Safety's size garners Tudor spot at East Carolina

East Carolina University football coaches only had to see Kyle Tudor's highlight tape to invite him for a visit.

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When they saw him in person, they made him an offer he didn't refuse.

The Pirates' coaches had word the Lakeside safety, a rising senior, was 6-foot-1, 190 pounds. Tudor showed up in Greenville, N.C., for his visit, and offensive coordinator Steve Shankweiler told him to step on the electronic scale in the training room.

The scale read 210.5 -- more than 20 pounds heavier than Shankweiler expected. He called in defensive coordinator Greg Hudson for a second look. Tudor was then measured at 6-4 in shoes and an inch shorter in socks.

Hudson dialed East Carolina head coach Skip Holtz, informed him of what they'd found, and told him they should make an offer. They did, and Tudor committed. He plans to graduate Lakeside in December and enroll at East Carolina in time for spring football.

"They were really surprised at how big I am," Tudor said.

Tudor likely will move from safety to linebacker at ECU. He said Holtz previously made offers to two other linebackers. Coaches initially told Tudor they were going to wait to hear what the other offers decided, but his size quickly changed that.

Kyle's father, John, who owns Tudor's Cleaners, announced his son's decision on the sign at the Furys Ferry Road location.

John said his son would walk at graduation with his friends but that he wanted to get a head start with his new teammates.

"They had offered early," John said. "We just wanted to kind of solidify it."

Kyle led the Panthers in tackles the past two seasons, finishing with more than 100 in 2007.

As big as Tudor is now, his coaches expect he'll get bigger. Panthers football players, including Tudor, have predicted big things for Lakeside.

"He's a leader on the team," Panthers coach Jody Grooms said of Tydor. "And it makes it easy on you as a coach when you have exceptional players who are leaders. He falls into that category."

Kyle said his early commitment would give him peace of mind on the field. But don't expect him to become complacent. After Lakeside's spring game, Tudor predicted an undefeated season.

"I'm not taking it back," Tudor said. "Undefeated."