All-Star football: Westman uniquely suited for the trenches

Barry Faulkner

Kyle Westman explodes from his football uniform like popcorn in a

microwave. Muscle, flesh and understated attitude all burst from his

tattered practice jersey, under which shoulder pads appear to be more

accessory than necessity.

The mere act of slipping his buzzed blond head into his gold Estancia

High headgear seems to transform the 6-foot-2, 295-pound lineman from a

docile, soft-spoken teddy bear into a hulking, helmeted rogue.

Already glistening with sweat behind his facemask, mere moments into a

recent South All-Star practice at Dana Hills High, the All-CIF Southern

Section Division IX performer embodies the creature he says craves the

savage sanctity of midfield heaps of humanity, as much as he relishes

releasing enough raw power to create them.

“I like to be in piles,” said the recent Estancia graduate, asked by

an Eagle assistant coach last fall to tone down his practice-field

intensity, because he was scaring his younger teammates.

Westman begrudgingly honored the request, but, after a less than

dominant performance later that week in the Eagles’ first loss in four

games, he was granted a reprieve.

“I told my coach that messed me up and I didn’t have a good game, so

he said, ‘OK, forget (his overmatched practice opponents).’ Two plays

later, I knocked a guy out.”

Despite his strong senior season, which included being named Pacific

Coast League Co-Defensive Player of the Year by the Daily Pilot, the

All-Newport-Mesa District selection was himself staggered by the

invitation to play in the Orange County All-Star Football Game, Friday at

7:30 p.m. at Orange Coast College.

“My first thought was ‘Wow!,’ ” Westman recalled. “I was skeptical

about being able to compete against these guys, but now I know I belong.”

Westman, a three-year varsity starter who starred at offensive guard,

offensive tackle and defense end as a senior, was not earmarked for

greatness upon arriving from junior high.

The youngest of four Westman brothers to play at Estancia, he made his

football debut as a freshman, having been too big to compete in youth

leagues.

Pudgy, unproven and unfairly compared to his elder siblings, Westman

found refuge in the school’s weight room. Straining an average of 10

hours a week against cylindrical steel resistance, he chiseled his chunky

physique and silently railed against his critics.

“I love lifting, because I can just lose myself in it,” he said.

“(Then-varsity coach John) Liebengood told me I’d never break my brother

Mark’s record (a combined 875 pounds in the bench press, squat and power

clean). I tried to lift every minute I could. My goal was to be bigger,

stronger and faster. There were days I spent six hours in the weight

room.”

The bigger, stronger, faster mantra, accompanied by the Metallica

heavy metal blaring through the weight-room stereo (his favorite, song

aptly titled for any lineman, “Disposable Heroes”), helped Westman drown

out the doubters as he pumped iron and inflated his confidence.

“Maxing out” with a 380-pound bench press, a 540-pound squat and a

clean of 270, Westman’s three-lift total (1,190) destroyed his brother’s

11-year-old school record.

Bigger, stronger and faster, indeed -- he shaved his time in the

40-yard dash from 5.8 to 5.0 between his junior and senior seasons --

Westman seldom left the field last fall.

“Coach (Dave) Perkins told me in spring practice, I was going to go

both ways,” he said. “I’d never played much defense before that, because

(coaches) thought I didn’t have the stamina.”

Though more experienced and more comfortable on offense, Westman

quickly asserted himself as a defender. Combining strength, rapidly

improving technique, newfound quickness and relentless competitiveness,

he became the bane of offensive coordinators everywhere. He also became a

respected team leader.

The same skills, which have impressed South players and coaches,

caught the attention of recruiters at Oregon State, UNLV and Fresno

State. And while his immediate future lies at Orange Coast College,

Westman’s dream of playing at a four-year school on scholarship, remains

his primary motivation.

“Kyle is an animal out here,” said South fullback Jimmy Herzog, who

played against Westman at cross-town rival Costa Mesa, before

transferring to Santa Margarita for his senior season. “He seems like a

quiet, polite kid, until he’s on the field.”

Said South Coach Scott Orloff: “Kyle’s been great. We’ll use him on

both sides of the ball (offensive and defensive tackle). He goes hard on

every play.”

Westman, who passed on baseball and wrestling at Estancia, as not to

deter his football focus, remains driven.

“Lifting and football are my passions,” he said. “If a job application

asks about any skills I have which will help me do that job, I put down

football and weightlifting.”

Westman’s job Friday -- to help lift the South to victory -- appears

one for which he’s clearly qualified.