The first time Kingwood head coach Cale Melton saw Kennedy Brown was during an eighth grade B-team basketball game.

Melton was there to watch his son, Anson, but couldn’t help but notice his giant-like teammate barreling up and down the hardwood.

“I saw him and was like, ‘That’s a big kid,’” Melton said. “I said, ‘He’s clumsy and has those big ol’ feet. If he ever grows into them suckers and those big hands he has, he’s gonna be unreal.’”

Brown grew into them suckers, alright, and is undoubtedly unreal. So unreal, in fact, that he’s not only in the conversation for best 2027 recruit in Texas, he’s on the short list for best prospect in his class nationally.

Look no further than his 44 offers (and counting) for proof of how badly college coaches want him on their campus. He’s blossomed into a 6-foot-5, 290-pound road grader with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, 11-inch hands, 29.5-inch vertical, and 8-foot-11 broad jump.

If those measurables aren’t enough, allow Melton to rave about his character.

“You get a lot of these kids that are great athletes, and the hard part is keeping them humble,” Melton said. “Man, he’s such a humble kid. A great kid, a program kid. He loves his teammates. He loves playing football. He’s a great athlete but an even better person.”

Now, don’t let that humbleness be mistaken for weakness. When the lights come on and Brown buckles his chinstrap, there’s not another player in the state that you would rather have opening up running lanes and protecting a quarterback’s blindside.

His intensity on the field is to the point where he grew to dislike his own defensive line leading up to Week 1 of the 2025 season.

“What I say to the o-line is that you have to hate the person in front of you,” Brown said. “I built that mindset during the first week of our season. We were going up against our own defensive line, and I hated the defense so much. You have to hate the person in front of you.”

Tapping into that mindset has clearly paid off. He tore his ACL his freshman year and worked his tail off to start 14 games at right tackle as a sophomore — in the largest classification in Texas — logging 602 snaps while not allowing a single QB pressure.

“From a recruiting standpoint, he’s the type of player every college program wants because of his rare combination of physical traits and versatility,” said Greg Powers, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s Director of Recruiting. “He has an enormous wingspan and some of the biggest hands you’ll see on a high school player, and he knows how to use them.

“He has the athletic ability to play offensive tackle, but also the strength and awareness to slide inside and dominate at guard. That versatility, paired with his frame and skill set, makes him offerable by any school in the country.”

While virtually every major program in the country has already thrown their hat in the ring for Brown’s future, the attention he receives from coaches and fans alike is something he’s still trying to wrap his head around.

“It for sure is a pinch-me moment,” Brown said. “I never thought I’d be in this position. All the glory to God. I was talking about this with my brother and was like, ‘You know, Christian, I could never imagine my name on TV, talking about me like ‘Kennedy Brown this... or Kennedy Brown that.’ You hear Myles Garrett, that sounds like a name that would be on TV. But ‘Kennedy Brown,’ I don’t know.”

Well, Kennedy, get used to it.

“Brown will be one of the most celebrated offensive linemen I’ll ever cover in Texas because he has such a unique blend of skill sets,” Powers said. “He checks every box you look for in a high-level prospect with size, athleticism, power and polish.”

What’s makes all of this that much more impressive is the fact that Brown is still only 16 years old. He intends to graduate early, which means that whenever he steps foot on a college campus and starts the strength and conditioning program, he’ll be one of the youngest at just 17.

Exactly what campus that’ll be is something Brown is still mulling over, though, it might not be the literal million-dollar question you might expect from one of the top players in the country in this age of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness).

“I’m not necessarily into NIL as much because if you’re good, the money will come,” Brown said. “I’m big on relationships. O-line development. Academics; you’re getting a free education. That’s amazing.

“I’m thinking about marine biology. People will say, ‘Oh, well the return on investment on that isn’t very good.’ Well, the thing I’d say to that is the only thing I’m investing in is my time and I love that stuff.”