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Saturday, November 1, 2008
Where Are They Now?
Raleigh Durham, NC
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Craig Keith: Loved Basketball But Found Greatness on the Gridiron
The 1988 Millbrook football team could arguably be the best football team that played in the Wildcats stadium.
The same could be said for the players that were on that team. Four players from the Millbrook class of ‘89 made it to the NFL. David Merritt, Bucky Brooks, Everett Lindsey, and Craig Keith all spent time playing Sunday football.
Craig Keith sat down with VYPE to reminisce about his days at Millbrook and give us a little insight on what’s going on with him these days.
Keith, a Raleigh native, advanced to Millbrook High School from West Millbrook Middle. He attended college at Lenior-Rhyne, majoring in Physicology.
He spent time in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end, playing with the likes of Cordell Stewart, and Rod Woodson. He even lined up in front of the infamous Lawrence Taylor.
He played for Pittsburgh for two seasons, in 1993, when the Steelers went 9-7 and lost in the Wildcard playoff to the Kansas City Chiefs, and in 1994, when the Steelers went 12-4, going all the way to the conference playoffs before losing the conference championship to the San Diego Chargers.
Keith was also on that historic first Jacksonville Jaguar team, when the team entered the NFL in 1995 as one of the league’s first expansion teams in almost 20 years.
Keith wasn’t always a tight end, and football was not his first love.
As a high school athlete he was a standout linebacker under current Wake Forest Rolesville’s coach Earl Smith, who coached at Millbrook back then.
“I never really liked football. Basketball was actually my favorite sport. I wanted to hang with friends and most of them played football,” Keith said.
Today, he is a medical equipment salesman who teaches surgeons how to use his equipment, applying what he learned from sports - football in particular - to his everyday life.
He’s been married 10 years and has a six-year-old daughter and a two-year old son.
“Football is the greatest team sport there is, Keith said. “You can apply those principles to business and personal life. It taught me lessons like when to take the lead and when to follow.”
How does a guy who loves basketball and grew up playing football on the defense end up in the NFL as a tight end?
“I really wanted to play in NBA. I realized that NFL was a possibility during my junior year of college,” Keith said. “Scott Walker was good, and scouts came to see him at Lenior-Rhyne. Scott encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing. I started following his approach to the game. He used to work out while everyone else was partying. He had keys to the weight room and would be there until 10 or 11 o-clock at night. After he left I took his keys. “
Keith recalls what he considered a memory that never fades.
“It was the year that Garner won the state championship and everyone was talking about how great Anthony Barbour was. We lost the game, but I tackled Barbour for a six-yard loss on the first play of the game. I also broke my wrist that game,” Keith said. “I also want to mention my friend Cliff Hargrove who passed away my senior year during pre-season practice. I continued to play football because Cliff loved it so much. He was one of the reasons I started playing in the first place. I’ll never forget Cliff.”
Keith was recently honored at Millbrook during halftime of the Millbrook vs. Broughton football game where he received his old jersey, #88, from Millbrook’s athletic director, Scott McInnis.
His high school coach, Earl Smith, was there too.
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