Minor High School Football Player Kareem Keye Voted ITG Next Alabama Male Athlete of the Month for September 2022
Minor High School quarterback Kareem Keye, one of his state’s most productive quarterbacks so far this season, has been voted the ITG Next Alabama Male Athlete of the Month for his play during August, receiving 31.37% of the votes.
You simply could not script a better start to the season than what Keye did in Minor’s first two games of the year.
In the Tigers’ season opener against Huffman, Keye helped lead Minor to a 49-25 win by completing 29-of-39 passes for 410 yards and 5 touchdowns, along with compiling 51 yards rushing on 8 carries. The next week the senior QB helped lead the Tigers to a 37-8 win over Paul W. Bryant by completing 20-of-33 passes for 303 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also rushing for 20 yards on 4 attempts.
Keye’s impressive play carried over into September, with the senior throwing for 1,094 yards with a 14:2 TD:INT ratio across the first four games of the year.
“During preseason media days, I said we were going to go as far as he takes us,” Minor head coach Adrian Abrams said. “I was clear about that, and we talk about that all the time. He’s a two-year starter. He’s the leader of our team. He is present every day, working hard every day. It’s clear that his teammates look to him, and we as coaches look to him. We’re going to go as far as he takes us. He’s been playing great thus far, and thus we’re off to a great start so far because of his play and leadership.”
According to Abrams, the stats are simply a reflection of what the Tigers see from Keye almost every day.
“On the field, he is very cerebral,” Abrams said. “He is like having a coach on the field. He just has a great field presence, and it’s partially because he is an excellent student of the game. On the field, he is a precision passer. He has a relationship with all of his receivers, and if there is somebody who’s not where they’re supposed to be, doesn’t know the correct routes, or anything, he’ll keep them after practice and work with them. He’s just a great leader.
“It’s also very rare that you have a precision passer that’s equally athletic with running the ball, and that’s what really makes him a true dual-threat,” Abrams added.
Keye, a two-year starter for Minor at quarterback, has continued to make an impact both on and off the field for the Tigers.
“He means everything to the Minor program,” Abrams said. “We had a rough year last year where we did not make the playoffs. Kareem is a great athlete, so I’m sure that he could’ve gone other places and done other things, but he chose to stay. He was loyal and he led us in the offseason. He was committed to getting better, and he continued to develop. Without his leadership and his loyalty, we wouldn’t be where we are at this point.”
Congratulations to Minor quarterback Kareem Keye, our ITG Next Alabama Male Athlete of the Month.
