Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1492675
3 0 M A R C H 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 2 3 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / North Carolina pick. He committed to the Nittany Lions on Dec. 16 and signed a few days later. "The main reason why I wanted to commit to Penn State was because of how their coaches kept in contact with me and my family. They were reaching out every day trying to build a relation- ship with me," Keys said. "It's also Linebacker U there. Their tradition at linebacker is special to me. My favorite player is Micah Parsons, so seeing what he's doing [in the NFL] and knowing what they want to accomplish there, I think it's the best fit for me. I feel like they're the kind of coaches who will bring something out of me that I didn't even know was there. They want to better you as a person, on the field and off the field. "They want to get you to the next level, too, and I'm all about it. So, it was a combination of how comfortable I be- came with them and everything I know they can do for me on and off the field." His head coach agreed. Varina High's Marcus Lewis said that one of the rea- sons why he thought Penn State would be a good fit for Keys was the abundance of talented players at his position group. "I wanted him to get around some of these other linebackers," Lewis said. "They just naturally know how to de- velop linebackers there, so getting around some of those guys who can take him under their wing, I think it'll be huge for him." Signing Keys was huge for Penn State, too. He'll arrive this summer with hopes of winning a special teams job at worst and maybe cracking the linebacker rota- tion in Year 1. ■ Penn State's late flip of line- backer Kaveion Keys from North Carolina gave it a boost at the end of the 2023 recruiting cycle and completed a terrific linebacker class. It was also far from a sure thing from the time Keys visited for the White Out game in October until he committed in mid-December. "He's a really good kid. He had given his word and made a com- mitment [to North Carolina], and then came on a visit to see us," coach James Franklin said. "I think from that point on, he wanted to make a change but didn't know how and was really struggling with that whole process. "To be honest with you, we didn't think we were going to get him. But things worked out and we were able to get him on board and join our class." Several members of the Penn State staff felt the same way in November about their seemingly dwindling chances with Keys. However, assistant recruiting co- ordinator Alan Zemaitis was not among them. His colleagues said that Zemaitis's pursuit of Keys ranked as the best effort by any staffer during the 2023 cycle. "He did an unbelievable job of just not letting it go," said Kenny Sanders, PSU's director of player personnel. "Me? I'm not going to lie, I thought it was over and done with, and I was looking for a replace- ment. 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," Sanders added. "He was very impressive. There were a lot of dark times in that one when it didn't look like it was going our way, but he pulled it out. That was one of the most impressive recruiting efforts I've ever seen for any kid, any year." With area recruiter Ja'Juan Se- ider taking the lead, Penn State thought it was about to close the deal during an in-home visit on Dec. 11. But shortly after Seider and Franklin arrived, Keys threw another potential curveball. "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 try- ing 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 roller coaster. We just sat there and went through our process and [discussed] how we felt like it was in his and our best interests for him to sign during the early sign- ing period. I said, 'If you think it's crazy now, if you hold this thing open until the next signing period, it's going to get even crazier.'" Keys ended up publicly announcing for the Nittany Lions on Dec. 16 and signed five days later. — Sean Fitz Zemaitis, an assistant recruiting coordinator at Penn State, played a crucial role in earning Kaveion Keys' verbal commitment in December. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER Alan Zemaitis lauded for work on 'roller coaster' recruiting effort