Penn State's relentless pursuit of Keys pays off
Penn State’s late flip of linebacker Kaveion Keys from North Carolina gave the Nittany Lions a boost at the end of the cycle and completed a terrific linebacker class. It was also far from a sure thing from the time Keys visited for the White Out in October until he committed last week. James Franklin talked about the flip at his National Signing Day press conference.
“I think the biggest thing, and this probably sounds a little confusing, but it was a really good kid. He had given his word and made a commitment [to North Carolina], and then came on a visit to us,” Franklin said on Wednesday. “I think from that point on he wanted to make a change, but didn’t know how to make a change and was really struggling with that whole process.
“To be honest with you, we didn’t think we were going to get him, probably a month ago. But things worked out and we were able to get him on board and join our class.”
“One of the most impressive recruiting efforts I’ve ever seen.”
Several members of the Penn State staff felt the same way about their dwindling chances with Keys in November. Still, Assistant Recruiting Coordinator and former Nittany Lions cornerback Alan Zematis was not among them. His colleagues called his work the best recruiting job that any staffer did during the cycle.
“He did an unbelievable job of just not letting it go,” Director of Player Personnel Kenny Sanders said of Zemaitis’ effort. “Me? I’m not going to lie, I thought it was over and done and I was looking for a replacement. But he did the work. Just every day, the kid, the mom, the coach… He just didn’t take no for an answer and at the end of the day we ended up signing the kid in the early signing period.
“The lengths he went to, I don’t know how that got done. He was very impressive. There was a lot of dark times in that one that didn’t look like it was going our way, but he pulled it out, man. That was one of the most impressive recruiting efforts I’ve ever seen for any kid, any year.”
How Penn State got Keys across the line
Penn State, led by area recruiter Ja’Juan Seider, thought it had closed the deal with Keys on an in-home visit on December 11 in Virginia, but the four-star prospect threw another potential curveball during the meeting.
“Literally, as soon as we walked in the house and sat down on the couch, he said, well, I’m coming. I’m committing to Penn State,” Franklin recalled. “We wanted to get excited and as we were trying to get excited he goes, “but I don’t think I’m going to commit in the early signing period.” I’m like, oh my gosh, here we go again.
“That was part of the kind of roller coaster. We kind of just sat there and kind of went through our process and how we go about things and how we felt like it was in his and our best interests for him to sign the early signing period. I said if you think it’s crazy now, if you hold this thing on until the next signing period, it’s going to get even crazier.”
Keys ended up publicly announcing for the Nittany Lions last Friday and signed with Penn State on Wednesday morning.
