Kehber “Kab” Nijher. Get used to hearing the name, because in just a few years, you’ll be hearing his name on national TV on Saturdays. But that day is still a few years out. For now, the sophomore quarterback at Armwood High School in Florida is fully focused on the upcoming season.

Nijher, a class of 2029 prospect, is one of the top quarterbacks in his recruiting class, but he’s not like a lot of the others. He hails from northern India, a part of the world that isn’t known for producing American Football talent, but he’s trying to change that narrative and pave a way for other kids like him to play football at a high level.

Despite entering just his second year of high school football, Nijher already holds offers from five schools, according to 24/7 Sports. UConn, Toledo, Liberty, Georgia Southern, and South Florida have all extended offers to the 6-foot-1, 175-pound sophomore, and there will be plenty more to come before he makes his final decision.

Keenan Weir with EssentiallySports was lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with Nijher to talk about his life journey, his high school football career, and his future plans.

How Does Your Upbringing Connect to Your Football Journey?

Nijher: “So, first thing I really want to talk about is my faith. I’m a Sikh. The Sikh religion started in northern India, in Punjab. I think really my roots and my upbringing, how they connect to football for me, really is about how I was raised, always to put my best foot forward, always lift everybody up. Everybody’s on the same level no matter whatever your social class is, and I’ve seen that through my mom and my dad, my grandparents, always uplifting everybody to the same level. And really, it’s like a game of football; it doesn’t matter where you come from, your race or whatever, when you’re on the football field, it’s all about everybody’s equal, you know what I mean?

“So I think that’s how really my roots and my upbringing have really connected me to football. Showing up on the football field is really just a hard-working part of the Sikh and Punjabi people of northern India, like everybody’s real salt-of-the-earth type of people, willing to do whatever work needs to be done. Obviously, on the football field you need to be able to do whatever it takes to get the job done, to get the win at whatever cost. So I think that’s really how it ties in.”

What Has Your Family Taught You?

Nijher: “Really just the mindset of being able to stay even no matter what as a quarterback. You can’t be too high or too low; you just have to stay even throughout the game. So I think really just keeping my mind calm, focusing on the little things that really have the major effects on the game, taking it one play at a time and keeping my mind at that even place, not getting too high, not getting too low.”

When Did You Realize Playing QB Could Take You Further Than High School?

Nijher: “I think I first realized that probably when I was seventh grade, when I really started working with Coach Donovan Dooley, really seeing older guys in front of me, Bryce Underwood, Trae Taylor, really working with them and seeing how they were getting recruited at the next level. I can use that as motivation to see there’s steps beyond what’s going on right now. This isn’t the end goal. The end goal is to go to the next level and be able to compete at the college level.”

What is Your Preparation Like? And How Do You Improve Off the Field?

Nijher: “I think the key point that people, when they first get into the position of quarterback, is not taking the mental side of the game as serious. As Coach Dooley says, I believe in the same thing. The game’s 80 percent mental, 20 percent physical. Really being sharp cerebrally and understanding the ins and outs of the game can really lead to your further success. You don’t have to be the most athletic guy on the field. I don’t run a 4.3, 4.4 forty, but I’m still able to really get out there, do what I need to do to get the job done. Having the mental preparedness, the understanding of the game, understanding the game inside of the game can lead you to having further success and being one step ahead of the competition. I’d say the cerebral part of the game is really what people don’t see on Friday night, but what really goes into wins and losses.”

How Do You Handle the Pressure of Playing QB?

Nijher: “I’d say, just like I said earlier, really being able to keep my mind even and stay even throughout the game no matter how high I get or how low I get. I can tell you, for example, Week 0, I came out first drive, took an 80-yard drive, and we went out and scored. The next play I came out and threw a pick, the first play, but really just being able to stay even throughout the whole game no matter what happens. The highs and lows are going to come with the game, but being able to understand what you need to get done and not get too big on yourself and not get too low on yourself. It’s on to the next play, have a short-term memory when it comes to that.”

Where Do You Get Your Confidence From?

Nijher: “I just really think my personality really comes from how I was raised. I mean, put in environments where I can really be myself, and then I’ve been able to become comfortable with who I am. I think people run into a problem with trying to be something they’re not, so really just being comfortable with who I am, showing my personality, and then my personality can show up on the field by how I play, really just being a vibrant person.”

