A river of tears

Published 12:01 am Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Having never gone through the experience, Shiloh Keo had to rely on a metaphor when asked Monday what he expects it to be like if — or when — his name is called by an NFL team during this week’s draft.

“There’s going to be a river in my living room,” the Archbishop Murphy High School graduate said, “a river of tears.”

At least it sounded metaphorical.

With the number of people expected to be in attendance at his parents’ 2,800-square-foot home in Woodinville later this week — 100 is the preliminary count Keo gave Monday, and that estimate included only family members — it might not be that much of a stretch to say that the emotions could carry the partygoers away.

In a way, it’s fair to say that Keo and his extended family have been dreaming of the moment since the day he was born. His father, Regan, played college football and entertained his own thoughts of playing professionally. One older brother played junior-college football, while another had a baseball scholarship. Several cousins also have been involved in sports, with at least one carrying the just-missed tag as a professional baseball prospect.

And now Shiloh Keo, the fourth of seven siblings, is on the verge of being the first to finally make it.

“Everyone in my family is into sports,” said Keo, who recently wrapped up a five-year career at the University of Idaho. “It’s been the whole family’s dream. I’m not the first to go through it — I’m right in the middle — but none of us have made it yet.”

For Regan Keo, this week is especially rewarding. The former college football player said a lack of guidance helped derail his promising career.

“I told myself if I ever had kids, I would know how to guide them,” Regan Keo said, his voice dripping with the regret of his college career during a phone conversation Monday. “And here it is.”

Regan Keo said he pushed all of his children to play sports but he wasn’t overbearing. Two of Shiloh’s older brothers went on to compete in college.

“They chose to be burned out,” Regan Keo said of his two older sons. “They had opportunities as well. Right now, (Shiloh) is the one that stuck to it.

“… He learned from the older ones, how they chose what they chose. I really think that’s what (led Shiloh to this point).”

It certainly hasn’t been an easy road for Shiloh Keo, despite the kind of natural athletic ability that made people take notice at every level. He didn’t get many big-time scholarship offers out of high school, suffered a serious shoulder injury as a sophomore, then got into a rare, out-of-character altercation that led to an arrest his junior season.

Keo’s work ethic, football IQ and character have helped him overcome most of those detours. He wowed the scouts at the East-West Shrine Game, put on an impressive show at the February NFL Scouting Combine and did the rounds during countless interviews and personal workouts.

And now he’s on the verge of being included in the NFL draft.

“It’s a big step,” Keo said Monday. “It’s definitely going to make or break my future. It’s definitely something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life.”

Pro Football Weekly ranks Keo as the No. 3 prospect at strong safety, projecting him as a fourth- or fifth-round pick. He readily admits that playing for the Seattle Seahawks would be his dream scenario — albeit with the headache of trying to find enough tickets to satisfy his extended family on Sundays — but Keo is willing to go wherever and do whatever to make his dream of playing in the NFL a reality.

And just the thought of it has Keo’s anxiety level at an all-time high.

“Oh, man,” he said Monday when asked how his nerves are holding up. “They’re going off the charts, like an earthquake right now. This whole month has been like that, with a lot of highs and a lot of lows. There’s an aspect of going into the draft that you might not get picked at all, or you might get picked high. So you just never know.”

Whether that happens Friday or Saturday doesn’t really seem to matter, as long as he gets the call.

And if he does? Well, that’s when the tears will start flowing.

“It’s definitely going to be a special moment — not only for me, but for my father,” Shiloh Keo said Monday. “Me and my dad are really close. For the past year, I’ve been imagining this moment: my family jumping up, me seeing my father and tears running down our faces.

“He’ll probably hug me most of the day and not let anyone else hug me.”

Said Regan Keo of the moment his son gets drafted: “I hope I hold it together. I kind of doubt it, though. I’m the kind of person who’s very emotional.”