Dynamite Dozen: Calhoun's Alex Kirby seeking respect

photo Calhoun's Alex Kirby, part of the 2011 Dynamite Dozen.

ALEX KIRBYNo. 11School: CalhounHeight: 6-footWeight: 210College interest: UT-Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, Alabama-Birmingham, VMI

CALHOUN, Ga. - Hal Lamb hears the name Alex Kirby and he immediately becomes irate. No, the Calhoun head football coach isn't upset with his star senior linebacker, he's annoyed at college recruiters who refuse to look beyond combine stats.

"It is unbelievable Alex Kirby hasn't gotten an offer yet," Lamb says of a player that recorded 85 solo tackles, 79 assists and 22 tackles for loss last season. "If I was a college coach, I would sign him up in a hurry. I don't know what they're looking for."

Kirby, 6-foot, 216 pounds, is considered too small to be a Division I linebacker, though is other measurables -- a 4.6 40 time, a bench press of 275 and a squat of 485 -- suggest he could play at any level. So does his highlight film, which shows a player willing to sacrifice his body to disrupt an offense and one that, given the chance, will absolutely blow a player up.

One of Kirby's famous highlights came against Isaiah Crowell, the University of Georgia star freshman tailback whose Carver Columbus team visited Calhoun for the Class AA semifinal game last November. Early in the second half Crowell broke free off left tackle for one of the few times in the game and Kirby met him, locked up and flung the 210-pound back down like a rag doll.

"Alex is so intense and very physical," Lamb says. "He understands the game so well and everyone knows he's very intense. He's a player that loves contact and he's proven that time and again. I really think he's a Division I player, and if none of them come calling I know several I-AA schools will."

One of those schools is the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

"UTC is looking at me hard, and I just got back from Tennessee Tech," said Kirby, who also mentioned Division I Alabama-Birmingham has shown interest.

Like his coach, Kirby is not sure what the major schools are looking for, and he insists it won't change the way he approaches his senior season.

"There's nothing I can do about it, just work harder," he said. "I want to show them that height doesn't matter, just heart."

Executives and officials broke ground on the newest McDonald's in Little Rock, this one in The Promenade at Chenal off Chenal Parkway. The franchise is said to include a number of the more modern features when it is completed.

Ground broken for McDonald's on Chenal Parkway

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