Kohls' next-man-up mentality

Ben Kohls was pressed into action at center for the University of South Dakota football team when starter Joey Lombard went down with an injury in the Coyotes’ opening game against Kansas State.

Kohls, a Sioux Falls Roosevelt graduate who is in his second year in the program, was not a center in high school, but was nevertheless the first pick off the second unit to step in. He has since then been a bright spot for the Coyotes, who face top-ranked North Dakota State at the DakotaDome on Saturday. 

A few things to know about Kohls: He’s an A student and a walk-on and his younger brother Sam is also a lineman at USD. He’s also trustworthy and mature beyond his years according to his position coach Andrew Prevost. 

That might have something to do with him being in the starting lineup at a position that demands extensive knowledge of the Coyote playbook and its principles.

“The center serves as me on the field,” Prevost said. “He gets the linemen into the right spots, gets our run plays identified and our pass protection identified correctly. It’s a huge responsibility. I trust Ben and our guys trust Ben. It’s been a pretty seamless transition. He got in there against Kansas State and graded out really high and he’s played well since then.”

The process of going from backup to starter was necessarily efficient thanks to Kohls making a habit of being prepared.

“It’s just about having the next-man-up mentality,” Kohls said. “It’s a long season and people get hurt – injuries happen – so you have to be prepared for something to go wrong. You have to be ready to go in, trust your fundamentals, be confident and attack.”

There are a few different ways to “attack” if you’re one of the Kohls brothers. One way is on the football field. The other way involves the Kohls family’s refrigerator. These days Ben is 6-3 and 305 pounds. His “little” brother Sam is 6-4 and 320. 

“Six loaves of bread, four gallons of milk a week – we went through a lot of food,” Ben said. “Sam’s been cleaning out the pantry late at night. That’s why he has a few pounds on me. But he moves pretty well, too, so he should keep it up.”

The Kohls boys have company in the brothers department with the Coyotes. Josh and Jordan Larsen are identical twins from Harrisburg who are freshmen offensive linemen.

“It’s a little different because they’re identical and I’m a year older than Sam,” Ben said. “I really can’t tell them apart so I consider them one guy a lot of the time.” 

A lot of people have brothers. Very few are teammates on Division I football teams. Ben is not just Ben, then. He’s also one of the Kohls brothers. Same with the Larsens.

It’s an inescapable part of the dynamic. For the Kohls brothers and the Larsens, that’s a good thing. It seems like everyone else gets a kick out of it, too. Even the coaches.

“Ben and Sam love each other – they’re best friends,” Prevost said. “They’re both 4.0 students but otherwise they’re a lot different. Sam can get kind of silly occasionally and Ben is one of the most mature kids I’ve ever been around. When Sam makes a mistake in practice, I love looking at Ben – it’s a look of discomfort. He’s disappointed in his brother. But the awesome part of that is when Sammy does really good things, you see Ben light up. You see joy and pride.”

On the topic of Ben’s maturity, Prevost cited his center’s time spent in child care – of the coach’s kid.

“We always make fun of Ben about being broke his whole life but he’s one of the most dependable people I’ve ever met,” Prevost said. “When I’m in a meeting he’ll take my son, Brooks, to the players’ lounge to play Mario Kart. He’s a quality human being.”

Kohls, who wants to be a high school history teacher and a coach, knows the drill with the little guys. They get bored if you don’t agitate them occasionally. There are holes in the drywall at the Kohls house that would serve as proof of that. The art is in not taking it too far.

“I grew up with four siblings so I’m used to dealing with a younger brother,” Kohls said. “So Brooks is kind of like a younger brother. I tease him a lot – cover his eyes when we’re playing Mario Kart, things like that – anything to gain an advantage. He usually beats me anyway.”

Kohls’ history teachers at Roosevelt High School got him thinking that’s what he wants to do with his life when he is done playing football. Coupled with the opportunity to stay involved as a coach, he sees a future in education.

“My Roosevelt teachers inspired me,” Kohls said. “I think we can learn from history. There are patterns in history that often repeat themselves so I think it’s very valuable in today’s society.”

He’s also a student of his own history. In its own way, it’s also repeating itself these days.

“Having Sam as a teammate takes me back to junior football,” he said. “Mom would drop us off for practice and we’d go out there and have fun. It’s like that now. Every day continues to be an opportunity to get better, but we also crack some jokes. We get to hit each other, too, so that’s always a plus.”