Caleb Keaton is an electrifying player who has a bright future ahead of him in Camden County.
“I can’t wait to be a Wildcat,” he proclaims, looking forward to the day when he joins the team at Camden County High School. He will have to wait another year until he can play in high school, but for now, he is an eighth-grader at Camden Middle School and plays quarterback and halfback for coach Mark Lang’s Cougars. Keaton has become a leader by example this season after standing out as a seventh-grader last year. He scored in every game he played and, at times, looked as if he could score at will. He has elusive speed and outstanding field vision that enables him to find the open crease in the defense. He then uses his speed to make defenders miss and find the end zone. Although he could claim the spotlight, coaches say he is humble and would rather give credit to teammates for blocking.
Keaton’s most memorable game was a sad affair, but one he turned into a positive by honoring two lost loved ones last season. “The day my great grandmother passed away, I scored five touchdowns,” he says. “I did it in memory of her and my good friend Braxton Sullivan, who wore number five.”
Braxton Sullivan, a 2013 In The Game Rising Star, was tragically killed in June 2014 while walking on a St. Marys Road. The Camden Middle Cougars wear the number five on their helmets in honor of Sullivan.
This season, Keaton was selected by his coaches and teammates to wear the number five jersey. “This is the Braxton Sullivan Team Leader Jersey,” says Coach Lang. “This says a lot about what the coaches think about Caleb as a leader as well as his teammates.” He did not let them down; during the Tyrone Jones Middle School Classic in August, he had several long runs and scored a 34-yard touchdown to lead the Cougars.
Keaton started playing flag football when he was 6 years old. He was a member of the Woodbine Cowboys until he entered middle school. Also while playing football, Keaton is busy running track, playing basketball, and wrestling. The busy schedule once posed a problem for the young athlete when he was on two teams going on at the same time. He had a wrestling tournament and track meet at the same school. “I had to run from the gym back to the track over and over to compete in different events,” Keaton recalls. “I came in first place in my 400 and 800-meter races and placed third in my weight class at the wrestling tournament. I was so tired but I was proud of myself.”
He credits his recreation league coach, Hamp Brown, for teaching him fundamentals, and his middle school coaches for making him a more vocal leader. His dream would be to get a football scholarship to play with the University of Oregon Ducks, and then move on to the NFL like his cousin, Detroit Lions defensive back Darius Slay, who was a first-round draft pick. Should pro football not come calling, you could see Keaton predicting weather patterns on TV one day. “I want to be a meteorologist and study atmospheric science and meteorology,” he says.
Keaton is described as a humble and talented player who should make an impact on the gridiron in the years to come. “He is a player who enjoys the team aspect of the game, says Coach Lang. “He truly cares about his teammates and plays out of a love and a respect for them; his family.”
Favorites:
Snacks: Oatmeal pies and fruit snacks
Food: Macaroni and cheese
Hobbies: I play basketball
Pro team: Detroit Lions
College team: Oregon Ducks
Pro player: Cam Newton
TV show: The Real Husbands of Hollywood
Movie: Good Burger
Movie Star: Bow Wow
Subject: Social Studies
Pet: My old dog “Brownee”
Place to travel: Cocoa Beach, Florida
Car: Lamborghini
SE-RS-0915-Keaton
Rising Star
Caleb Keaton
Camden Middle School
(W) Rob Asbell
(P) Jeffrey Griffith
In Honor of a Friend
