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Keith finds his motivation
Strong play at Kansas means getting drafted into NFL possible
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
If Kansas defensive end Charlton Keith's resolve ever wavers as he works out for the coming NFL Draft, he can always think of Brandon.
A former Beacon Journal Player of the Year from Buchtel, Keith got another chance when he abandoned his football career at the University of Minnesota. Brandon Hall wasn't so fortunate. Keith's close friend and Golden Gophers teammate was murdered outside a downtown Minneapolis nightclub in August 2002.
Both redshirt freshmen defensive linemen, Keith and Hall had left their dorm the night after their first college game and rushed to the aid of a teammate who had been beaten and robbed. The police had broken up the altercation when they arrived, but the attackers had not been found.
``As we were walking back to our cars, a guy jumped out of a van and started shooting at us,'' Keith said last week. ``I was standing right next to Brandon. I stood there looking in his eyes and watched him die.''
Keith eventually testified in the trial of Jermaine O. Stansberry, a 28-year-old with an extensive criminal history, because he thought that he owed it to Brandon. Stansberry was convicted of second-degree murder and armed robbery and sentenced to 35 years.
Keith said he was unable to grieve for Brandon until football was finished. He put those thoughts aside and led the Gophers in sacks, making several freshman All-America teams.
Off-the-field issues came to a head for Keith in early 2003. He said he still hadn't gotten over the death of Buchtel assistant coach Eddie Ponder a year earlier.
``I had a lot of things to deal with,'' Keith said. ``I wasn't focused in school. I didn't feel safe (in Minneapolis). Me being a young man in a city like that, I like to go out.
``Not that (Stansberry's friends) were going to kill me, but that I'd have to look over my shoulder all the time. I went home in the spring. I never got kicked off the team. I left on my own.''
Minnesota offensive coordinator Mitch Browning, who recruits Ohio, tried to convince Keith to stay.
``(Hall's murder) had very little impact, it was more to do with his immaturity,'' Browning said of Keith's departure. ``Sometimes with kids when it's their first time away from home, the college experience is overwhelming. Playing Big Ten football, adjusting from an academic, athletic and social standpoint.''
Buchtel coach Claude Brown had encouraged Keith to play quarterback and linebacker for him after two seasons at Canton Timken when there were rumors that the school was going to drop football. Brown has known Keith since he was 4 years old and tried to help him through the difficult time.
``He's strong mentally; he just went in another direction for a while,'' Brown said.
Hanging out in Akron that spring, Keith said he ``watched people do nothing every day.'' Then he got a call from former Minnesota graduate assistant Vince Varpness, who had taken a job with Minnesota West, a Division III junior college, to be close to an ailing relative. Varpness said he would help Keith get back in school.
Minnesota West didn't have a weight room, a training table, dorms or a cafeteria. Stuck in a small town three hours from Minneapolis, Keith said it was nearly culture shock.
``My dad had to pay rent; I had to pay bills,'' Keith said. ``I lost 20 pounds, I was down to 195. But I got a second chance. Brandon didn't have a second chance. If he had, he would have taken it.''
Keith, now 6-foot-4 ½ and 237 pounds, recorded 12 ½ sacks in his one season there, 7 ½ in the first three games before his weight dipped and opponents began double- and triple-teaming him.
After the 2003 season, Keith's phone rang again. It was a scholarship offer from Kansas, largely on the recommendation of Jayhawks strength coach Chris Dawson, who had held the same post at Minnesota when Keith was there.
``I had to take 21 hours over the summer to be eligible to go back to Division I,'' Keith said. ``Kansas was the only school that would take a chance with that. Coach Dawson put his name on the line for me.''
Kansas defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Bill Young, who worked at Ohio State under John Cooper from 1988-95, said Keith was behind when he arrived in Lawrence because the Jayhawks already had started two-a-days. Young also figured that Keith was probably better suited weight-wise for linebacker, but Kansas had plenty of depth there so he was used at defensive end.
Keith played in 11 games as a backup in 2004 and finished with 21 tackles, seven tackles for losses, three sacks and eight quarterback pressures. He improved dramatically as a starter in 2005, setting a school record with 23 tackles for losses, along with 61 tackles, nine sacks and seven quarterback hurries. He was named first team All-Big 12 and shared team defensive Most Valuable Player honors with linebacker Nick Reid.
``There's no question he's one of the better players in the Big 12,'' Young said of Keith. ``He has unbelievable quickness off the ball. He would have had a ton of sacks if we could have contained the quarterback.''
Keith said the Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders showed the most interest in him at the NFL Combine, which wrapped up last week in Indianapolis. Young thinks that Keith has the skills, instincts and intelligence to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.
``As a rush-drop linebacker, he's kind of the perfect fit,'' Young said.
With the pros apparently in Keith's future, Young hopes Keith completes his college degree. He's now taking correspondence courses while he trains in Atlanta for a workout day for NFL scouts March 15.
``It will be more important in eight or nine years when the NFL is behind him,'' Young said. ``I hope he doesn't lose sight of that.''
Browning still talks to Keith once or twice a month and relishes how Keith has gotten his life in order.
``Junior college was a good, rude awakening,'' Browning said. ``He matured. He had one more chance, and he made a name for himself.''
