By now this is an old story, but it’s a good one. So in case you missed it …
Archbishop Murphy High School graduate Shiloh Keo is headed to the Super Bowl. Keo, who led the Wildcats to the 2A state semifinals in 2004 and the 2A state championship game in 2005, is a safety with the Denver Broncos, who face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.
But Keo took a unique path to the Super Bowl. At the beginning of December he was out of work. He hadn’t appeared in an NFL game in nearly two years, had been without a team for three months, and was staying in shape in Boise just hoping to get a phone call from an NFL team.
That’s when Keo got proactive.
Keo played his first four seasons with Houston Texans, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of the University of Idaho. His defensive coordinator with the Texans was Wade Phillips. Phillips left Houston to become the defensive coordinator of the Broncos this season, so Keo reached out to Phillips over Twitter. Here’s the exchange:
@sonofbum didn’t want to pick me up huh?
— Shiloh Keo (@kaleo10) December 2, 2015
@sonofbum I hear ya, still the same system tho. Little man is doing great. Keep me in mind tho if things don’t pan out
— Shiloh Keo (@kaleo10) December 2, 2015
About a week later Denver, ravaged by injuries to its secondary, signed Keo. Keo played in the final four games of the regular season, helping clinch the AFC’s top seed to the playoffs with a key interception in the Bronco’s season finale against the San Diego Chargers. Then he recovered the onside-kick attempt to secure victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
It’s been a crazy couple months for Keo.
I had the chance to talk to Keo’s parents about their son’s journey to the Super Bowl. Look for that story later this week.
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