NFL Combine: Matt Kalil’s dad made the right choice

All things considered, Frank Kalil made the right choice for his son Matt, the athletic and growing offensive tackle from Southern California.

When Matt lined up at tight end during his freshman year at Servite High School, Frank quickly dashed the dream of catching touchdowns.

“My dad went on the field and said ‘No, he’s playing left tackle,’” Kalil said Thursday at the NFL Combine. “That pretty much ended that dream.

“I could have been a sweet tight end.”

For Matt, blocking field goals is as close as he’ll get to touching the football in the near future. Judging by his status as the top offensive tackle in the 2012 NFL Draft class, it’s for the best.

“He has all the feet and skillset that you’re looking for,” Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said Thursday. “He has the arm length. He has the nasty demeanor. The finish, when you watch him on tape, to finish run blocks. I feel he’s going to be a very good left tackle in this league as he grows in the position and moves forward.”

“There’s the adage that you go back and forth on — is the left tackle that important or is it more important to have playmakers on offense?” Spielman said. “Because as your quarterback evolves, he learns the system, he gets the ball quicker out of his hand and all of a sudden that left tackle doesn’t need to be a Pro Bowl left tackle.”

Still, the allure of a player with Kalil’s skill set may be hard for the Vikings to pass up. Charlie Johnson, the Vikings’ left tackle last season, is rated by Pro Football Focus as one of the worst pass blockers in the NFL. Coming out of USC, Kalil is an NFL-ready pass blocker.

“Kalil is a wonderfully gifted left tackle. He’s got great feet, long arms, and he fits the bill for the athleticism look in an all pro left tackle,” Mike Mayock of NFL Network said on a conference call last week. “What he doesn’t have yet is the core strength that you’re going to look for that will happen two or three years from now. And every once in a while he gets bull rushed. Every once in a while at the point of attack, he’s going to struggle.”

That core strength is something Kalil is working on. After being listed at 295 pounds at USC, Kalil has bulked up to 306 working out at Athletes Performance in Arizona. There, Kalil has been working on his run blocking and strength and said he’s “definitely made vast improvements since the end of the season.”

The added strength will help Kalil live up to his own descriptor of being an aggressive lineman.

“I definitely like to finish, from the snap to the whistle and impose my will on my opponent and basically let them know that I’m on the field and I’m going to be on the field for the rest of the game.”