Brief absence from football sparked Dustin Keller's career at Lafayette Jeff

WEST LAFAYETTE – Dustin Keller offered up a story about his high school football career on the same day the Lafayette native was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.

He quit the team.

“I’m ashamed to admit it,” Keller said Sunday prior to the National Football Foundation Dinner at the Purdue Memorial Union.

Keller was a sophomore at Lafayette Jeff when he thought his time would be better utilized preparing to play basketball. He saw himself as a basketball player and played football since his friends were on the team.

Plus, the Bronchos were a running team using the Veer, an option-designed offense. As a receiver, Keller's role was to block. Keller’s athletic ability, even at a young age, was evident and his skills at receiver were undervalued.

He needed to have the ball in his hands, preferably from a talented quarterback. And coach Fred Kutruff’s program was about to embark on an era of top-flight quarterbacks.

“If I’m going to do all this blocking, I’m going to get ready for basketball,” Keller said. “I didn’t know I was a football player. It wasn’t until my junior year where I thought I would be doing this in college.”

Two days passed and Kutruff showed up at Keller’s home to bring his future star back to the program.

“Trust me, nobody was going to let Dustin stay gone for long,” said Kutruff, who attended Sunday’s event and is currently an assistant principal at John R. Wooden Middle School in Martinsville. “That was not going to be an issue. We’re just glad he came back because he made us pretty good.”

Check out these numbers from Keller’s high school games:

Caught 113 passes – still a state record - for 1,804 yards as a senior. Finished his career with 195 receptions for 3,511 yards once Kutruff installed a pass-happy offense, which accumulated points and yards quickly. Keller was named one of the top 50 players by the Indiana Football Coaches Association his senior year.

So, what happens if Keller doesn’t return to the football team?

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"I’ve thought about it,” he said, smiling. “I probably end up at some small school trying to play basketball.”

Keller loves playing basketball, but football was his ticket to the NFL and solidified his future. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family and is part of a group that owns more than 70 McAlister’s Deli restaurants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida along with Dunkin’ Donut stores in Austin.

He committed to play at Toledo, but Purdue coach Joe Tiller offered a scholarship about a week before the signing period and Keller accepted. He moved from receiver to tight end – becoming the best in the Big Ten and the nation. That led to the New York Jets selecting Keller in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. 

Keller retired from the NFL following a gruesome knee injury in 2013.

“It was a shame he suffered that injury because he was a 10-to-15-year guy in the NFL,” Kutruff said. “This shows you what I know – I told him, ‘You can probably play in the NFL but you’re probably a linebacker.’ I knew he was talented, but I missed the call on that one.”

Sunday was a moment to highlight Keller’s beginnings as a football player, culminating with the Hall of Fame induction. He called playing high school football “fun” since it became a business once he reached the NFL.

“Those are some of the greatest relationships I’ve forged,” Keller said. “High school, it was all about fun. Winning is a perk but it’s all about fun. And the NFL becomes a business, especially when you’re looking at new contracts and that stuff. That’s not fun.

“The last time it was 100 percent fun was high school and also college. Looking back on that and all the relationships I had … I would say more than anything, I miss the games a little bit, but I miss the camaraderie and I miss the locker room and all the trash talk and everything that goes along with it.”

And Keller’s talents made it enjoyable for everyone involved.

“Let’s open this thing up and let him do his thing and other guys chimed in with him,” said Kutruff, who posted an 86-43 record in 12 seasons with the Bronchos. “After a couple of games, they got pretty good at it.”