Kaleb Eulls: YAZOO COUNTY’S HOMETOWN HERO

By PAUL JONES, BulldawgJunction.com for MS Sports Magazine

Kaleb Eulls has made numerous game saving tackles during his high school football career – but the most important tackle he has made so far was nowhere near the playing field.

With offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia, Alabama, LSU and many others, Yazoo County senior Kaleb Eulls definitely received his share of recruiting attention. But the MSU signee received more pub for his efforts off the field, which served of a higher importance.
Back on July the Fourth, the talented defensive lineman sent ripples through the recruiting scene when he committed to the Bulldogs. Eulls ended what could have been a long process when he decided to go the early route.
But what happened a couple of months later drew more national exposure for Eulls and his family in Yazoo County.
One early fall morning, Eulls got on the school bus along with his younger sisters. It was like any other typical school day, or so it seemed at the time.
But that quickly changed as the bus carrying Eulls and dozens of other students made its way to Yazoo County High School. A disgruntled teenage girl pulled out a gun and started waving the firearm at students and threatening their lives. The girl claimed she was tired of being picked on and bullied by other students at the school and on that bus, as well.
That’s when Eulls stepped in and took charge of a possible deadly situation. He asked the girl to just point the gun at him and not to endanger any other kid on that bus. Then, Eulls quickly saw his moment to defuse the situation. When the troubled girl was distracted for a moment, Eulls tackled the girl and disarmed her.
“To me, that was one of the scariest and most shocking days I have been through, and probably will ever experience,” said Eulls. “It was definitely the most emotional day I’ve had, for sure. During the entire thing, I really can’t explain what happened. I just used quick reactions during that situation and that’s about all I could say.”
And what followed was a media frenzy surrounding Eull’s heroic efforts. The Dandy Dozen (The Clarion Ledger) member appeared on early-morning shows on NBC and ABC, as well as Fox News and CNN.
Once that media tour ended, ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ made the trip to Yazoo City to interview Eulls.
“Everything was great and it was all so surprising,” said Eulls. “We were thankful to God and knew we were blessed by God through the whole year, whether it was my grades, my college offers or what happened that day. God was watching over my family and blessed us so much.
“All of the media hype was a lot more than I expected. Basically, I did what I felt was the right thing to do. I didn’t know, though the media would expose it the way they did. I feel I just did what most people would do in that situation. But I did manage to get comfortable speaking in front of the cameras. When ESPN came and filmed us, at that point I had already done a lot of interviews. So I was not nervous at all.”
On the field, Eulls also posted an impressive showing. Following his senior year, the 6-foot-4 and 270-pounder was rated among the Top 4 prospects in the state and rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com. And he performed well on both sides of the football, too.
Despite his size, Eulls was his team’s starting quarterback along with his D-line duties. Eulls rushed for 942 yards and 11 touchdowns and also averaged 42 yards as Yazoo County’s starting punter.
Defensively, Eulls collected 82 tackles with 16 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
“For him to be our starting quarterback and to be that big, well, that alone tells you what kind of quickness he has,” said Yazoo County head coach Matt Williams. “With his athleticism, Kaleb could be a starting defensive end, a starting defensive tackle or even a starting tight end at the college level. Players or people like Kaleb don’t come around that often in these parts. He is just a raw athlete that has yet to reach his potential or come close to his potential.
“And of course, this year we also saw what kind of person he is, too. But none of that surprised those of us that have known him or been around him the past few years. That is just what Kaleb is about and how he lives his life. He was raised the right way and makes the right choices in life.”
Back to his recruitment, Eulls said it wasn’t until his junior year that he realized he would have all of his collegiate options. He grew up watching a ton of SEC football on the tube but never thought that could be himself one day playing on the big screen.
“Basically, I never thought about playing college football until my junior year and then really at the start of my senior year,” said Eulls. “I grew up watching games on television. I always thought it would be more than I could handle. But my senior year, I really found out that I could handle it. Years ago I never thought it would be possible but I finally proved it to myself this year on the field. I had to play a lot of positions and be the leader on both sides. But I think those responsibilities will help prepare me for my future at Mississippi State and the Southeastern Conference.”
However, don’t mistake Eull’s quiet confidence. He fully understands he has a lot of work to do between now and August. That’s why he’s already preparing for the next level.
“I know everything will be bigger and faster,” said Eulls. “I know the athletes will be a lot better and there will be more of them in the SEC. But I am ready to face that challenge and I get excited just thinking about that opportunity.”
As for what position awaits Eulls at Mississippi State is still in question, mainly due to his size. He was recruited as a defensive end and that’s where he made his mark the past two years at Yazoo County.
But since last summer, Eulls has grown from 255 pounds to 270 pounds. His quickness may allow him to remain at defensive end but obviously, Eulls has yet to enter a college weight program either.
A year ago, current MSU freshman Fletcher Cox was in a similar position. As a former Yazoo City defensive end, Cox added nearly 25 pounds after arriving in Starkville last summer and moved inside to defensive tackle.
“I know Fletcher well and I saw the weight he put on,” said Eulls. “But it didn’t affect his speed and he made the All-SEC freshmen team. I don’t think if I add more weight, too, that it will affect my speed or my first step. I am okay with wherever they want me to play.
“But they’ve told me I will be at defensive end, and really, that is where I like playing. I believe I can impact the team better on the edge and that’s where I am most comfortable.”
Although he ended his deciding process early, Eulls admitted it was tough telling other programs ‘no’.
“It was rough sometimes telling other coaches where I stood and I had to do that a lot,” said Eulls. “But it wasn’t tough telling them that I was always sticking with Mississippi State.”
After watching and observing the hectic pace of other prospects’ recruitments, Eulls was, however, actually relieved that he made such an early decision.
“I still look back to the day I committed and that day still gets me excited,” said Eulls, who made his commitment official to MSU on February 3rd. “I thank God for that day and I thanked Him because I truly knew where I wanted to go to school. I know recruiting really speeds up those last couple of months. All of the coaches are going for that big bang and that strong finish. Coaches are trying their best and going all out just to get a player to visit their school. I had a lot of that, too, but I only took my one visit and that was to Mississippi State.”
But Eulls added he didn’t make a rash decision. For much of last summer, Eulls talked with various SEC coaches and heard their best sale pitches. In the end, albeit early, Eulls said all signs led back to Mississippi State.
“I just looked at all my resources and sorta through everything,” Eulls noted. “I talked to my parents and realized I was ready to make a decision. Mississippi State treated me like family and that was big to me. They are focused on getting the top players in the state and keeping all the in-state guys at home for college. I knew I wanted to be among that particular group.”
But as mentioned above, his collegiate decision wasn’t the last major decision Eulls had to make these past six months. Yet through it all, Eulls believes his recent path to attention – on and off the field – will only make him stronger in the future.
“It’s been a crazy past few months,” admitted Eulls. “But God has a plan for everything and only gives you what you can handle. He had big plans for me this year and I am glad I didn’t let Him down. I am just excited for the next challenge God has for me at Mississippi State.” – MSM