The start of the baseball season was less than three weeks away, and all Robert Keisler could think about was football.
A strange feeling no doubt for the Emporia High senior who has loved baseball all his life.
As he sat down at a table in the Emporia High School commons area last Tuesday with friends, family and teachers looking on, Keisler signed his name to a national letter of intent to play football at Ottawa University in the fall, something that seemed unlikely just a few months ago.
“I always wanted to play college football,” Keisler said, “but I didn’t know if I’d get the chance. It’s a pretty crazy thing.”
When the 2006-07 school year first started, playing football after high school was always an afterthought for Keisler. Baseball had been at the forefront of his mind for so long.
But something changed after Emporia High’s 2006 football season.
“This last season really helped make up my mind that it (playing college football) was something I wanted to do,” said Keisler, who played free safety for the Spartans.
It didn’t hurt that Keisler led the state of Kansas in interceptions this past season with seven and was third on the team in tackles with 66. Emporia High’s coach, Bill Lowe, said that with the 5-foot-9 Keisler, “you never had to worry about him.”
“You don’t think much when you see his size,” Lowe said, “but then you see how tough he is and how hard he plays. He’s a hard-nosed, tough kid.”
Thanks in large part to Keisler’s efforts, the Spartans had a breakout year in 2006, posting a 6-3 record after consecutive 1-8 seasons. That alone was enough to get the wheels turning.
The calls from small college coaches around the region started coming in, piquing Keisler’s interest. Many of the phone calls centered on baseball, and of course, Keisler paid attention. There also were the ones who offered just football scholarships.
But it was Ottawa that offered something more.
“We have a number of dual-sport athletes at Ottawa,” said Kent Kessinger, the Braves’ head football coach. “We actually encourage guys as much as we can to do two things. It breaks up the year, it gives them something to compete with when they’re in the offseason, and if they really love to play it, then we encourage them to keep on doing it.”
It was logical, then, that when Ottawa came calling for his services, Keisler listened. A phone call to Lowe told Kessinger all he needed to know about the somewhat undersized but smart and hard-working Keisler. The talent he already had seen on film. Kessinger wanted a “well-rounded” person as well.
“The recommendation from his coach really sold me on Robert,” Kessinger said. “His coach was really high on how hard of a worker he was — what type of player he was — and that he was a smart football player. Those things are all intangibles that we look for.”
Kessinger offered Keisler a scholarship and the chance to continue playing football in college and, if he wanted to try for it, baseball as well.
If there was any doubting Kessinger’s claims that dual-sport athletes are welcomed at Ottawa, all he had to do was point to the Braves’ starting quarterback, Neil Moore, and second-team all-conference linebacker, Gabe Lopez. Moore and Lopez each play football and baseball for the Braves.
Consider Keisler sold.
“Ottawa was the only school who really talked to me about playing both,” he said. “That was the deciding factor.
“When he (Kessinger) told me about those guys who did both and were successful at it, it made me think about it.”
Keisler admitted to being nervous as he waited around to sign his letter of intent last week. As he put it, it was “the first time I’ve ever done something like this before.”
He was happy when the signing was finished, as he could fully concentrate on the upcoming baseball season where he will man center field for the Spartans.
He knows that separating baseball and football will become harder in the fall when he arrives at Ottawa. But that OK with him.
“I’ve heard from a lot of people that’s it’s tough to play both, but I want to give it a shot,” Keisler said. “I’m planning on playing both sports, and we’ll see how it goes.”