The two have never met, yet Wheeler's Kyle Kellar feels a kinship with Jim Leonhard of the New York Jets, a 5-foot-8 safety in his third year in the NFL.
"He's a guy who's not too big, who came from the bottom up, who never got any big looks," Kellar said, "and had to earn everything he got."
Like Leonhard, a Wisconsin product who went to high school there with Kellar's mom Sandy, the 5-10, 170-pound Bearcat senior has carved out success in football without tremendous physical attributes. He is a three-year starter for undefeated Wheeler who leads the team in rushing yards (983), tackles (120) and interceptions (five).
"Everybody overlooks me because of my size," Kellar said. "I've always had to work harder."
Talk to Bearcats coach Dan Klimczak about him and his first reference has nothing to do with Kellar's stature.
"His best quality is his heart," Klimczak said. "He's a leader on both sides of the ball. He's our workhorse. He's not the biggest guy, but he has a ton of strength and a lot of speed."
Kellar made a concerted effort in both areas in advance of his senior year. He gave up baseball to run track, where he worked with Wheeler girls coach Rhonda Anderson, a former Olympian, and boys assistant Ronnie Sazone to increase his speed and lengthen his stride. He also redirected the focus of his weight lifting to develop more explosive power.
"I wasn't as much of a hitter before," Kellar said. "I'd kind of just string plays out, get below the blockers and slow the running back down so the rest of the defense could catch up. Now I'm able to hit a lot harder."
After playing running back and quarterback as a freshman, Kellar was behind the likes of Harold Branch and Clay Duarte on the backfield depth chart the last couple years. He made his name on defense, where he ranks near the top of the school's career list in tackles and interceptions.
"I'd like to think if I did want to play later on in college I could hold my own in pass coverage or run coverage," Kellar said.
Now Kellar doesn't leave the field when the Bearcats have the ball, having assumed duties as feature back as well.
"He's been a staple at strong safety, now he's had to assume a bigger role and he's done so remarkably," Klimczak said. "We try to get the ball in his hands as much as we can because he's the guy that's going to lead us to victory. He really runs the ball hard inside and gets the tough yards, but by the same token, he has the speed to get to the edge and break the long one."
Kellar brings the same mentality to offense that he has at strong safety.
"I think just practicing at running back helped with my quickness, my lateral movement, my cuts," he said. "I hadn't done it for a long time. I like to consider myself more of a downhill runner. I understand that if you just run down field, you make the other team make plays. If you're dancing in the hole, they're going to come up and make a hit on you. I like delivering the hit. If you're flying downhill, they don't want to hit you."
PREP FOOTBALL
The Kyle Kellar file
School: Wheeler
Year: Senior
Background: Kellar leads the Bearcats with 983 yards rushing (9.9 average per carry), 120 tackles and five interceptions. He has scored 15 touchdowns. His 306 tackles and 10 interceptions both rank second on the school's all-time list.
CLASS 2A
Sectional 25
Championship
Wheeler (11-0) at Rensselaer (9-2), 7 p.m. Friday.
