Todd Kalis

Todd Alexander Kalis (born May 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He was an offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings (1988–1993), Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals (1995).

After starting his final 36 games with Arizona State University – which included three Bowl Game appearances (Holiday, Rose and Freedom) – Kalis was the 17th offensive lineman (the fifth guard) in the fourth-round (108th pick) of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1988 NFL draft.

Early life Kalis was born in Stillwater, Minnesota. He spent his early childhood there before moving with his father, mother and two sisters to Hudson, Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter he moved again to Phoenix where he attended Thunderbird High School and lettered in football, tennis and track and field.

College career Kalis was heavily recruited out of high school for football and tennis. He accepted an offer from head coach Darryl Rogers to play at Arizona State University. Kalis preferred to stay in his hometown which allowed his parents the opportunity to attend his home games on Saturday nights in Tempe, Arizona.

Kalis redshirted his freshman season in 1983 with the Sun Devils playing defensive end.

In 1984 Kalis met with Rogers prior to the start of spring practice. Kalis was told by Rogers he would be moved to the offensive line following the conclusion of spring practice if he did not secure either a first or second string position. Kalis contemplated the conversation and returned the next day to tell Rogers to move him to the offense immediately. Kalis believed Rogers had already made up his mind to move him to the offensive line so Kalis decided not to wait to get a head start on the new position. Kalis participated in the 1984 spring practice sessions as an offensive tackle.

In 1985 Arizona State University hired head coach John Cooper. Prior to the spring practice sessions Kalis was asked by offensive line coach Tom Freeman to move to the right guard position. Kalis competed and won the first string right guard position and started every game for the Sun Devils in 1985. The Sun Devils completed the season with an 8–3 record and an invitation to play in the 1985 Holiday Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Jack Murphy Stadium. On December 22, 1985, Arizona State lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks 18–17.

The 1986 Arizona State University football season proved to be a very historic year for the Sun Devils. Arizona State finished the regular season with a record of 9–1–1 and won the Pac-10 Conference title and received an invitation to play the Michigan Wolverines in the 1987 Rose Bowl. On January 1, 1987, in front of a crowd of 103,168 the Sun Devils defeated Michigan 22–15. ASU finished the season ranked 4th by the Associated Press and 5th by United Press International. Kalis was a starting member of the Sun Devil offensive line that averaged 208 yards per game. The book is a collection of stories based on personal interviews conducted by Kalis highlighting the early influences that helped develop the character of a number of Pro Football Hall of Fame players.