Kyle Trout: 2014 Ohio State football player profiles

After bringing you a look at now-true freshman offensive guard Marcelys Jones earlier this week, our series, "Bucks To The Future", keeps trucking with another class of 2014 offensive lineman and early enrollee, Kyle Trout. With the offensive line rotation still in the works for next season, Trout, a Lancaster native and lifelong Ohio State fan, could find himself right in the thick of things for early playing time come fall.

Before you watch him over the next few years, get to know Kyle Trout a little better:

Vitals

Height: 6'6

Weight: 300 pounds

247Composite: 19th ranked OT, 11th best player from Ohio and 252nd overall in his class.

High School: Lancaster High School, Lancaster,Ohio

Origin Story

In the summer of 2012, the recruitment of then Lancaster junior Kyle Trout really started to take off. With offers from programs such as Cincinnati, Illinois and Toledo already under his belt, Trout would head to Ohio State's Advance Camp to showcase his skills in front of the Buckeye staff and go up against not only some of the best in the state, but the country, including many prospects who already held scholarship offers from the Bucks.

By the end of the camp, Trout had proved his name belonged among those mentioned as top linemen in the nation and found himself climbing higher on the OSU coaching staff's big board. He would once again make the short trip to Columbus a few weeks later for Friday Night Lights at the Horseshoe. With his high school coach not wanting him to get injured right before the season, Kyle wouldn't participate in drills at the camp, but he did get a chance to rub elbows with Urban Meyer and his principal recruiter, Luke Fickell, who were both very pleased he could make it back down to campus.

Starting on both the offensive and defensive lines for Lancaster as a junior, Trout, who was named first-team All-Central District, started having coaches from numerous programs in constant contact. The lineman would travel all over the Midwest checking out some of the week's top matchups. He would attend games at Michigan State, Illinois, Cincinnati, West Virginia and pick up scholarship offers from the likes of the Spartans, Mountaineers and Hoosiers of Indiana, throughout his junior campaign. Ohio State also had Kyle on campus a few times during the 2012-13 season, including for the Michigan game. Even though he had yet to receive an offer from the Buckeyes, every time the staff would speak to Kyle they would reassure him that they were keeping a close eye on him and that an offer could come his way in the near future.

After the football season, Kyle would display his talents as a big man on the Golden Gaels basketball squad. In January of 2013, Ohio State offensive line coach Ed Warinner would go watch Trout on the court and walked away very impressed with not just the footwork, but the heart he showed on the hardwood. A week later, the whole Trout family would head back to Columbus for another unofficial visit, with this trip to the 614 being one they will soon never forget. While on campus visiting Urban Meyer and Warinner officially offered Kyle a full ride to join the Ohio State football family.

Trout told the Lancaster Eagle Gazette the following after he received the offer from Meyer and the Bucks:

"At first it was overwhelming. I let it sink in and then just started thinking. It's just a blessing and an honor."

He didn't have to think long as just a few weeks later, Trout would commit to Ohio State while down on campus visiting again. With his college choice now behind him, he would turn his attention to helping recruit other top prospects to join him in Columbus. Kyle and other future Buckeyes took to social media, text messages and might have even sent a few messenger pigeons for all we know to get the word out that something special was about to take place at OSU.

A few months later, just days after winning a pair of regional titles in track and field, including one in shotput, Trout would participate in the Nike Football Training Camp in Columbus, which put him up against some of the nation's best including many prospects who were committed to major college programs. Just as he did at most of the camps he attended, Kyle shined among the competition and was awarded by being invited to attend "The Opening", a camp that puts all the top NFTC campers against each other in a variety of drills, competitions and 7-on-7 scrimmages at the Nike headquarters in Oregon.

Awesome blocking by Kyle Trout in 1 on 1 https://t.co/UhfjbopCeT

— Miles Joseph (@MilesLGHL) June 2, 2013

After impressing at the NFTC, Trout would attend the Ohio State camp just days later. Speed isn't something you hear all the time when talking about offensive tackle prospects, but his 40 time at the camp was the fastest among all offensive linemen who attended camp.

His speed and athletic ability was also shown at The Opening in July of 2013. His 4.42-second shuttle time was faster than tight ends Jeb Blazevich (Georgia), Ian Bunting (Michigan) and linebackers Nyles Morgan (Notre Dame) and Clifton Garrett (LSU). Even though it was reported that Trout had problems keeping up with smaller defenders during the camp, he showed solid footwork and the potential to be an elite lineman at the next level.

As a senior last season, Trout was a familiar face at almost every Buckeye home game. Not much on the field changed either as he was named first-team All-Conference, County, District, Metro and Ohio after being a force on the 5-5 Gaels line all season long. On Nov. 13, Kyle signed his mid-year financial agreement, making him one step closer to living out the dreams he had since a young child growing up watching the Buckeyes on television every weekend.

Congrats to @Trout75 for signing his mid-year agreement! #GoBucks #Dream14

— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) November 13, 2013

Last week, Trout officially started living that dream as he officially enrolled as a student-athlete at Ohio State. Now a full-time student at the university, Kyle is joined by six other members of the 2014 recruiting class as freshmen who will get to participate in spring drills, giving them an advantage over the other true freshmen who arrive later this year.

2014 Prospectus

With most of their starting offensive line gone, Ohio State is looking to replace numerous bodies on the depth chart. Since Trout is on campus as an early enrollee, he will have the opportunity to go through spring drills, not to mention already have months of Mickey Marotti's strength and conditioning training under his belt before the other offensive linemen in the 2014 class even hit campus.

With this being the case, if Trout proves himself and shows the coaches he is worth playing time over the next few months, there is a chance OSU fans could see Kyle on the field next season. Even though he will line up at tackle, Trout has experience playing every position on the offensive line and has even played some tight end. His flexibility to play other positions could be useful for an offensive line with plenty of holes to fill.

There is also a chance Trout redshirts this season as many true freshmen do. If Kyle does indeed redshirt, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world as it would give him a year to get used to the massive changes from high school to big-time college football, get stronger and truly learn the offense before getting thrown to the wolves.

Obligatory GIF, Highlights

Oh yeah?

Kyle was coached at Lancaster High School by Rob Carpenter, the father of Buckeye great Bobby Carpenter.