Keller waits to hear where he will be taken

By Chad Husted

Assistant Sports Editor

It's the same stadium that made him a star at Purdue.

The same field that saw "The Block," where he pulled a juke move right out of a Madden video game and scampered to the end zone.

And now it will be where he finds out where his NFL future will take him.

Former Purdue tight end Dustin Keller will watch the 2008 NFL Draft with family and close friends in attendance from a suite in Ross-Ade Stadium this Saturday, waiting for his name to be called. The former Lafayette Jefferson High School star is predicted to be a late first round pick, with mock drafts placing him anywhere from pick 25 with the Seattle Seahawks to pick 30 with the Green Bay Packers.

But until that pick, it is still a waiting game for Keller. And while he tries not to think too much about his future past Saturday, his brothers keep him updated on his draft status.

"So-and-so says I'm gonna be here, so-and-so says that. It kind of, you think about being in that city, what it would be like teaching myself a new offense," Keller said. "But that's as far as I go with it. I try not to look at real estate or anything like that."

Despite Keller's rapid rise up teams' draft boards, his former position coach John McDonell has given his former starter advice on how to handle the hype.

"I try to tell Dustin to keep a level head. All of (the predictions are) speculation," McDonell said. "Some team might show you more interest, and then the one that shows you the least ends up taking you. You never really know."

Whichever team ends up taking Keller, any new offense that he plays in next year will likely take advantage of the spread offense he played in at Purdue. It included many different routes and formations that Keller has perfected, meaning he can make an impact immediately for a team.

"All the teams that are looking to pick me up, they want me to play right away � not just special teams but they want me to play offense immediately," Keller said. "I'm going to make a deal that gets me into camp as soon as possible. I'm going to have to learn the offense, and a lot of times that's hard for rookies, but I think I'm going to do really well at camp."

Keller's rise to the top of the tight end draft prospects came quickly after the NFL combine in February. Keller had the best or second best performance in six different tests, including running his 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds, best for tight ends this year.

McDonell had seen the then-senior Keller make plays in pads, and didn't expect anything but the best from him at the combine.

"I told (the scouts), once the NFL combine comes out, he's gonna knock your socks off, and that's exactly what he did," McDonell said.

With the draft now one day away, the only part of Keller's future under his control is likely how he plans to handle the rookie camps that follow the draft. Both he and McDonell acknowledge that this period will be Keller's first look at NFL life, but McDonell has no doubt in Keller's ability to handle the test.

"(The camp) will be a cram session. It's going to be NFL football 101, and they're gonna throw the whole playbook at him ... and they're not going to slow down," McDonell said. "Football all the time; I think that will be something that he will look forward to. I think he'll be able to handle (the NFL) just fine."

Published by the Purdue Exponent on April 25, 2008