EVENSVILLE, Tenn. — Rhea County High School offensive lineman Kevin Revis has begun receiving national football recruiting acclaim, and academic prowess is proving to be his boost.
“Recruiters like his footwork and his attitude, but his football ability is enhanced by his grades,” Rhea coach Jason Fitzgerald said. “We have never had one like him.”
Revis had 30 pancake blocks last season and graded out from 92 to 95 percent each week. However, at slightly less than 6-foot-3 and weighing 265 pounds, the rising senior would likely be just one in a crowd. But he has a 3.8 grade point average and has scored 28 on the ACT.
Auburn recruiter Don Dunn visited last Friday morning, and TennesseeÂ’s Steve Caldwell was on campus that afternoon. Revis is drawing attention from as far north as Penn State, as far south as Louisiana State, as far east as Duke and South Carolina and as far west as Stanford and UCLA. His list of suitors also includes Indiana, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Louisville and Western Kentucky.
“Those are the ones with whom we have had actual contact,” Fitzgerald said. “A lot of players are going to receive mail. When (recruiters) start calling, though, you know they’re definitely interested.”
New Duke coach David Cutcliffe called Rhea County to check on Revis, went and watched tape and called the school back within two hours to offer a scholarship.
“One recruiter told me they liked the fact that he was always in the picture (on game tapes), whether it was within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage or 25 yards downfield,” Fitzgerald said.
“He is a heck of a player. He’s aggressive. He plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. And then there’s the grades,” one recruiter said,
“He’s probably smaller than your normal offensive line recruit, but he has great footwork and he has great grades. It’s a great combination,” another said.
Tommy Mitchell, RheaÂ’s offensive line coach, compared RevisÂ’ approach to the game to the Losey brothers and former UT signee Victor McClure, whom he coached while at Soddy-Daisy. Chuck Losey played at Vanderbilt, Eric Losey at Western Kentucky.
“Everybody says he’s pretty good — good feet, good attitude — and he works hard,” Mitchell said. “(Eric) Losey played hard, but Kevin has better feet and he plays harder than McClure. Eric loved it all from the weight room to the game and the contact. He’d go out early before the game to watch the crowd come in or listen to the band. Kevin is a lot like him.”
Revis, who wonÂ’t be 18 until next May, is still taking it all in and trying to keep his balance.
“It’s surprising to all of a sudden have all of this,” said Revis, whose stock has rocketed from no college interest to big-time programs vying for summer camp dates. “I try to stay grounded. I have been shocked. You see coaches on TV, guys that are legends, saying, ‘Come play for us.’ It’s surprising and flattering. I’m excited. God has blessed me.”
A UCLA assistant e-mailed and asked how heÂ’d like to play in the Rose Bowl. Stanford, according to what Fitzgerald was told, would already have made an offer if head coach Jim Harbaugh had been available to OK the offer. Georgia Tech coaches met Tuesday, and Revis was expected to be high on the list of topics offensive line coaches Mike Sewak and Todd Spencer wanted to discuss.
“I had to call the UCLA coach back just to make sure it was for real,” Revis said.
Fitzgerald did the same.
UCLA isnÂ’t out of the question, and the letters and calls from Penn State definitely got his attention because he is interested in sports medicine, but he just as quickly says he grew up as a Tennessee fan.
“If (UCLA) is the best opportunity for me, the best school for me, then that’s where I would go,” he said. “But it would be hard to turn down a scholarship from a team I have watched all my life and dreamed about playing for.”
