http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/04/2016_sec_ol_prospect_tyler_pri.htmlJeff Sentell | jsentell@al.com By Jeff Sentell | jsentell@al.com
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on April 29, 2014 at 6:11 PM, updated April 30, 2014
Tyler Pritchett has a new high school team.
The massive 6-foot-5, 278-pounder had been a mainstay on the offensive line at AHSAA Class 4A Calera since his eighth grade season. That's no longer the case as he enrolled last week at Class 7A Auburn.
The Class of 2016 offensive tackle already holds two SEC offers from Kentucky and Mississippi State. He'd also been offered by Akron.
Pritchett told AL.com it wasn't an easy decision. It can't easily be interpreted as a need to play at a bigger program to garner more recruiting attention. He already had two SEC offers by the end of his sophomore season at Calera.
The rising junior with the size-16 feet won't turn 16 until October, but he already made an impression on Auburn coaches at a Junior Day event this year.
Auburn offensive line coach J.B. Grimes relayed to McKeller that Pritchett had been measured with a wingspan of 80 inches. He told the Calera coach that the SEC Tigers didn't have a current player in the program who could match that.
Pritchett mentions being a fan of several programs. He was an Ohio State supporter as a kid. Calera coach Wiley McKeller classified him as a player with a definite interest in playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium one day. Yet Pritchett also mentioned he preferred Alabama over Auburn as a potential Saturday destination last year.
He said he favored the Crimson Tide at that time because he developed a good relationship with former offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
So what's the angle behind the move? That's what those who follow recruiting might seek out to determine the "why" behind his transfer.
Yet Pritchett just simplified it.
"The move is about family and people closer to members of our family," he said. "I'm lucky enough to still have my great-grandma and grandma alive. They live a lot closer to Auburn than they do to Birmingham and Calera."
Pritchett mentions an uncle who lives in Phenix City. He has a grandmother and great-grandmother in Monroeville. He cited other family in Union Springs. Those relatives would only be a 45-minute drive away from his new home at Auburn High School.
His family has already made the move. He enrolled a week ago and went through his first day of spring practice on Monday. If he has in fact made a legitimate move to that school zone, he will be eligible to play at Auburn this fall.
Pritchett worked at right tackle at Calera, but he has been told by the Auburn High coaches that he will be at left tackle.
"Coach (Tim) Carter wants me at left tackle and made that pretty clear already," he said. "I guess things can change and I could wind up at right tackle. It really doesn't matter to me. I'll do anything to help the team."
Pritchett said he's really interested in Kentucky among his offers at this time. He said McKeller relayed to him he had that offer from Mississippi State, but felt he needed to be seen in person by those coaches before that opportunity became official.
He hopes his former Calera teammates do not get the wrong idea about his decision to transfer.
"I don't want them to think that I just left and look at it as me saying that I gave up on them," Pritchett said. "I definitely don't look at it like that. I would do anything for any of them. Those guys were like my brothers and I went to battle for them. That's still the case now, but I think that everything happens for a reason. The reason behind this for me was to be closer to my family."
UPDATE: This story was updated at 11:35 a.m. on April 30, 2014 to reflect McKeller's understanding of the wingspan figure to be at 80 inches and not 70 inches as he originally told AL.com
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