QB Nate Lovett is praised by coaches as someone who is always trying to improve himself in whatever he tackles and leads others by example.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

According to his guidance counselor, Nate Lovett never envisioned attracting attention to himself.

But when a teenager has Lovett’s athletic talent, academic prowess and humanitarian attitude toward life, it’s impossible not to notice.

During his career at East Providence High, Lovett earned a pair of first-team All-State football honors; quarterbacked the Townies football team to a state championship; earned all-division honors in two other sports, baseball and basketball; served as a student liaison to the East Providence School Committee; never missed a day of school; and compiled an academic average that ranked him ninth among the 441 graduates at East Providence this year.

“He is quiet and completely unassuming; a mature young man who would never envision attracting attention to himself, yet the power he packs academically, as a student-athlete and as a humanitarian is undeniable,” said Christine Miga, Lovett’s guidance counselor for four years.

The combination of athletic success and academic achievement has earned Lovett selection as the 2008 Providence Journal Honor Roll Boy. The son of Eileen and Campbell Lovett becomes the 82nd Rhode Island high school senior to be honored as the top male student/athlete in the state and the sixth Honor Roll Boy from East Providence High School.

“It was a great experience, an unbelievable experience, something I will always remember,” Lovett offered about his four years at East Providence.

The people at East Providence High will certainly remember Lovett for a long time.

He was the teenager who took on the challenge of playing a sport he had never played before he entered high school and became both a leader and a star.

He had grown up playing soccer. The closest he ever came to football was a few pickup games in his backyard. But he had watched his older brother perform as a placekicker for the East Providence High football team and he decided he wanted to be part of Townie football.

So in his freshman year he starting playing a game he knew virtually nothing about. He never expected within three years he would be the star quarterback for a state championship team. But the East Providence coaching staff noticed he had talent and intelligence so they asked him whether he wanted to try quarterbacking.

He became a dedicated student of the game and in his junior year, in the fall of 2006, he led East Providence to the Division I state championship by passing for nine touchdowns and running for seven, including a TD run in the Super Bowl. Last fall, East Providence didn’t win the state title, but Lovett still was one of the top players in the state with his play at quarterback and also averaged 45 yards per kick as the Townies punter.

It was a challenge learning how to quarterback East Providence’s complicated option offense, but then, where some people would see a tough challenge, Lovett saw a great opportunity.

“I had never played [football], so that was a challenge,” said Lovett. “It was tough going into something I had no background in, but I had great coaches. They helped me progress.

“I embrace every challenge, and stride with it and hope for the best. You broaden your horizons by taking on new challenges.”

His challenges weren’t restricted to athletics. He took on an academic program loaded with honors and AP courses and posted a 91.82 average.

“I just try and get better every day,” said Lovett. “Academically even more so, you just prepare for school every day.”

“He’s one of a kind,” veteran East Providence football coach Sandy Gorham offered about Lovett. “He has enormous talent, but he’s as humble an athlete as I’ve ever been around. He has a work ethic that’s equal to his talent, and he loves to be coached. Some kids take coaching as criticism, but he just soaks up everything you tell him.”

He played three sports every year for four years. He played in about 200 games and participated in at least 500 school-day practice sessions, but he was always in school next morning. In his four-year career, he never missed a day of school.

“I haven’t missed a day of school since the fourth grade,” Lovett said. “It definitely helps out. You never fall behind; you always stay on top of everything. I challenged myself to see if I could get there every day.”

“So many teenagers are so unprepared for things in the future that I think they get scared. But if you prepare yourself, it carries over to most things you need. If you’re prepared, you’re all set.”

He was the captain of the East Providence football, basketball and baseball teams this school year and also was the recipient of the East Providence URI Book Award for academic excellence and student leadership. He was one of the 12 players named to the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Football Foundation’s Golden Dozen this year, and one of the two recipients of the Chapter’s major scholarship awards. He also was the Division I-East recipient of the Brian Fell Award by the state’s baseball coaches association for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

He was a star and a leader.

“Leadership is just making everyone around you better,” said Lovett, who will attend Brown University and plans to play football for the Bears.

“You bring the team together through example, basically. Just try to be the best example possible to other people,” Lovett added.

“I wasn’t one of the most vocal leaders on the team. I felt it was my job to lead by example as best I could.”

He certainly did.

jgillool@projo.com