By John Raffel
Kaden Keon has already made a name for himself as a placekicker and punter for St. Louis’ football team. But Keon still has his senior season to show what he can do.
In 2014, he was the squad’s second leading receiver, with seven touchdown receptions and 452 yards on 17 catches. He also played cornerback and had 17 tackles.
“He’s been on the summer circuit as far as the kicking stuff goes,” St. Louis coach Aaron Munderloh said.
Last season as a kicker, Keon had an average kickoff distance of just more than 60 yards. His average hang time was 3.48 seconds and he had 10 touchbacks. The season-long kickoff was 70 yards. He kicked nine PATs and three field goals, with 30 yards being the longest. He had a 47-yarder the previous year. He averaged 40 yards as a punter, with a 3.37 seconds hang time. “He put the ball inside the 20 eight times. His longest punt was a 65-yarder,” Munderloh said.
Keon is ranked by Chris Sailer Kicking Services as one of the top-ranked kickers in Michigan and is 37th nationally.
“He has a strong leg. He doesn’t lack for that,” Munderloh said. “We hope to give him more opportunities this year to put the ball through the upright. He works hard. He’s continually on the field kicking. He goes to a lot of kicking competitions. He’s very dedicated to his craft. He’s a technician and is very dedicated to doing it the right way. He has a strong leg. He’s built pretty well the lower part of his body.”
This is what Sailer states in his recruiting website: “Kaden is an excellent kicker. A good looking athlete with one of the strongest legs in the nation. He has shown great improvement from camp to camp. Solid on field goals off the ground. Kickoffs are a major strength. Also coming along very nice as a punter. Has a bright college future. Kaden has a great attitude and work ethic. I expect him to have huge senior season. Excellent overall K/P prospect.”