THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 7, 1994 TAG: 9409070591
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER TRIBE NOTES
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Had Troy Keen not been a member of his high school's Navy ROTC unit, he might be playing football for the Naval Academy.
Keen was recruited hard by Navy when he was a second-team All-State tailback as a senior at George Washington High in Danville. And he says the lure of playing against Army and Notre Dame, and graduating from a world-class university, made Annapolis a temptation.
``But I spent quite a few nights on boats with my ROTC unit,'' Keen said. ``Lets just say the boat thing didn't work out.''
Keen spent most of his time on the high seas leaning over the rail, green from seasickness.
So Keen turned down Navy, as well as Wake Forest, and signed with William and Mary.
``Being seasick probably didn't have as much to do with it as William and Mary's tradition,'' he said. ``I wanted to go somewhere where I could play for a winner. I didn't want to go to Wake Forest or Navy just to say I was good enough to play for a Division I-A team.''
Last weekend the junior tailback showed he certainly can play in I-AA, rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries in a 38-17 victory at Rhode Island. The performance was the best of his career and earned him Yankee Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Curiously, Keen isn't usually a starter. He started in place of Derek Fitzgerald, who is recovering from off-season surgery and played sparingly against Rhode Island.
``I was in the same situation last year and got off to a rocky start,'' Keen said. ``Derek was the starter. It was my job to step in for him.
``When I got the chance, I didn't feel like I played up to my capabilities last year. I didn't do what was expected of me. But I was pleased with my performance Saturday. I don't feel I should be looked at now as just a backup.''
Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock agrees. Keen will start Saturday when the Tribe hosts Yankee Conference archrival Delaware.
``Troy's performance really helped the rest of the team, it raised the level of play,'' Laycock said. ``We had him with 16 broken tackles. Even the defensive guys on the sidelines got pumped up watching him break tackles.''
Oddly enough, Keen says he gets pumped up thinking of wearing a suit and jousting in the rough-and-tumble world of Wall Street.
``For some reason, I grew up wanting to be a businessmen,'' the marketing major said. ``I always saw myself in a penthouse office, on Wall Street.
``If I'd gone to Navy, I'd be a chemical engineer, sleeping on someone else's boat.''
And leaning over a rail
RANKINGS: The Tribe moved from 21st to 18th in The Sports Network's Division I-AA poll, released Tuesday. Delaware, the preseason favorite to win the Yankee Conference, is ranked 12th. Delaware was the preseason favorite to win the Yankee Conference.
INJURIES: The Tribe lost only one player to injuries against Rhode Island, but it was a big loss. Linebacker Jason Steiner went down with a knee injury in the fourth quarter and will be out a minimum of four weeks, Laycock said. Steiner had 14 tackles, tied for the team high with linebacker Greg Applewhite, when he left the game.
``It will probably be four weeks before they determine the real extent of the injury,'' Laycock said. ``Surgery is a possibility.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Troy Keen was recruited by Navy when he was a second-team All-State
tailback at GW-Danville.
by CNB