GETTING BACK IN THE GAME
FOLLOWING
THROUGH
Keiser was a
member of
Penn
State's
starting sec-
ondary last
fall before a
rib injury in
late October
ended his col-
lege career.
Photo by
Steve Manuel
T
hey're working on basketball funda-
mentals this week at Easterly Parkway
Elementary. As soon as the fourth-
graders /le into the all-purpose room,
they grab a ball, spread out, and start
dribbling. The phys ed teacher is a young,
rangy guy in head-to-toe Penn State blue;
he's not loud, but he commands the room,
making the rounds, focused on the kids.
Mostly, he looks comfortable, an appear-
ance that belies his inexperience: Ryan
Keiser is a 23-year-old student-teacher
working toward his state certi/cation. It's
his second week on the job.
As contradictory /rst impressions go,
there's another that you can't push out
of your mind: No way this guy's a football
player.
You know better, of course. When he
lined up for the last time as a starting
safety for the Nittany Lions in Ann Arbor
last October, Keiser looked every bit the
6-foot-1, 208 pounds listed on his o0cial
bio. Four months later, he's about 30
pounds lighter. You watch now as he runs
the fourth-graders through drills, showing
them how to slide their feet defensively
or bend their knees and follow through
when they shoot, and you can see hints
of that athleticism. His is an athlete's
|
Faith, family and football help fuel Ryan Keiser's recovery
