FOOTBALL-- Fortunately for Nazareth junior LaSteven McKinney, he rarely misses an offseason workout in the weight room.
When the NCAA Division I recruit from Broadview arrived May 5, he was in for a big surprise orchestrated by Nazareth coach Tim Racki. That's where McKinney found out that he had been nominated to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl as one of the top 400 senior prep athletes in the nation.
Two representatives for the U.S. Army Chicago Recruiting Battalion made the announcement in front of McKinney and a roomful of teammates and presented McKinney with a commemorative coin. The 90-player roster will be announced in December for the bowl game Jan. 9, 2010 at San Antonio's Alamodome and shown live on NBC.
"I'm still at a loss for words. When I saw the (military) people walk in, I was like, 'Maybe they used to work for the school or something,' " McKinney said. "It's a big accomplishment to get selected. It was a complete shock. I had no clue. I didn't know they would come to your school like this and recognize you to get nominated so when it happened, I was just like, 'Wow.' "
Last season, McKinney scored 23 touchdowns for the Roadrunners, rushing for 1,126 yards and catching 22 passes for 264 yards after collecting 1,587 yards (1,431 rushing) with 22 TDs in 2007. Nazareth lost to eventual Class 5A state champion St. Francis in the second round of last season's playoffs after reaching the quarterfinals in 2007.
He is the first player to receive this honor in Racki's coaching career, which included several seasons with perennial state power Driscoll. Racki knew about the nomination for nearly two weeks and then shared the secret with McKinney's father, Steven, the following week.
"I think you can tell by the applause in the weight room what his teammates think of him, how sincerely, genuinely happy they are for him because that's the type of teammate he is," Racki said. "It's not about him scoring touchdowns, how many yards he gets. He wants to help the team win, he's sincere and genuine and the kids pick up on that.
"Ever since he was a sophomore and exploded on the scene, he's really been well grounded. He knows what his goals are, and that's a credit to his parents as far as educating him on the importance of enjoying his high school career."
McKinney already has received a scholarship offer from Eastern Michigan University with running backs coach and former NFL player Tyrone Wheatley comparing him to a miniature Reggie Bush. McKinney also has visited Michigan State and Western Michigan and received steady mail from Boston College and Louisville.
The 5-foot-9 McKinney has been clocked at 4.39/4.40 seconds in the 40-yard dash and grown from 168 to 175 pounds since the football season.
"You can never stop working on speed," LaSteven McKinney said. "Everything has been paying off so far from my training."
He currently is being projected for defensive back or a return man by Big Ten Conference schools and a running back by the others. Steven McKinney said LaSteven will narrow his choices to five or six schools before making visits this summer.
"He's always been very humble. I can brag on forever and ever," Steven McKinney said. "I'm just trying to keep him on his grades. My wife and I are saying 'Grades, grades, grades because without the grades you can't go where you're going.'
"I wanted to tell him (about the nomination), but I think he had an idea of something. I think he saw someone in uniform walking with coach Racki in the hallway a couple of weeks ago and he said, 'Pops, did you hear anything about the All-American Bowl?' Hopefully they see something in him because he's worked hard."
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