The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Long snapper Keating living the dream at UConn
STORRS — There was an uneasy feeling with each passing step as Brian Keating was summoned to the office of UConn football coach Randy Edsall a couple of months back.
Typically, when players are asked to meet individually with their head coach, it is not the most enjoyable of experiences. The sophomore long snapper and Darien native couldn’t help wondering just what had transpired to earn him this audience with Edsall.
It didn’t take long for Keating to go from feeling a bit queasy to downright elated when Edsall informed Keating that he was being placed on scholarship.
“It was honestly a dream and a journey complete,” Keating said. “The work is obviously still not done, I’m coming out every day doing my best and working to be the best I can be, but just to know that my hard work has gotten me to this point in my life is awesome.”
After he let Keating know that he was following in the footsteps of fellow Connecticut natives Carlton Steer and Donevin O’Reilly, who were recently placed on scholarship, Edsall let the team know of his intentions.
“It was awesome for those guys to come in and celebrate with me because those are my brothers, they’re my family away from my family,” Keating said. “We spend all day together and they’re going to be some of my best friends for the rest of my life, so it’s great that they could share that moment with me.
“They mobbed me after practice. Carlton, Donevin, (Kyle) Buss all worked really hard in the spring and even last year I saw all of that hard work and I said, ‘Wow, I want to be like those guys,’ so that really changed my mindset and I came out every day really excited to work and get better. I definitely saw the possibilities when they got put on scholarship so I just kept being myself on and off the field and continued to be a team player. I think those guys are great role models and great examples of what hard work can get you.”
Hard work is nothing new to Keating.
He has put in countless hours on his snapping dating to his days playing at FCIAC powerhouse Darien High School. Realizing that one errant snap could be what thrust him into the spotlight, Keating is determined that each time he sends the ball back, to either the holder on extra points and field goals or the punter, he wants his snaps to be dead solid perfect.
“All year round I’m dedicated to it,” Keating said. “There’s no offseason for me when it comes to snapping. When I go home for winter break I’m snapping every day whether it’s inside, outside, just getting adjusted to a lot of environments so when we come back for camp and in season it’s first nature just looking back and putting it on the money.”
While there have been plenty of issues on the UConn team in the last season and a half, Keating’s snaps aren’t among them.
“He has come a long way since last year,” UConn punter Luke Magliozzi said. “I tell him I need him to be good for me to be good, so we push each other along. But he’s improved and he’s going to get better. He’s making my job easy and I’m pretty lucky to have a good snapper.
“I was prety proud of him (receiving a scholarship). He has a lot of confidence and he keeps getting better. I told him that he’s good but he still has a long way (to go). He’s like a little brother to me. It’s good; he deserves it.”
Edsall referred to the snapping and holding on field goals and extra points as being “the best operation in the country” earlier this season. UConn special teams coordinator Eddie Allen is also extremely impressed with the results and attitude Keating brings to the team.
“He’s excellent,” Allen said. “It’s the one thing you always have nightmares about as special teams coordinators. When you don’t have to worry about the snaps — boy, it helps. And he’s lights-out. He does everything we ask him to do.
“He works at his craft. When you get to all the different specialists, especially snappers, it’s such a different tool set, skill set. But he knows what to work on. He knows how to get better and he does it every single day. He’s an ultimate UConn Husky, he loves the program. He grew up rooting for the Huskies and we’re excited to have him because he does a really good job.”
Keating’s face lights up when he recalls those days when as a middle school student he would proudly slip on his UConn football jersey. An ardent supporter of the program during Edsall’s first stint at UConn, Keating thought of nothing else but one day suiting up for UConn.
Keating came to UConn from a high school program that went 25-0 in his junior and senior seasons. He’s only been on the winning side four times in 18 career games with the Huskies, so there has been an adjustment.
“Coming from a really good high school program, coming here there are obviously challenges at times when it comes to wins and losses. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’re building for the future, especially with the young guys that we have out there,” Keating said. “We’re doing a real good job of convincing one another and building up the confidence and everybody buying in. We’re trending upwards. The wins, losses and scores haven’t shown it, (but) within the locker room we’re building a lot of good chemistry and that’ll result in a lot of wins in the near future.”