Keys to work out for NFL

Virginia Tech kicker among those scouts will watch at Pro Day in Blacksburg

Dustin Keys said he had nothing to hide. After the season ended, the placekicker for the Virginia Tech Hokies put together a DVD that highlighted his 2008 season for the Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

The Stafford product from Brooke Point High School also produced a chart that showed where on the field all of his field goals came from during the past season. And in a nod to full disclosure, the chart also showed where on the field his six misses originated from.

Keys made the information available to National Football League teams and he figured they could easily find out about the kicks he missed if they wanted to. Besides, Keys noted that most of the field goal attempts he missed were just by a foot or two.

A 2008 Virginia Tech graduate who is working on a master’s degree, Keys and several other Hokies who have used up their college eligibility are expected to work out March 19 in front of several NFL scouts at the team facilities in Blacksburg. Keys took over the kicking duties last season after Jud Dunlevy, who used up his college eligibility, was the kicker during the 2007 season.

“We show up at 11 a.m. I really don’t know what to expect in terms of what they are asking me. If they ask me to kick I will be ready,” he said. “I was at Pro Day last year and watched Jud kick.”

Keys took a few weeks off after the season ended in early January.

Then for the past few weeks he has been working out regularly at Virginia Tech with former Hokies who spent the past year in the NFL and other players who hope to impress scouts as rookie pros. Former Tech players with NFL experience Keys has been working out with include linebacker Xavier Adibi (Houston Texans), defensive end Chris Ellis (Buffalo Bills) and wide receiver Justin Harper (Baltimore Ravens).

“I guess the main thing is their experience and what they thought (the NFL) was going to be like and in reality the things they expected,” Keys said of the recent workouts. “They try to put in perspective for us younger guys and not to get your hopes too high.”

Keys took out a loan last summer to prepare for an academic year as a graduate student, then paid the loan back when he was awarded a football scholarship for the first time prior to the 2008 season. Keys is currently taking 18 credit hours and expects to earn a master’s degree in health education in May.

He became the Hokies main placekicker for the first time last season. He made 23 of 29 field goal tries as a senior, 32 of 34 points after touchdowns and led the team with 101 points. Keys was nominated for the Lou Groza Award, given to the top kicker in the country. Keys also set a school record for field goals in a season.

“He gets into the ball quickly and he gets it up quickly and he’s got a good consistent flight on the ball,” Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer told a West Virginia newspaper this past season. “…with a good kicker that’s exactly what happens, and I think he’s a good kicker.”

Keys said he does not expect to be taken during the NFL draft April 24-25.

“Like I told everyone, I could not have asked for more and I took advantage of the opportunities the best I could,” he said. “I am training to try and get a shot with an NFL team.”

He hopes to be picked up as a free agent by an NFL team once the draft is over. Keys also plans to join other kickers and punters at an elite camp at the home of the Baltimore Ravens in Owings Mills, Md., on May 17.

Only the very best placekickers are taken in the NFL draft. Pro teams who are looking for a kicker normally sign college seniors as free agents after the draft.

Keys does plan to watch the NFL draft.

“I will probably be watching but mostly in support of my teammates to see how they do,” Keys said. “Right now I am not really expecting much. I don’t expect to be drafted. I never really did.”

David Driver is a contributing writer for The Stafford County Sun. He can be reached at info@staffordcountysun.com.