Spring Valley High School student athelete Kelze Howard poses for a portrait Monday March 28, 2022.
Saturday, April 9, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Spring Valley High School defensive end Kelze Howard’s play was so impressive that coach Marcus Teal had trouble describing it.
The Grizzlies defense surrendered nine points over two games last fall to open the season, and the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Howard went from a relative unknown to one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits in the class of 2023.
In a shutout win against Cimarron-Memorial, he had three tackles for a loss and two sacks.
A few weeks later, in another shutout win, he caused so much trouble for the opposing offense that Spring Valley forced seven turnovers. The only points of the game came on a fumble return for a touchdown from Howard.
Almost at a loss for words when calling in the score to the Sun and trying not to sound like he was exaggerating the efforts of an emerging star, Teal simply stated: “The kid was really something. You should’ve seen it.”
Soon after, college coaches started showing up to see for themselves.
First, hometown UNLV offered Howard a scholarship. Then the heavy-hitters started to emerge on campus, and Howard’s scholarship list quickly swelled to include a who’s who of top programs — Southern California, Michigan, Oregon and Miami. He’s received offers from nearly 20 schools.
“When USC offered, I was like, ‘Wow, USC. That is crazy,’” said Howard, tabbed a four-star recruit by 247 Sports and the nation’s No. 18 overall defensive lineman recruit for his graduating class.
“I was so happy I called my coach right away. ... (The offers) just keep pushing me hard to strive for greatness,” he said.
Howard is the second-highest-rated recruit in Nevada for his graduating class, behind only Bishop Gorman wide receiver and USC pledge Zachariah Branch. Branch, a speedy wide receiver, is rated as the nation’s 12th overall recruit.
Like Branch, Howard dominated local competition last fall in recording 38 tackles (nine for a loss), 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The was no season in 2020 because of the pandemic.
After film started to circulate of Spring Valley’s early games, Howard noticed a change in how opposing teams played the Grizzlies. Howard would be double-teamed, and the play often went in the opposite direction.
“It was all double-teams, but I was still finding ways to make stops and impact the game,” he said.
Teal, who has coached at the school since it opened in 2004, said Howard was the most celebrated recruit in program history, surpassing Nate Holloway (UNLV) in 2009.
With the parade of college coaches arriving in his office, Teal is consistent in his messaging: Howard is a coach’s dream. He’s a leader on and off the field, strong in the classroom, works hard and continues to get better.
Coaches are also intrigued for another reason: Howard is long, athletic and lanky. He should easily add muscle to his frame in a college strength-and-conditioning program without losing speed. The end result could be a dominating defensive player.
“He has a personality as big as this campus,” Teal said. “You can grab anybody on the way through here and ask them what they think about Kelze, and they’ll say he is amazing.”
“Not only can he play football, but he does well in the classroom as far as being a model student. And he breeds leadership. He exudes it,” Teal said.
Howard said he still was not close to picking a school. He’s got official visits set for Michigan and Arizona in June and has unofficially been to USC. He also stopped in at BYU and UNLV.
He’s leaning on his father, a former college player at Colorado State, for help navigating the recruiting process.
And his family has reminded him how grateful he should be for the opportunity to play after high school, let alone at a powerhouse.
“I always knew I wanted to go to college, but I wouldn’t say I expected this,” Howard said.
