensive coaching staff show up may have been a good move for the Mountaineers as Glaud says they impressed his family. "They made a great impression on my family," he said. "They just had a regular conversation with them and didn't just talk football which was nice."
So while Glaud denies a leader, his family has two favorites. "They really like Iowa and West Virginia right now," he said. "They just loved the coaches at both places."
Glaud's most recent visit was to Maryland on Dec. 12. "It was cool," he said. "It was different from Iowa and West Virginia because it's in the city. We got to go into DC and hang out in the ESPN Zone and there's a lot to do there.
"I also think that Maryland is still getting better," he said. "They had a pretty nice season but I think they'll be real good next year."
On Jan. 23 Glaud will be visiting the in-state favorite Rutgers and says he'll visit either North Carolina or Pittsburgh officially on Jan. 9. "I'm leaning towards North Carolina right now," he said.
"I've always liked their program and they had a real surprising season," he said. "I like coach Butch Davis and how the program is doing."
As impressive as the Tar Heels were this season, Glaud says the team that impressed him the most was Rutgers. "They started out 1-5 and still made it to a bowl game," he said. "They finished real strong and played great football at the end."
Glaud says he doesn't plan to make a decision until after his final two visits. "I want a stable program where the coaches are gonna be around," he said. "I think I feel pretty comfortable with these schools and these coaches. That's real important because I want to make sure I have a good relationship with the coaching staff."
Although he's ranked as the No. 42 middle linebacker in the country by Scout.com, Glaud played quarterback most of his senior season. He finished the year with 1,300 yards passing for 19 touchdowns. He also had another 650 yards rushing for 15 scores. Defensively, he had 97 tackles (64 solos), eight sacks, five fumbles caused, two fumbles recovered and one interception for a touchdown.
He says he wants to major in either criminal justice or biology. Glaud reports a 2.9 core GPA and says he is qualified with an 870 SAT.