Kaleb Lovett didn’t play organized sports until his eighth-grade year and didn’t start tackle football until he got to high school.
Call the Lake View senior running back a fast learner.
Through the first six weeks of this season, Lovett ranked first in Illinois and 15th nationally with 1,153 rushing yards, according to the MaxPreps database. Even factoring in that not every school reports its stats, it’s a remarkable achievement for a player so new to the game.
And Lovett could be moving farther up the leaderboard after running 25 times for 296 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ epic 36-34 win over Von Steuben in five overtimes Thursday night.
How has Lovett done it? Credit his effort and an offensive line that returned all but one starter.
“I had to outwork everyone,” Lovett told the Sun-Times. “I had to do more than the regular load that everyone was taking on.”
He did, Lake View coach Kipp Duplechine confirmed.
“Coming from Louisiana, where I come from, there’s a lot of guys who run [4.4 or 4.5 in the 40-yard dash],” Duplechine said. “But work ethic-wise, he’s probably one of the top guys I’ve coached in a while. We had a banquet before the season, and I told everyone he’s the most improved player I’ve ever coached.
“Pound for pound, he’s one of the strongest guys. He only weighs like 165, but he squats with the linemen.”
Those linemen share a strong bond with Lovett, a 6-footer.
“I think the amount of appreciation he shows for us up front gives us a lot of motivation to block for him,” senior center Stephan Chi said.
Senior tackle Marc Schmidt saw Lovett’s breakout coming.
“Oh, yeah, I knew it from the start, from JV days when we were playing with each other and he would be running the ball or [playing] receiver,” Schmidt said. “He always made a statement for himself.”
Lovett didn’t get many carries last season because the Wildcats had senior Tyrone Townes, who earned All-City honorable mention and had a 300-yard rushing game against Public League North champ Curie. Lovett played mostly cornerback last year and is still doing that this season, along with a little wide receiver.
“He kind of reminds me of [Townes],” senior tackle Brent McMillin said. “His explosiveness is what really sticks out about him.”
Duplechine is reminded of former Saints quarterback and tight end Taysom Hill.
“[Lovett] was kind of like a Taysom Hill — plug him in at X, plug him in at receiver, cornerback, special teams,” he said. “But this year he just kind of locked in at tailback.”
Although Lake View is 6-1 and atop the White North at 4-0, attention isn’t always easy to come by for the Wildcats in general, or Lovett in particular. But Duplechine will be working his connections when the season is over to find a college home for his star.
“No one’s reached out yet, but it’s still very early,” Duplechine said. “We’re kind of overshadowed by Kenwood and Mount Carmel and all these other teams. But if you’re ranked No. 1 in the state in rushing and No. 15 in the country, someone’s going to call.
“He definitely has potential to play [NCAA Division 3 or 2], but I want to try to get him to a D1 school, at least an FCS school.”