Messages for Marla Ridenour can be left at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com
Link
Strong play at Kansas means getting drafted into NFL possible
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
If Kansas defensive end Charlton Keith's resolve ever wavers as he works out for the coming NFL Draft, he can always think of Brandon.
A former Beacon Journal Player of the Year from Buchtel, Keith got another chance when he abandoned his football career at the University of Minnesota. Brandon Hall wasn't so fortunate. Keith's close friend and Golden Gophers teammate was murdered outside a downtown Minneapolis nightclub in August 2002.
Both redshirt freshmen defensive linemen, Keith and Hall had left their dorm the night after their first college game and rushed to the aid of a teammate who had been beaten and robbed. The police had broken up the altercation when they arrived, but the attackers had not been found.
``As we were walking back to our cars, a guy jumped out of a van and started shooting at us,'' Keith said last week. ``I was standing right next to Brandon. I stood there looking in his eyes and watched him die.''
Keith eventually testified in the trial of Jermaine O. Stansberry, a 28-year-old with an extensive criminal history, because he thought that he owed it to Brandon. Stansberry was convicted of second-degree murder and armed robbery and sentenced to 35 years.
Keith said he was unable to grieve for Brandon until football was finished. He put those thoughts aside and led the Gophers in sacks, making several freshman All-America teams.
Off-the-field issues came to a head for Keith in early 2003. He said he still hadn't gotten over the death of Buchtel assistant coach Eddie Ponder a year earlier.
``I had a lot of things to deal with,'' Keith said. ``I wasn't focused in school. I didn't feel safe (in Minneapolis). Me being a young man in a city like that, I like to go out.
``Not that (Stansberry's friends) were going to kill me, but that I'd have to look over my shoulder all the time. I went home in the spring. I never got kicked off the team. I left on my own.''
Minnesota offensive coordinator Mitch Browning, who recruits Ohio, tried to convince Keith to stay.
``(Hall's murder) had very little impact, it was more to do with his immaturity,'' Browning said of Keith's departure. ``Sometimes with kids when it's their first time away from home, the college experience is overwhelming. Playing Big Ten football, adjusting from an academic, athletic and social standpoint.''
Buchtel coach Claude Brown had encouraged Keith to play quarterback and linebacker for him after two seasons at Canton Timken when there were rumors that the school was going to drop football. Brown has known Keith since he was 4 years old and tried to help him through the difficult time.
``He's strong mentally; he just went in another direction for a while,'' Brown said.
Hanging out in Akron that spring, Keith said he ``watched people do nothing every day.'' Then he got a call from former Minnesota graduate assistant Vince Varpness, who had taken a job with Minnesota West, a Division III junior college, to be close to an ailing relative. Varpness said he would help Keith get back in school.
Minnesota West didn't have a weight room, a training table, dorms or a cafeteria. Stuck in a small town three hours from Minneapolis, Keith said it was nearly culture shock.
``My dad had to pay rent; I had to pay bills,'' Keith said. ``I lost 20 pounds, I was down to 195. But I got a second chance. Brandon didn't have a second chance. If he had, he would have taken it.''
Keith, now 6-foot-4 ½ and 237 pounds, recorded 12 ½ sacks in his one season there, 7 ½ in the first three games before his weight dipped and opponents began double- and triple-teaming him.
After the 2003 season, Keith's phone rang again. It was a scholarship offer from Kansas, largely on the recommendation of Jayhawks strength coach Chris Dawson, who had held the same post at Minnesota when Keith was there.
``I had to take 21 hours over the summer to be eligible to go back to Division I,'' Keith said. ``Kansas was the only school that would take a chance with that. Coach Dawson put his name on the line for me.''
Kansas defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Bill Young, who worked at Ohio State under John Cooper from 1988-95, said Keith was behind when he arrived in Lawrence because the Jayhawks already had started two-a-days. Young also figured that Keith was probably better suited weight-wise for linebacker, but Kansas had plenty of depth there so he was used at defensive end.
Keith played in 11 games as a backup in 2004 and finished with 21 tackles, seven tackles for losses, three sacks and eight quarterback pressures. He improved dramatically as a starter in 2005, setting a school record with 23 tackles for losses, along with 61 tackles, nine sacks and seven quarterback hurries. He was named first team All-Big 12 and shared team defensive Most Valuable Player honors with linebacker Nick Reid.
``There's no question he's one of the better players in the Big 12,'' Young said of Keith. ``He has unbelievable quickness off the ball. He would have had a ton of sacks if we could have contained the quarterback.''
Keith said the Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders showed the most interest in him at the NFL Combine, which wrapped up last week in Indianapolis. Young thinks that Keith has the skills, instincts and intelligence to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.
``As a rush-drop linebacker, he's kind of the perfect fit,'' Young said.
With the pros apparently in Keith's future, Young hopes Keith completes his college degree. He's now taking correspondence courses while he trains in Atlanta for a workout day for NFL scouts March 15.
``It will be more important in eight or nine years when the NFL is behind him,'' Young said. ``I hope he doesn't lose sight of that.''
Browning still talks to Keith once or twice a month and relishes how Keith has gotten his life in order.
``Junior college was a good, rude awakening,'' Browning said. ``He matured. He had one more chance, and he made a name for himself.''
Messages for Marla Ridenour can be left at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com
Link
