Lovell lineman Kalell Gruell guns for college football career

A Lovell High School senior will take his football career to the next level with his signing a letter of intent to attend a college in Iowa.

Kalell Gruell, son of Josh and Kayla Gruell, signed a letter of intent on February 4 to attend Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, halfway between Des Moines and Kansas City.

Gruell said he has always aspired to reach higher in football. He trained with the high school players when he was in middle school and took reps on the varsity as a freshman. He started as a sophomore at left guard on offense and at tackle and end on defense and did the same as a junior. He was named all-conference following his sophomore season and all-conference and all-state as a junior.

And then injury struck.

Playing at Mountain View on September 12, the Bulldogs ran a screen play on third and 10, and as a Mountain View player tried to tackle Matthew Newman, who caught the screen pass, he hit Gruell and broke his right fibula, also dislocating his ankle. Gruell’s season came to a sudden end.

“I heard a snap, and then I was in shock,” he said. “It was my senior year.”

It took more than 10 minutes for a trainer to arrive, Gruell said, and his father, an assistant coach, believed the injury was a sprain. He tried to walk it off but had to be helped to the sideline, where he was eventually loaded onto a Razor to leave the field and taken first to a clinic in Mountain View for an X-ray, then a hospital in Rock Springs. He later had surgery in Cody.

His recovery went well, and he even considered returning to the lineup late in the Bulldogs’ season.

“The doctors said it was one of the fastest recoveries they’ve seen,” he said.

Gruell said he had been talking to coaches at several colleges, and most of them cut ties. But Graceland did not.

“Luckily, Graceland was able to hold my scholarship and give me a future in college football,” he said.

Graceland is an NAIA school in the Heart of America Conference, and the head coach of the Yellowjackets is Phil Staback, though Gruell said he was recruited by D’Ambrose Finch.

Rather than being recruited for a specific position, Gruell will go to Graceland as an athlete and could play offensive or defensive line, linebacker or even fullback. He will attend school on a combination of athletic and academic scholarships.

Though many players redshirt their freshman year, Gruell intends to play.

“I don’t like sitting on the sideline,” he said. “I’m pretty close to the coaches, and if I keep going like I’m going, I have a pretty good chance to play.”

Gruell has a passion for football. Father Josh played at Black Hills State, and as a coach’s son, he has always been around the game and loves it.

“I love the brotherhood and the bonding,” he said, “and I like contact. There’s so much I like; I love the technicality of football, preparing for the game. It’s a game I fell in love with.”

He said he would like to coach one day and plans to minor in coaching at Graceland, while majoring in finance through the business school.

Playing in high school at 6-3, 235, Gruell is now preparing to make the jump to college ball through a regimen from Graceland designed to build strength and weight while also getting him in shape to play in the fall.

“I’m in the gym five times a week lifting, and next month I’ll start my conditioning program,” he said. “I’m also digging into the playbook. They’ve given me everything I need for college ball.”

Asked about his attributes as a football player, Gruell noted his strength and physicality, though he admitted his agility needs some work.

Lovell defensive coordinator and line coach A. Jay Montanez said he believes Gruell has what it takes to play at the college level.

“Kalell has been a force on the football field for the Bulldogs since he was a freshman,” Montanez said. “Throughout his high school career, he seemed to progress every year – more savvy, better technique and more aggressive. He’s the type of guy that you have to keep an eye on in practice because he has only one speed.

“Kalell is also a film junkie. He has an eye for tendencies, especially for opposing offensive and defensive lines. When Kalell got hurt this year, he was still contributing to the team by watching film and sharing his insights.”

Added Gruell, “I’m super excited. They’re in a rebuilding mode at Graceland, and they had a new coaching staff to start the (2025) season.”