How Would You Define Your Leadership On and Off the Field?

Nijher: “So I think there’s two parts to that question. Really being a leader on and off the field, you have to be able to understand what everybody is doing so that nobody is ever confused in what’s going on in the offense. So I think leadership on the field really comes down to being able to explain and describe things to the team and then people having trust in you that you know what you’re doing. Quarterback is obviously the most difficult position in sports. You have a lot going on. You have a major decision to make every play in a matter of .5 seconds. The ball snaps, you get to the top of your drop, you have to get the ball out. You have to know where you’re going with it. So really the mental preparation can help the game slow down for you. And then leadership off the field, I think really leadership off the field comes through setting the example for our guys to follow. We have a pretty good team. So I think out in public, as a team, we set the example, always trying to do the right thing no matter what situation we’re put in.”

What Are Your Expectations For the Upcoming Season?

Nijher: “To start off as a team, the expectations to come out 15-0, win a state championship. Just transferring into a school like Armwood, they went to a fourth round last year, so the standard’s already set of perfection. So really to come out, have a really good season. Goal is to go 15-0 with a state championship. Personal goal, I’d say off the top of my head, no matter what it is, is really that 15-0 is the main goal for me. Winning this state championship as a sophomore would be a big jump for me in terms of recruitment and other things outside of football. And then I’d say 4,000 yards and however many touchdowns come with that.”

What Part of Your Game Do You Want People to See This Year?

Nijher: “I think something that people have already seen from me but I think that needs to be put in the spotlight more is the mental side of the game. I still don’t think people value the mental side enough. I think that could be shown through videos. Obviously on Instagram you could show that, like you up on the board. But then really just being one step ahead, like being calm under pressure, being able to get the ball out. And then one side of my game that I’ve been really working on is getting on the run, making some plays on the ground.”

What Was Getting Your First College Offer Like?

Nijher: “I mean, obviously it’s a blessing to be able to get offers this young as a going into my sophomore year with six offers. It’s obviously a blessing. So I’d say first I’m just grateful for the opportunities. And for the coaches, really understanding how much work’s being put in. And I think big job offers really shows you that the work’s not for nothing. You know what I mean? Like all the work we put in, all the late nights, early mornings, watching film, working on my craft on and off the field, in the weight room, it really shows that the work isn’t for nothing. There is stuff that comes out of it.”

What Are You Looking For in a School?

Nijher: “I think I’m still very early on in my recruitment. I’m still being a sophomore. I can’t even contact college coaches. College coaches can’t even contact me right now. So really I can’t start conversation right now to really see what I’m looking for in a college. I just want a good system for me, and I’m more committed to people than places. Really people bought into me, bought into what they believe in and what I believe in. If we can really mesh as people, I think that would be really good in my recruitment. And then the place that’s really just bought into me.”

What Would You Like a College Coach to Know About You?

Nijher: “I think if I were to say a few things about me that a college coach, I would love for them to understand is they’re going to get a leader on and off the field, like I said, a really caring person no matter what it is, always putting the team first no matter what the situation is. And then a guy that’s going to come in and put in the hours, whether that’s lifting weights in the film room, getting prepared mental side of the game, they’re getting a guy who’s 1,000% committed to the game.”

What Would it Mean to Open Doors for Other Sikh Kids to Play QB?

Nijher: “I mean, it means a lot to me. It really shows that this is for something bigger than me. A country of a population, one of the largest countries in the world, you know what I mean, and there’s not been one to come out of it. So I think really showing that it’s way larger than just me, setting the example that anybody can do it, you know what I mean, not only Sikhs but any Indian, anybody in the world, anybody can achieve the goal if they set their mind to and really commit to what they’re doing.”

Where Would You Like Football to Take You?

Nijher: “ I mean, obviously, for everybody, the goal is to go to the league. So I really want to stay committed to the game and then obviously play at the next level, at the college level, and eventually make it to the NFL, and then really start a wave of Sikh Indian quarterbacks coming through and lead the way for Indian quarterbacks or Indians at any position, Sikhs at any position. And then really getting into pouring into the youth as I’m getting to the next level and just bringing everybody up with me.”