2020 Mass. OL Kevin Pyne One To Watch

There is little doubt Kevin Pyne‍ is a name Notre Dame fans are going to want to keep track of for the next couple of years.

The 2020 Massachusetts offensive lineman landed a scholarship from the Irish last week and his offer sheet already includes schools like Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Tennessee and UCLA among others.

“Kevin is a unique prospect,” his head coach at Millis High School, Dana Olson said. “He’s 6-8.5, almost 280 pounds, long, athletic. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime kid for me. I’ve sent some kids D-I to some really good programs, but I’ve never had a 6-8.5 left tackle.

“He comes from a very strong football background. His dad played Division-I football. His uncle Jimmy played Division-I football. His uncle Jimmy played nine years in the NFL on the offensive line. His uncle George played Division-I football. His cousin Drew has an offer from Notre Dame, he’s a quarterback in the 2020 class. It’s obviously a big, strong football family.”

In addition to his uncle, his grandfather and great-grandfather also played in the NFL, making theirs the first three-generation family in the NFL.

“The next family was the Matthews family,” Olson said. “The Pynes were the first to do it…Football is in the bloodlines.”

Pyne has already managed to carve out his own place in a family with such rich history with the game.

“Kevin’s got a special ability and moves extremely well for a kid that size and that age,” his coach said. “He’s got a huge upside. He’s 280 pounds right now. Junior year, he’ll probably be 290. Senior year, he’ll probably play right around 300. 310, 320 probably wherever he goes to college. I think he’ll be a big-time prospect.”

The size and athleticism is a combination seen in few prospects, let alone prospects as young as Pyne.

“That’s what is selling a lot of guys right now, his ability to move at that size,” said Olson. “We get him out in our funnel screen game. He gets to the second level real quick. He’s got one of the longest reaches I’ve seen. He was measured in for reach at Florida State and they said they hadn’t seen a kid with that wingspan in 10 years down there.

“Kevin is not a bad-body kid. He looks great. He’s in great shape. He loves to lift weights, loves to train.”

Off the field, Pyne also appears to check all of the boxes.

“He’s a great kid, 4.0 student, good SAT scores,” Olson said. “He comes from a very, very good Irish-Catholic family. His family is strong supporters in the community and do a lot of great things.”

He has an older brother playing football at Lafayette College and another attending Tufts. His family has been extremely successful off the field as well.

“He comes from an outstanding family,” his coach said. “I can’t say enough about the family.

“He’s got all of the pedigree and upside to be an outstanding, outstanding offensive tackle in college. He’s just a great young man. Just an all-around great family. Like I said, a once-in-a-lifetime kid to coach with the size, athletic ability, classroom.”

Olson acknowledged how the beginning of Pyne’s recruiting process has been different from other players in the past.

“I wouldn’t say it’s been an easy process for Kevin, but it’s pretty easy to sell a kid like that,” he said. “It’s, ‘Here he is. There’s his film. There’s his transcript. Come see him and you’re sold.’ He’s a very mature kid.”

Despite all of the early offers, the one from Notre Dame definitely got his attention.

“He was super excited to get that offer,” said Olson. “Coach (Tom) Rees called me and extended the offer a couple hours after he stopped in.

“The family is super-excited to get the Notre Dame offer because his cousin already had one. What a story that would be, the quarterback and the left tackle? That’s like Sports Illustrated stuff, right?”

Recruiting isn’t his primary focus at the moment, but with so many offers and the ability to do so, Pyne has been taking advantage of the opportunity to check out schools already and will continue to do so in the months to come.

“Right now, he’s in the weight room putting size on,” his coach said. “He’s going to make some visits this March and check out some schools. He’s already been to quite a few. He did a Southern run a while back. Now he’s going to go up and do that section; Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame. Then he’ll probably check out the West Coast and we’ll see where we’re at.”

There’s still plenty of time to go in the process, but wherever Pyne ends up, it sounds like it’ll be a place like Notre Dame.

“When it comes down to it, it’s going to come down to what’s a good fit athletically, academically and socially. Being a high-academic kid, he’s really looking at some of the higher academic schools, but it’s going to be a fit all of the way around.”