Sixth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Khary Wilder, Gardena Serra defensive lineman.
Khary Wilder, 6 feet 4 and 250 pounds with arms as thick as tree trunks, is a 16-year-old junior defensive lineman at Gardena Serra High. He had 14 sacks last season and at least one in every Mission League game. If anyone can be identified as a future star, it’s him.
Walking around Serra’s campus, the talent level is so high in different sports that it makes students realize you never can rest on your latest accomplishment because there’s always someone ready to follow. It’s both inspiring and challenging.
“I’ve heard about Serra since I was in fifth grade,” Wilder said. “I used to go to their eighth-grade camps. They have a long legacy of producing NFL talent.”
From Robert Woods to Marqise Lee to Adoree’ Jackson to Rasheem Green, coach Scott Altenberg knows when he sees a good player. And Wilder fits the profile of another Cavaliers standout in the making.
“He’s super talented and a great athlete, “ Altenberg said. “He’s been playing for us since he was 14 and has gotten a lot stronger.”
As effective as Wilder was last season as a sophomore, he’s now stronger, bigger, faster and more agile. He has returned to playing basketball and thinks rebounding and recording a sack are similar.
“You’re attacking every rebound and every loose ball,” he said. “Getting a sack is the same thing, having the same energy and intensity.”
Wilder comes from a family in which education is a must. His father is an assistant principal at Crenshaw High and his mother is an elementary school teacher. Any grade he gets, his father knows about it thanks to technology and apps.
“Since I was young, I can remember always having good grades and a good report card and they being proud of me,” he said.
His father, Khary Sr., is 305 pounds and used to play football at Gardena High. The two Kharys would battle it out in basketball and other sports, but Wilder said of his father, “He doesn’t want to play me now.”
Outgoing, respectful and jovial, Wilder has been called a “sponge” by Serra coaches because he always listens and wants to learn. He contributed as a freshman and made steady progress last season.
“At the start of the season, the first two games, I started slow,” he said. ”I wasn’t where I wanted to be because I put in a lot of work in the offseason. As the season progressed, I worked hard at practice, listened to what the coaches were saying, watched film and it got easier.”
It culminated with a four-sack performance against Los Alamitos in the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. It was a hint of the impact Wilder can make on defense when Serra moves him around and lets him improvise to take advantage of his athleticism.
A tribute at Gardena Serra’s football stadium to some great athletes of the past.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
When you enter the football field at Serra, there’s a display of “Cavalier Legends,” with five former athletes featured. That easily could expand to 10 or more, but it serves as inspiration for those hoping to make their mark in Serra lore.
“Seeing all the legends, I want to be on that list too,” Wilder said. “I want to be on that pedestal and maybe in 20 years when my kids come by Serra and I can tell them I was considered a Serra legend.”
Sunday: Samu Moala, Leuzinger linebacker.
Defensive linemen to watch
Anthony Jones; Crean Lutheran; 6-5; 240; Jr.; Keeps getting stronger, faster
Dutch Horisk; St. John Bosco; 6-2; 230; Jr.; Every season he keeps improving
Hayden Lowe; Oaks Christian; 6-3; 250; Sr.; USC commit is defensive end with strong motor
Jireh Moe; Orange Lutheran; 6-1; 290; Sr.; First-team All-Trinity League
Chinedu Onyeagoro; King/Drew; 6-4; 230; Sr.; Southern Methodist commit has 40 sacks last two seasons
Mays Pese; Bishop Diego; 6-2; 275; Sr.; Arizona commit plays like a beast in the trenches
Scott Taylor; Loyola; 6-4; 235; Sr.; UCLA commit is terrific athlete
Richard Wesley; Sierra Canyon; 6-4; 240; So.; A superstar in the making
Khary Wilder; Gardena Serra; 6-4; 250; Jr.; Is proven sack master
Jaden Williams; Mission Viejo; 6-4; 235; Sr.; San Diego State commit had 18 sacks