Photo Contributed by Kyle Howie

“[The Rams] have done so much for me. I’ve worked with them since my freshman year, just shadowing, and then slowly working my way up to a game day assistant, so I’d love to be working with the Rams post-grad,” Kyle Howie said.

California Lutheran University senior Kyle Howie, punter on the Kingsmen football team, is forging a path to a career in sports communication.

The recently-named Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Special Teams Athlete of the Week is currently working for the Los Angeles Rams as a Game Day Public Relations Assistant. Howie said he previously interned with Cal Lutheran’s on-campus neighbor, Angel City Football Club, as well as with an athletic scouting organization, Prep Baseball.

According to Howie, sports have always been a part of his life. Growing up, Howie said he dreamed of being a professional athlete. Though that door hasn’t fully closed, Howie said he realized that working in the sports field can allow him to fulfill that dream in another way.

“I realized that at a younger age, and then, as I’ve gone on, I’ve just been more motivated to be in the sports world. I just want to dip my toes in everything possible,” Howie said.

Howie said from March to August of 2025, he was a Player Care Intern for Angel City FC, in which he worked closely with the club’s players and coaches.

“Anything we could do to help them out so they can focus on their play, that’s what we would do, so that involved taking care of international players, all their paperwork, even coaches, international coaches,” Howie said.

At his internship with Prep Baseball, Howie said he worked events to help high school athletes get scouted, assisted with gathering player statistics, and created social media posts to promote the athletes.

Matt Sciumbato, Kingsmen football’s special teams coordinator, said people who work with Howie often report back and say “what a great work ethic he has,” and “that he’s taking charge.”

Sciumbato said Howie has taken younger players on the team under his wing and taught them the same work ethic he possesses. According to Sciumbato, Howie hasn’t been afraid to step up as a leader and “show his voice” to these newcomers.

Coaches and teammates alike agree that what Howie has learned in a professional setting translates well to being a player on the football field. 

Senior safety Josiah Baldivia has been teammates with Howie for the entirety of their Cal Lutheran football career, and said he has seen Howie grow to be more of a leader over the seasons.

“He [Howie] always gets our events going and everything outside the team for team bonding. He’s always bringing energy on and off the field,” Baldivia said.

In September, Howie earned the title of SCIAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week. According to CLU Sports, the award came after a “game-winning defensive stand” against Pacific Lutheran University.

“It’s a fun award to win. It’s just a good way to kick off the season, and we have so much more to prove than just winning individual awards, just because our team has been looked down [upon] all the years I’ve been here,” Howie said.

After multiple seasons with a losing record, Howie said the Kingsmen have “heard outside noise,” but never let it get to them.

With an undefeated record at the halfway point of their season, Howie said the Kingsmen are not trying to prove anything to anyone but themselves. 

“It’s proving it to ourselves. It’s proving it to our coaches that they brought the right guys in, and they believe in us,” Howie said.

In a specialist position like a punter, Sciumbato said there is a great deal of repetition, which can help Howie in his career endeavors.

“Learning to love that work is going to help him [Howie] in whatever job he decides to end up going to,” Sciumbato said.

Howie said his career goal is to work in public relations for the National Football League, potentially with the Rams, where he shadowed sports communication professionals during his first year at Cal Lutheran, thanks to a connection with Artis Twyman, vice president of communications for the Rams.

“[The Rams] have done so much for me,” Howie said. “I’ve worked with them since my freshman year, just shadowing, and then slowly working my way up to a game day assistant, so I’d love to be working with the Rams post-grad.”

According to Howie, football has taught him many things he can apply to his future career.

“My relationship with football has taught me so many other things than just how to punt,” Howie said. “It’s, like, how to time-manage, how to deal with challenges that come your way, how to overcome adversity. Those life skills that football teaches you will help me out in the future.”