Dual threat QB has Illini interest

With an offer from Eastern Michigan under his belt, Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick junior quarterback Jacob Keller is an athlete to watch.

He’s 6-4, 195-pounds and is getting interest on the gridiron as well as the basketball court.

"I am a duel threat quarterback that can say in the pocket and throw or get out of the pocket and create,” Keller said.

Although he’s got the talent to play either sport, he is honing in on football.

"I am leaning a little bit more towards football. I just love watching college football and love watching the quarterbacks and what they do. I love being in control of the game too,” Keller said.

Keller has heard from Ball State, Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois, Cincinnati, Arkansas among others.

And he has a high interest in Illinois. Especially because of the hire of new head coach Lovie Smith.

"I am pretty excited about that because Lovie Smith was one of my favorite Bears coaches,” Keller said.

Keller was also a fan of former Illini Nathan Scheelhaase, who was also a dual-threat quarterback.

"It skyrockets it, growing up as a kid I always watched Illinois. I watched Nate sometimes. I followed Lovie Smith though whereever he went and it’s just exciting,” Keller said.

This offseason, Keller is working hard on several things.

"Footwork, that’s always something I am working on. Form of course. Trying to put on a little weight in the weight room and I am trying to get more chemistry and teamwork with the team. We have a lot of seniors and a lot of juniors coming up,” Keller said.

Plus, he’s taking each day on varsity as a learning experience as he heads towards his senior season.

"My first year playing varsity so I had to learn the playbook and practices were different. We learned more about the defenses, working on it every day it got a lot easier with identifying the defense,” Keller said.