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July 24, 2005 Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner Kingsley native Tom Kaleita, a rookie offensive tackle from Eastern Michigan University, reports to Detroit Lions training camp in Allen Park on Thursday. Kingsley's Kaleita ready to roar with LionsByRecord-Eagle staff writer KINGSLEY - Dates and numbers are about to become very important to Kingsley High School graduate Tom Kaleita. The first date comes Thursday. That's when the 6-foot-6, 318-pound Eastern Michigan University product reports to the Detroit Lions' Allen Park training facility in his quest to make it in professional football. Kaleita comes into the Lions' training camp with a go-for-broke attitude in an attempt to make the 53-man roster, the number that No. 77 ultimately wants to reach. "Lay it all on the line and do the best I can," said Kaleita, who spent some time this week with family and friends in Kingsley. "I've been given an opportunity. I just have to take advantage of it." The undrafted rookie free agent thinks he's with the right team for his quest. None of Detroit's six draft picks from this spring were offensive linemen. Two rookie lineman have already been cut from the squad. "I have a good shot - I think a better shot than I would have anywhere else," Kaleita said. "It's a matter of performance and how bad I want it. "They have some holes to fill and I think I'm in that position where I can fill a hole." After the reporting date for training camp comes preseason games. Detroit plays at the New York Jets on Aug. 12, home against Cleveland on Aug. 20 and home on Aug. 29 against St. Louis. After the third preseason game comes another big date for the big lineman - the first mandatory cutdown to 65 players. Detroit plays its final preseason game on Sept. 2 at Buffalo and then comes the final cut to the 53-man roster on Sept. 4. The Lions are expected to open training camp with 90 players. So Kaleita knows the odds he's facing to make the team. He also knows - without having played in the league - how it all works. "The biggest thing is the longer I'm there, the better opportunity I have to make it in the NFL," he said, "even if I do get cut with the Lions. "If I can get in a couple of preseason games, then I'll be on film and another team can see me and can pick me up. "My opportunities will expand the longer I'm there." There's also the possibility the Lions will bring him back as a member of the practice squad. Each NFL team is allowed to carry a maximum of seven on its practice squad. "As long as I'm with the organization, I'll be extremely happy," Kaleita said. Kaleita could play in NFL Europe next spring as well, either as an allocation from a league team or unattached. Then he'll have the chance to get on film and get noticed by an NFL team all over again. "He's got the right attitude - that he's going to scratch and claw and do whatever it takes," said Kingsley High School coach Tim Wooer. "Perseverance is a good word for him. It might take going to NFL Europe. It might take going to the practice squad." Kaleita is listed as the third-string right tackle on Detroit's depth chart behind Kelly Butler and Victor Rogers. He's already moved from left tackle, where he started the last 35 consecutive games at EMU. "At any time I could go back to left tackle ... or even guard," he said. "In training I pretty much worked on everything, except snapping. I don't think that'll happen. "The coaches have a plan. I don't know what it is and it would be nice to know what it is. I just need to do the best I can do, that's all I can do." Kaleita signed a three-year free-agent contract with the Lions on April 24, shortly after the NFL Draft ended and one day after graduating from Eastern Michigan. He's gone through a pair of mini-camps and a passing camp, plus workouts at the training facility in between. So he took the opportunity this week to get away from the game for a while. He spent the week in the area doing some fishing and golfing, visiting with friends and family and doing some light weightlifting with members of the Kingsley football team. "So far this is the most important, most exciting and most stressful year of my life," Kaleita said. "So right now I'm trying to keep my mind off it. If I think about it too much, I'll get stressed out." Physically, Kaleita said he's ready for training camp to start. "I can't wait to put on the pads," he said. "That'll be the first test." To get ready for his first exam in professional football, Kaleita has prepped with a pair of current NFL players, Atlanta Falcons' tackle Barry Stokes and Chicago Bears' defensive end Israel Idonije. All three share the same agent: Dr. D.S. Ping. "We've been working hard - real hard," Kaleita said. "The best part about it is Barry is an offensive lineman. He's been able to coach me up on the league because he has a ton of experience. He was able to give me some tips, some pointers and everything. "Izzy is a defensive end so we've been able to go one-on-one. That, along with working with Barry, was very valuable. I don't know how many guys have had that opportunity." Now Kaleita will take that experience and try to make the roster of an NFL team. "It'll be interesting to watch and see how everything unfolds, how the business of the National Football League works," Wooer said. And it all begins when he reports to training camp on Thursday and hits the field for his first official practice on Friday.
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