Khalil Herbert's late bloomer story is truly incredible

Khalil Herbert started playing tackle football at five years old down in Florida. But he didn't really play. He wore No. 95 and he was considered a running back. But he wasn't really a running back. He sat on the bench and maybe got one carry a game if his team was winning by a lot or losing by a lot. In reality, he didn't have a position.

That was Herbert's norm for several years.

He was the brother of KJ Herbert, a speedy kid who was naturally talented in every sport. KJ, who is three years older than his brother, played for the Coconut Creek football program, so Khalil joined as well.

Football in Florida means everything. There aren't participation trophies and only the best get a shot at the top positions.

Khalil was a late bloomer, describing his younger self as chubby and slow, lacking some athleticism. The level of competition meant Khalil wasn't given a chance to play a skill position. But the Herbert family was paying for him to be on the team, so the coaches had to find him a place.

While KJ excelled as a running back, Khalil had to learn to be the jack of all trades. He bounced around from defensive end to linebacker to guard to fullback to cornerback.

No matter where Khalil played or how hard we worked, he was always just "KJ's little brother." It wasn't even until Khalil's sophomore year of high school that he finally got a shot at running back. But it was still because of KJ. If his older brother was a great running back, maybe Khalil could be too.

But no one understood Khalil's desire to be more than KJ's brother or saw the fire that festered inside him for a decade.

'He just never gave up'
Khalil was about six years old when he stepped onto a prominent football field for the first time. His father took him and KJ out to Boise, Idaho, to visit his other older brother, Treyvion Foster, who is the same age as KJ.

One of their days in Idaho was spent breaking onto Boise State football field, known for its bright blue turf. The brothers ran around the field, pretending to score touchdowns while snow fell around them. Treyvion remembers how excited Khalil and KJ were to see snow for the first time. The moment was surreal.

As the three played on the field, Treyvion and KJ gave Khalil a hard time, teasing him and showing off their greater athletic abilities. It was normal big brother behavior, and it was something Khalil was used to.

Most summers, Treyvion would go down to Florida to see his dad and brothers. While KJ was the fastest, Treyvion was always the strongest. They physically dominated Khalil in any game they played, but it only added to the fire.

"He just never gave up," Treyvion said. "Anytime we're playing in the yard, KJ was always super quick, or I'd catch the jump balls, but he never just sat there and said, 'I'm not gonna be able to catch KJ or catch this ball over Treyvion.' He was just always fighting to make plays really in anything we played in."

The brothers created competition everywhere. They were usually playing football in the backyard or basketball in the street. If they weren't outside, they were battling each other in Madden or NCAA Football. Like any siblings, they were always trying to best each other.

But no matter what the competition was, Khalil was always in the mix. Treyvion learned from a young age that there was no quit in his younger brother.

"He was always there in the scrum with his older brothers and his older cousins, just fighting for the ball," Treyvion said. "And he never wanted to break off with the younger cousins. He was always going to compete with the biggest, the fastest, or best, whether it was childhood, or as he got older. And you see that play out on the field. He's not going to shy away from taking anybody on whether that's trying to break their ankles or run through them. He's just always been like that, whether he was interested in football or not, he's not going to take [crap] from anyone."

When Treyvion reflects on the memories of him and KJ constantly teasing Khalil or beating him in games like 'kill the man with the ball,' he sees why his little brother grew into a successful, yet humble man.

While the sibling bickering or size disadvantages might've bothered Khalil for a short moment, he never let it deter his driven mindset. He always admired his brothers' athletic abilities, but he quickly learned he'd have to work a bit harder than most.

"Those are reasons that outside voices and what other people are doing doesn't really affect him," Treyvion said. "He's so focused on bettering himself and shutting out the outside noise and going to work and trying to be the best he can be rather than comparing himself to others."

'KJ's little brother'
KJ first noticed a difference between his and Khalil's determination when they were in little league football. There were different weight groups and sometimes Khalil would be overweight. Instead of quitting, he changed his diet, often eating Lean Cuisine meals, so he could make weight before gameday.

Khalil's work ethic was something KJ didn't really understand. KJ was always the standout athlete of the family, but he rarely put in extra work. Any sport he tried, he excelled at.

"I didn't even pay attention to myself. It was all just fun to me, and it just came naturally," KJ said. "I didn't put in any work. Khalil, he put in a lot of work to be where he is now. And it's a totally different mindset now that I'm older, I can see like damn, I wish I did put in work when I was younger."

When Treyvion wasn't in Florida for the summer, KJ and Khalil's mother would often book a vacation for her and her boys. But there were multiple times Khalil turned down the trip so he could stay home and participate in summer workouts.

Again, KJ was confused by this. He always went on the vacations because summer training didn't seem that important to him. But for Khalil it was just another chance to learn, grow and defy expectations.

Once Khalil got to high school at Stoneman Douglas, everything changed. KJ was focused on track and field, eventually earning a scholarship to run for St. Augustine. Treyvion went to play football at Stanford. Both older brothers graduated high school in 2013, so their first year of college was Khalil's sophomore year of high school.

The next time the brothers saw each other, Khalil was unrecognizable. He had sprouted up to 5-foot-10, leaned out, yet gained substantial muscle. Around sophomore year was when Khalil blossomed as a running back. When Treyvion and KJ first saw his early high school tapes, they couldn't believe it was their little brother.

"Our cousin's group chat, he's sending me clips or highlights of himself, and I saw that transition to where he was a lot more reflective on his performance and wanting to get better," Treyvion said. "Once KJ started in track it was this goal of getting to the D1 level and seeing a lot of peers he grew up with that were older, Khalil started to see them go into college and also the league. That starts to feel more realistic."

Khalil spent three years at Stoneman Douglas before transferring to American Heritage for his senior year of high school. He became one of the team's prominent leaders, recording 861 yards with nine touchdowns, but his college prospects were still few and far between. His first offer came from Appalachian State, then FIU, two FBS schools.

Then, in January of his senior year, Kansas offered him and he committed. Khalil knew he wasn't walking into a powerhouse. Kansas had gone winless in the 2015 season and won just six games combined in the previous two seasons.

Still, all Khalil needed was a chance. It's what he rarely had growing up, never being the first or even second option. But if Khalil could make a name for himself in high school, ridding himself of the "KJ's little brother" title, he could find a way to make it work at Kansas.