MaxPreps Weekly Honor Roll, presented by the United States Marine Corps: Kirk Revis, St. Gerard Catholic

Kirk Revis knew getting to start on the varsity football team as a freshman was a privilege.

He didn't take it for granted. Not for one second.

In fact, Revis was able to start on both sides of the ball for St. Gerard Catholic (San Antonio). He showed his talent wasn't a fluke during his sophomore campaign this past fall.

As a defensive end, Revis racked up 12 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. As a strong guard on offense, Revis manhandled his opponents in the run game and registered nine pancake blocks.

"I improved a lot," Revis said. "More sacks this year, more tackles for losses this year, more pancakes this year, better at holding my own in pass protection against somebody bigger than me."

St. Gerard Catholic football coach Vincent Mendez watched his young player up his game in his second season.

"Just way more mature and more disciplined," Mendez said. "As a freshman you get into a game, there's a lot of nerves and things like that. This season, he had a lot more confidence and he had a tremendous offseason. He's a very competitive young man. We have a tremendous offseason program and he was there all summer long just working out."

"There's always somebody better than you and you're not always going to be the best," Revis said. "There's always going to be somebody who has the same strength as you, who is maybe stronger than you and is bigger than you and you're going to have to work harder and you're going to have to face up to those competitions in life."

Revis, who patterns his game after defensive players such as Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Michael Bennett and Michael Strahan, feels like the best part of his game is on the defensive side of the ball. His coach raves about his talents as a run stopper on the weak side.

"He's got really good feet and he's very, very strong," Mendez said. "One guy really cannot block him. Very strong kid. Very disciplined, too."

Tallying on average 1.2 sacks per game this season, Revis refined how he gets to the quarterback. He's always working on his moves.

"I basically use my hand techniques, my speed," said Revis, who is 6-foot, 225 pounds. "Sometimes I like to bull rush and push the tackle into the quarterback and I'll get my hands on him and take him down."


"That means we're running behind Kirk 17 times," Mendez said.

"Naturally he stays very low. He has a great stance, fires off the ball and he just knows what he's doing."

There's a lot of trust by Mendez and his coaching staff to have a sophomore lineman be the focal point of the run game.

"He does all the little things right," Mendez said. "Our program doesn't do anything fancy. We're very disciplined. We believe in what we're doing. We keep it very simple. Once the kids learn what we are doing, they just take off. Kirk's a guy that can lead team meetings, offensive line meetings, asks questions. He's a good student of the game."

Even though Revis believes he excels more on defense, Mendez thinks his game translates better on offense at the college level.

Mendez knows Revis had the right makeup to become a valuable piece to any college football program.

"With his work ethic, his discipline, with his respect of other people, my belief is if you just take care of those small things and work hard, good things will find you," Mendez said.

Even though he still has two years left to play high school football, Revis is starting the process of getting looked at by colleges. Programs such as the University of Texas at San Antonio, Baylor and Oregon have all shown interest via email.

Revis' dream school for football is the University of Houston. He likes the program and the coaches and campus isn't too far from home.

The 16-year-old has a couple of invite-only camps he'll be participating in during the next few months.

The Adidas Rivals camp in Houston will be a good way for Revis to get his name out there to scouts. The combine-style format will test Revis' 40-yard dash time, shuttle run, three-cone drill, vertical jump and broad jump.

"I want to show them that I can actually move for my size and show them that I don't quit," Revis said. "If I'm down, I get back on all fours to get back up and actually keep on trying. Show them that I can compete with guys bigger than me."

Along with football, Revis is in his second season starting on the soccer team. Being a multi-sport athlete keeps Revis balanced. He's also a dedicated student with a 3.1 grade point average.

"I'm very educated in the classroom," Revis said. "My parents are on top of me about academics. They tell me all time that I'm a student before I'm an athlete."

Prior to attending St. Gerard Catholic, Revis received an academic scholarship to help cover tuition. He was also given a principal award as a freshman for all his hard work in school.

Revis loves getting out in his community and helping those who are less fortunate. Through his church, a couple times a month he passes out plates of food to homeless people on the streets of San Antonio.

It's a rewarding experience for Revis to hand a meal to someone in dire need.

"It actually puts a smile on my face," Revis said. "Every day I drive through the streets and I see them and it puts a sad face on me. For me to personally go up to them and give them food and it makes them feel better, it makes me feel like a good person, better than the person I am right now."

One of things that makes Mendez root for Revis is because he's really well-manner kid who likes helping out others and gets along with everyone.

"We really push character in our school and he's a good example of that," Mendez said. "Our principal loves him. We have a middle school that's pretty much on our campus and he's always talking to those guys and interacting with them."