On The Trail

          UA jersey tour: Matt Keller

          The life of a long snapper is much different than most other recruits. Matt Keller is an Under Armour All-American long snapper, yet he is still working toward landing his first scholarship offer.

          “It’s a lot different than some of the other guys who have 30-plus offers. I have zero offers right now, and it’s probably a little more challenging for my position,” Keller said. “When you’re a long snapper, you go to a school and you’re there for four years. Schools aren’t going to take a long snapper every year, so you have to find a school that’s looking for one.”

          He has heard from North Carolina, Syracuse, Penn State, Cornell and Louisville and has received mail from Nebraska as well.

          With his position, it’s a numbers game. Keller has to figure out who has an open scholarship for a long snapper, who can afford to offer him a spot or potentially where he can walk on to earn his spot.

          Keller still has plenty of time to land his first offer, and he believes it will come sooner rather than later.

          If you could start a team with any other player in your class, who would it be?

          Keller: I know Josh Sweat is the No. 1-ranked player in the country. If you want the best team, you should probably start with the best.

          What was your earliest football memory?

          Keller: When I was on the D team, that’s the youngest age in Pennsylvania that you can play football. I think I was around six or seven years old. We were doing some tackling drills, and I must have hurt myself and said I was going to throw up. My mom and coach were both saying if you’re going to throw up, then throw up. If not, get back out there.

          Which football player did you idolize or want to be like when you were a kid?

          Keller: Jim Brown. He’s just probably the most idolized Browns player, and I’m a big Browns fan.

          If you could take on any pro player in their sport, who would it be?

          Keller: Kyrie Irving. He’s my favorite athlete right now, and I’m a big Cavs fan.

          Why do you wear your number?

          Keller: I wear No. 51 because I thought it was a cool number.

          What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

          Keller: Maybe that I like to sing. I like to sing Beatles songs. "I Saw Her Standing There" is probably my favorite song. Also, we played our first game in Ireland this year. They were looking for a high school team to come and play the day before the Penn State game at the same stadium. We spent a lot of time raising money to get there. It was $3,500 a person, so most of everyone ended up raising enough money.