He is a star on and off the field for Bradwell Institute.

Tigers senior defensive end Mikah Kent has been a constant during his years at the school, performing well on Friday nights along with the classroom.

Kent also serves as the right tackle for the Tigers’ offense.

The multifaceted student-athlete has picked up 40 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries while maintaining a 4.25 grade point average over his time at Bradwell.

Kent always had love for football with the assistance of his stepdad.

“My stepdad stepped in when my parents divorced when I was younger,” he said. “I thought he was my real father. They’ve been able to raise me very good and made me respectful. My dad was the one that taught me football and made me love the game.”

But he did not begin playing the game seriously until middle school.

“I tried it when I was younger, but they put me at center and I just wasn’t feeling it,” Kent said with a laugh. “But I played again around either grade at defensive end and tackle.”

The 6 foot 3 inch, 220 lbs. Kent marvels at former Pittsburg Steelers Pro-Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier and current Steelers quarterback Joshua Dobbs because of their drive to succeed while navigating through having alopecia.

Kent also has the alopecia medical condition where it causes hair to fall out in patches on areas of the body where it usually grows.

Players that he tries to model his game after his Chase Young, Aaron Donald, and Von Miller.

“I look at a lot of stuff they do,” Kent said. “They do a lot of pass rush moves so those are the people I look up to.”

When preparing for games on Friday nights, Kent likes to create scenarios in his head after watching game film.

“I try to think about what’s going to happen in the game, play it in my mind, and think about what I’m going to do against the player I’m going against to better myself and the team,” he said. “I try to make sure I’m going to be in the right position to make the play or have someone else make the play.”

To hype himself up before games, Kent mainly has Drake, Meek Mill, and Kanye West in his music rotation before kickoff.

Outside of football, he likes to workout and play basketball and video games with friends. 

Davidson College, the alma mater of NBA Champion and Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, offered Kent on July 14.

While this is his first and only offer, Kent wants to gain more traction in the recruiting pipeline and draw more scholarships throughout his senior season and wait until the season is over to make a commitment.

“I’ve talked to a bunch of different colleges but only one has offered me so far,” he said. “I’m trying to get some more but I want to wait to after football season to see if I can get any more offers and choose the best place possible for me and my family because I know they’re going to want to be able to see me sometimes. So, I don’t want to be too far. But I don’t want to have to pay a lot to go there also so I’m trying to use academics and athletic scholarships to get to a good university.”

Whatever school he decides to go to, Kent wants to go into the pre-med field and major in either Biology or Chemistry.

Kent’s head coach Deshon Brock raved about him.

Entering his first season with Kent, Brock has been impressed about the maturity of his player along with his way of balancing thriving academics and athletics.

“He’s a consummate professional on and off the field,” he said. “He’s a tremendous role model for the youth and leads the right way. He’s the strongest kid in the weight room and one of the fastest for his size. He conditions with the receivers and linebackers to better himself. Academically, he has a high GPA and scored a 24 on the ACT as a freshman. He has aspirations to go to an Ivy League school if athletics is not on the table. What more do you want from a kid? I wish I had 10 more of him.”

With this being his final season as a member of Tiger football, Kent wants to go out with a bang and end the struggles that the program has faced in recent years.

“We haven’t won a game in almost two years,” he said about his team. “But I really feel like the team we have can go far and believe in us because we’ve been working since we were freshmen. Now, we finally get the chance as seniors to go somewhere and change Bradwell. I don’t want to go out with a mediocre season or have a winning season and not go anywhere. I’m hoping that we can go to the state championship. That’s my dream. I want to go out big.”