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Local Legends
BY DOUG ELISH
It’s true that dreams can come true,
even if they’re not quite as expected.
That’s the case for Boilermaker tight
end Dustin Keller.
Keller grew up a diehard Purdue fan
and even aside from being raised in
Lafayette, he had good reason.
His grandfather, Dale Mulvey, played
on Purdue’s 1952 Big Ten championship
team, his great grandfather, Robert Siskind,
was an engineering professor, his mother,
Maureen, and grandmother, Linda Orr, are
Purdue graduates and he has two brothers,
Dwight and Drew, that are also Boilers.
So when Keller says “this is the place I
always wanted to be,” it’s easy to see why.
But now that he’s wearing the Old
Gold and Black that he’s always loved, he’s
not doing what he’s always done.
Keller came to Purdue as a record-setting
wide receiver from Lafayette Jefferson
High School. In his senior season, his 113
receptions and 1,804 yards were more than
any Indiana player had ever accumulated
in a single season and his 22 receiving
touchdowns weren’t far off a record. He
earned all-state honors, was a finalist for
the Indiana Mr. Football award and was
named in the nation’s top 50 receivers by
Street & Smith’s.
With such accolades, it’s understandable
that Keller never thought he’d play
Keller Living Purdue Roots
anything other than wide receiver. But after
a redshirt season full of not-so-subtle questions
from Coach Joe Tiller, Keller started to
suspect a position change to tight end
might be in the future.
“A lot of times Coach Tiller would
come in the weight room my redshirt year
joking around ‘keep on eating, put that
weight on,’” said the 6-foot-4, 237-pound
Keller. “He was always talking about where
he wanted me to be on the scale and when
I went to his office he would say ‘have you
met (strength coach) Jim Lathrop?’ Just
jokes like that, so I knew sooner or later it
was going to happen.”
The switch finally happened during
this past spring practice and 50 pounds
heavier, a whole bunch stronger and a few
hundred technique lessons later, Keller
made his first Boilermaker appearance
against Syracuse Sept. 5. A 47-yard touchdown
pass made his Purdue debut memorable
and he followed that game up with a
four-catch, 31-yard effort against Ball State.
There wasn’t any question whether he
could catch though, and the coaches and
he both know he still has a lot to learn
about blocking at the position.
“His physical part of the game has
improved dramatically considering where
he’s coming from, but he’s got a lot to learn
about the game of football,” Tiller said.
“The thing of it is that it’s a different position
and a different style of play compared
to being outside. But he’s made tremendous
progress since he’s been there.”
Keller didn’t hesitate to admit that
blocking a 180-pound defensive back is like
a stroll in the park compared to tangling
with a 280-pound lineman, but he’s determined
to master his new trade.
His weightroom numbers have risen
tremendously and, while it’s not a great measure
of overall strength, his bench press number
broke the 385-pound mark recently. The
technique is the key though and that’s where
Keller is really focusing his efforts.
“I always thought when I came to this
position that strength would be the more
important thing, but weight and technique
definitely out do that easily,” Keller said. “A
couple guys on the offensive line won’t
even be stronger guys, but their technique
is so good it doesn’t matter too much. I am
trying to work on technique.”
When Keller does master the blocking
skills, he could be one of the more dangerous
tight ends around. He’s already proven his
receiving skills and his 6-10 high jump in high
school showed his athleticism. Quarterback
Kyle Orton saw his impressive 24-yard catch
and run against Ball State, in which Keller
juked and spun his way to the 9-yard line, and
thinks Keller has the ability to become a star in
the Big Ten.
“He should be able to,” Orton said.
“He’s probably got more physical skills
Tom Campbell
Redshirt freshman Dustin Keller has the
tools to become a stellar Big Ten tight end
and has shown flashes of his talent in 2004.
than any tight end in the conference with
his great athleticism. He should grow into a
big-time tight end and if he keeps on working
hard, he probably will be.”
If he does reach that “big-time” status,
Keller said he will have no regrets that it
isn’t at his former position. In fact, the lightspoken
and affable Keller draws the same
satisfaction from a hole-creating block as he
did from a game-breaking catch.
“If you make a big block for a running
back, or a quarterback or wide receiver that’s
a key block in picking up yards it definitely
makes you feel real good,” Keller said. “You
don’t really get recognized the way the running
backs will, but you know. You don’t
need other people telling you all of that.
You know that you helped open that up
and so does the running back.” j
Doug Elish is a freelance contributor
for Gold & Black Illustrated and
GoldandBlack.com.
GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED • VOLUME 15, ISSUE 5 • 22 GoldandBlack.com