2014 OLB Melvin Keihn From Maryland Talks About Michigan State and Where he is in the Recruiting Process
2014 OLB Melvin Keihn From Maryland Talks About Michigan State and Where he is in the Recruiting Process
Q: Melvin, how are you buddy?
A: I’m doing well. How you doing?
Q: Are your mom and dad made out of granite? You look like a man of steel with your body, Melvin.
A: No, I’m bigger than my parents actually.
Q: Do play basketball? Do you do track, baseball, anything else?
A: Yeah, I actually used to play basketball. I played basketball when I was in the 3rd grade, all the way up to the 8th grade. Actually until the 10th grade when I decided to just focus on football. So basketball’s actually one of the sports that I played. I can play soccer, which is what I played before we moved here and then I decided to do football as well. And I do run track.
Q: You said you played soccer until you moved here?
A: Yes.
Q: You’ve gotten offers from so many great schools. Are you enjoying the recruiting process?
A: Yes, I am. I’m actually going through the process really slowly and just enjoying every bit of it. Usually kids in the recruiting process, you just stress them out. But I have coaches in my life that they all know what they’re doing. They’ve been doing this for a long time, so they all give me advice. I also have brothers that have been through it. I just wanna take it one day at a time and not let it stress me out. Just have fun with it.
Q: Michigan State has obviously made you an offer. Are you considering making a visit and checking Michigan State out?
A: Yes. Actually right now I’m considering every single school because like I said, I’m wide open. I haven’t decided. I haven’t chosen a school yet, I’m looking what’s around. So yes, I am interested in Michigan State as far as getting up there. I’m not sure when yet. It will most likely be the end of the summer or maybe next year so I can check it out.
Q: There’s always so much external pressure on recruits, but you’ve been able to not let that pressure to build. Is that maybe a testament to your parents too?
A: Yeah, my dad really tries not to let them get to me. He usually asks me what I want to do and what school I want to go to. He’s gonna support me in every decision I make, but at the same time he wants to make sure I make the right decision and have the right mindset for going to college (???) Take it one day at a time so we don’t have any pressure on anything.
Q: Have you met with Pat Narduzzi? Has he been in your school?
A: Yes, Coach Pat came to my school. He was the one that came to my school. I said hi to him, but that’s about it because he wasn’t allowed to talk to me yet. That night when I went home, I knew how to call him, so I called him up and he and I were talking. He told me Michigan State offered me.
Q: Do you know much about this Michigan State defense? They’re consistently in the top 5 in the country and they’ve put a lot of young men in the NFL. Do they talk to you about that stuff or more as a person?
A: Mostly just about me as a person. I don’t really wanna get into that whole devious side of things...don’t really wanna pour the pressure on me. I actually know most of that stuff. I actually followed Michigan State football last year. I caught up with somebody at camp who was at public schools. I thought the defensive ends really stepped up and they really impressed me the way they played it. They played really hard and sharp.
Q: Do you like the defense that Michigan State runs? Could you see yourself playing in that system?
A: Oh yeah, most definitely. Like you said, what I usually do is I am a defensive end. I’m mostly on the line. But I do come back outside the outside linebacker and drop that pass coverage. Coach Pat was telling me about that’s what they do with their defensive end. If I can do that at a high speed, I can definitely do it in college if I work hard. So yes, I can definitely see myself in that green jersey and I can definitely see myself wearing a Spartan helmet.
Q: School’s very important to you. Do you know what you wanna major in yet?
A: Yeah, right now I’m looking at Engineering. Civic engineer or mechanical engineer or electrical engineer...one of them.
Q: So you’re basically telling me, Yeah I can play football but I’m a brainiac too.
A: Yeah, something like that. I can definitely be that. I’m really good at that engineer stuff. Being an engineer will give me more to depend about and more to explore.
Q: What do you like off the field? What’s important to you? Is faith or charity work important to you?
A: Usually people ask me that same question. I know I gotta get my community service in for school. I like helping out kids. Like I help coach (???) freshman year I’m really interested in helping other people and helping those who are in need. So I like helping people for my community service. I like going and helping with people down at the McDonald house where you just help kids that are disabled and just work with them. I like to help out after school and relax my mind and take my mind off everything and just hang out with my friends, and just hang out with my brothers and just have fun with them.
Q: What do you like most about working at the Ronald McDonald house?
A: Well I have not worked there yet. That’s what I’m gonna do this summer. All the things that I’ve done, helping out with the kids. Usually kids are really happy when you come in and work with them and they’re just more energetic when you work with them. They’re all really nice kids. That’s what I heard. I’m very excited to go work there this summer.
Q: When you talk to the coaches who are honest with you, what do they tell you is the thing you gotta get better at?
A: Usually one-on-one the coaches are coming in liking how I play. For example, Coach Johnson from Penn State…he said they saw my film and they like exactly what I do. But what I’m gonna play when I get up there is outside linebacker, so they wanted to see more film of me dropping back as pass coverage so obviously they like that I can actually cover a guy. They really had little film on that so they want to see more of that. They wanna see how well I can do stuff like that. That’s about it. They really just wanna see me doing that more often and just see how well I can do it.
Q: You said that was Coach Johnson at Penn State that told you that?
A: Yes.
Q: Do have a timeline on when you wanna make a decision of what schools you wanna go visit or is that just gonna come later this summer?
A: Yeah, it’s all coming back to the same point. I’m making a decision… Right now I’m going through exams and stuff. I’m finished with school on Wednesday. I know I’m going to UVA on the 8th of this month, which is next weekend. I’m trying to get around to a couple some schools this summer. We don’t really plan it out, we just… Coach usually takes me around. Wherever we get to, that’s where we get to. He usually asks me where I wanna go. We’re setting up a plan. Right now I’m making decisions. At first I thought I would go before the season starts, maybe around August’ish. I can just focus on the season and focus on playing for my teammates. Right now I’m not sure that’s gonna happen. Might go into later August, we’ll see what happens. I’m not sure yet.
Q: Melvin, you’re a terrific young man. Wherever you go we wish you the best.
A: Thank you.
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