Keyes balances fatherhood with football

Former UCLA safety Dennis Keyes has a lot on his mind. With the NFL draft coming up in April, a few more classes to take before he graduates, and his first child born on Monday, Keyes is anything but your typical graduating senior.

This past week, he was in Houston for the 83rd Annual East-West Shrine Game, a week-long all-star event that raises money and awareness for Shriners Hospitals for Children.

On the one hand, it was a perfect opportunity for Keyes to impress NFL scouts, but on the other, it was more time away from his then-pregnant girlfriend, who was expected to have their baby at any time.

Fortunately, Keyes changed his flight and returned home to Los Angeles early Sunday, just in time to see his daughter, Nalia Elise Keyes, born the next day. Needless to say, the choice to go to Houston in the first place was not an easy one.

“It’s been crazy,” Keyes said Saturday. “I definitely want to be there when that happens … but she assured me that she’s going to wait as long as she could and for me to stay out here and play the game (on Saturday). I got an early flight to try to get back to L.A. as quick as possible and be there to see my baby born.

“It’s hard, but I know what my responsibilities are while I’m out here. My job out here is to play football and to impress the scouts and look as good as possible.”

While Keyes did consider turning down Saturday’s game to return to his girlfriend, she actually persuaded him to stay and play.

“Before I left, my girlfriend and I talked about it and that there was a possibility that she might deliver before I got back,” he said. “So I was thinking about it the whole time. But she did a good job of convincing me to just come out and play football and have fun. She knows it’s a very important opportunity for me, and she didn’t want me to miss out on that. Obviously seeing my baby born is something I don’t want to miss either, but it was something we talked about, and so far it seems like it’s working out for the best.”

For Keyes, last week was a chance to show his abilities against some of the better players in the country and also for scouts to get to know him as a person rather than just as an athlete.

“A lot of teams have had a lot of interest in Dennis,” said Alvin Nelson, Keyes’ agent. “He’s an even better person than a player.”

While it is important for scouts to get to know him, it was also critical that Keyes have a good showing in the week’s practices and in the game last Saturday. He is projected to go anywhere from the middle rounds to undrafted according to multiple mock NFL drafts. But he more than likely raised his stock in his play against the East squad.

Keyes had one of the defensive highlights in the West’s dominating 31-13 win when he made an athletic interception after jumping a route in man coverage.

“I definitely came out here and took this week like an interview,” Keyes said. “There are scouts from all over the country. Scouts that haven’t seen me play football before are out here and are able to watch me practice. I just wanted to go out to practice every day and play to the best of my abilities and then finally cap it off (Saturday night).”

While many other players preparing for the draft have either already graduated or dropped out of school, Keyes is focused on graduating this year despite the birth of his daughter on Monday and other factors in his life.

“These are things that help Dennis,” Nelson said. “Football is never guaranteed, and education is very important to him. It definitely speaks to his maturity and his understanding of real-life issues.”

Although his week in Houston was important for Keyes’ football aspirations, another aspect gave him a renewed sense of perspective. As part of the event’s yearly tradition, the players visited the Shriners Children’s Hospitals in Houston and Galveston. They were able to interact with kids who have orthopedic conditions and burn injuries ““ an opportunity that both the players and kids were excited about.

“Oh man, it was incredible,” Keyes said. “It was really, really incredible getting to interact with these kids and see the expressions on their faces. And to see guys come out and give their time to these kids, it was really fun and a mind-blowing experience.

“They’re strong kids, and they’re pushing through, and they’re just happy to be alive every day. We’ve got people in this world that are complaining about having to go to work, and then, to see these kids fighting just to hold a pen up or fighting to smile, it changes your mind-set a lot.”

Keyes returned from Texas on Sunday but his workload will not get lighter. He is intent on getting into the best shape possible for the NFL scouting combine in four weeks and is focusing on his explosiveness and lateral quickness.

“I’m going to continue to train like I never left and get ready for the combine and perform for the scouts one more time,” Keyes said.

And for the new father, it won’t be the only thought on his mind.

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