Taking a look at college football's best OL.

[Cat'sGrowl]

Matt Kalil, #75 OT, University of Southern California

Bio Blast: 6'7" 295, 22 years old.

Pro Comparison:

40 time: Hi:4.94 Lo:5.18

Player Bio, per Trojan website.

2011: Kalil, whose father and brother played college and pro football, returns for his second season starting at offensive tackle as a junior in 2011.

2010: Kalil started all 13 games at left offensive tackle as a sophomore in 2010. He blocked a PAT against Notre Dame.

2009: Kalil served as a backup right offensive tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2009, but played primarily on special teams. He started against Boston College and performed well, and saw limited action in 11 other games in 2009 (all but Arizona State).

2008: Kalil redshirted as a freshman offensive tackle in 2008, his first year at USC. He was sidelined for a few weeks during the season with a sprained knee.

HIGH SCHOOL: His 2007 honors included Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, EA Sports All-American first team, USA Today All-USA second team, Scout.com All-American second team, ESPN 150, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Dream Team, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-CIF Pac-5 Division first team, Los Angeles Times All-Star, Orange County Register All-Orange County first team and All-Trinity League Co-Lineman of the Year as a senior offensive and defensive lineman at Servite High in Anaheim (Calif.).

As a junior in 2006, he made Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass first team, All-CIF Pac-5 Division first team, Los Angeles Times All-Star and All-Trinity League Co-Lineman of the Year.

He made the 2005 Cal-Hi Sports All-State Sophomore first team. Current Trojan Chris Galippo also prepped at Servite.

PERSONAL: He's a sociology major at USC. His father, Frank, was a center at Arkansas (1978) and Arizona (1980-81-82), then was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1982 before playing for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers in 1983 and Houston Gamblers in 1984. His brother, Ryan, lettered 4 years (2003-06) at center for USC, where he earned All-American honors and was the Pac-10 Morris Trophy winner in 2006 (he was a member of USC's 2003 and 2004 national championship squads), and now plays with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

Why The Panthers Should Draft Him:

As with Alshon Jeffery, the Panthers hopefully won't be anywhere near high enough to draft the best OL prospect in this year's draft. If he were to magically tumble however, or if the team was interested in trading up-hopefully not- Matt Kalil would be a great draft pick for the Panthers. Although he is currently under 300 pounds, that should change by next

April. He also has a commanding 6'7" frame with long arms that allow him to keep control of quicker DE's. While OT isn't an apparent position of dire need for the Panthers as they have two good players in Gross and Otah, injury concerns remain over the large right tackle from Pittsburgh. Of course, Matt's brother Ryan, plays Center for us, and the team could become infatuated with his potential courtesy of his brother's talent. Unfortunately, Kalil is a Tackle through and through, which means that he would really have to impress in the months leading up to the draft for the FO to rip the position from Otah and give Kalil a chance. You don't draft 1st round picks for depth, and one of the knocks on Kalil is that he doesn't have the size to move inside and play Guard if needed. While the Panthers will certainly address the OL this offseason, I wouldn't expect them to use a first round pick on Kalil or any other OL, unless they feel that they can come in and contend with Hangartner for the RG position. There is a chance though, the FO could decide they have had enough of being concerned with Otah's injury history and pull the trigger, but the only way that would happen is if Otah gets injured again, and I don't think any of us want that to happen. They are also impressed with this year's rookies Lee Ziemba and Byron Bell.

Matt Kalil highlights:

[Ivan The Awesome]

Good piece, I agree.

[Cat'sGrowl]

Much appreciated. I'd like to do this for each position over the course of the next few months.

I am really not trying to be combative with you, Ivan. I'm just talking football.

[Ivan The Awesome]

Much appreciated. I'd like to do this for each position over the course of the next few months.

I am really not trying to be combative with you, Ivan. I'm just talking football.

Eh, I tend to be a asshole at times too. So I'll apologize now for any condescending talk I've made. (Actually the one I just posted too. <_<) Looking forward to the next pieces.

Truth be told, if the panthers do draft this guy I wouldn't mind it at all, it wouldn't be the sexiest of picks but fortifying that line to protect Cameron would be a smart choice. Although the Defense needs some upgrades, at Tackle and Corner. I doubt we take a Tackle that high though.

[Cat'sGrowl]

If we have to draft a DT high I'll be disappointed. We just drafted two DT's in the 3rd, and I'm hoping that with all great minds we have on the defensive side of the ball, they should both develop into good players, same goes for CB, which is loaded with young players. Couple that with the fact that I am not in love with any defensive prospect this year, at least not yet, it's why I am adamant about the WR position in this year's class. WR is certainly the deepest position, and it's not even a total luxury pick when you consider that we only have one established WR. Kalil would be a good pick too, it's why I did this thread second, but as I began to type it, I realized that I just don't know what role he would fill here, if he even fell to us.

[Jackofalltrades]

At least it's not a cock.

[C47]

The resident Trojan fan supports this thread!!

[Cat'sGrowl]

At least it's not a cock.

That really has no relevance to whom we should draft, what are you trying to say?

[Kurb]

Solid work on these writeups.

I think its a pretty low shot we draft a an OLine.

Especially a OT that can't play G.

But I like Kalil as a prospect

[jtnc]

We're going for a top WR, and maybe a Tackle or DT in the second.

[Cat'sGrowl]

Still don't have a true pro comparison for Kalil. Honestly, he does in some ways remind me of Jordan Gross reading about him.

Still...I just don't envision us drafting him. If Otah doesn't get the new coaching staff's vote of confidence from a health standpoint-they REALLY like Byron Bell, and judging from his play-I can see why.

[Catalyst]

I wouldn't bank on Byron Bell doing THAT well. If he does pan out, great, but we can't count on that.

If Kalil is there at our pick, we should take him. But honestly, I expect he'll go top-5 at least, if not top-3. I expect he'll be just out of reach for us.

[JawnyBlaze]

I agree. I think people might be overstating Bells performance in his one game. He didn't make any colossal fugups that I noticed, but it's not like the run game finally started working or anything. If he turns out to be a dependable backup, great. If he turns out to be a solid pro, outstanding. I think it's way too premature to hope for anything more. Kalil looks to be a lot more than a solid pro and I think having his brother on the team already bumps the value a little bit. I'd be plenty pleased if we got him. If Otah doesn't prove that he's not injury prone this year, I think Kalil could be the best pick we could make. A solid O-line is probably the 2nd most important group to a successful team, after the single man group that is QB.

[Cat'sGrowl]

Bell hasn't just performed well in one game. He has done well in training camp, preseason, and whenever he has seen action on the field.

Perhaps you guys missed the story about him on panthers.com, but the coaching staff has loved this guy since we scouted him before the draft. He came in as an UDFA, climbed the roster higher than some decent free agents and and draft picks at the Tackle position, and the coaching staff is putting him in more and more. They love him-and they are grooming him for the future.