Keele, Hammerberg to continue gridiron careers
Photos by JOSH MCDONALD Jacob Hammerberg and Ethan Keele alongside members of their family and coaches sign their letters of intent to play college football (and track for Hammerberg). Hammerberg will be attending Montana Western University, while Keel will be joining Trinity International University.
Kellogg High School will be sending two of their football players on to play college football next season.
Jacob Hammerberg and Ethan Keele will both be headed off to schools belonging to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics after their graduation later this year.
Hammerberg, a defensive lineman for the Wildcats, will be moving into the same role at Montana Western University, in Dillion, Mont., but his scholarship is a little different than most.
“I really liked the campus and the way they handle school there,” Hammerberg said. “I will be playing football there, but my scholarship is for my shot put throwing.”
Hammerberg will be one of the inaugural members of the newly-sanctioned Montana Western track team, but his standout play as a Wildcat football player made him an easier double investment for the school.
Keele will be traveling to the Midwest and will be playing at Trinity International University in Illinois. Unlike Hammerberg, Keele is going to play multiple spots in the Trojan offense.
“I think that the football program and the people in the football program fit me,” Keele said. “The coaches and other players showed interest in me and when I got there.”
Keele will be playing both tight end and wide receiver for TIU, who will surely benefit from the strides that Keele made during his time at KHS, especially this last season.
“This last season gave me a lot more confidence,” Keele said. “Playing so well as a team helped colleges notice the bright spots.” Hammerberg agreed with Keele, but also discussed how various parts of the last season weren’t as beneficial to him as they had been in years before.
“This season didn’t help me as much as other seasons had from a statistical standpoint,” Hammerberg said. “We were so much better than we had been before, so the individual stats were a lot more spread out. But our team success helped, like Ethan said, colleges noticed us more because we were winning games.”
Both Hammerberg and Keele hope to see more of their younger teammates try and follow in their footsteps and gave some advice on how to do so.
“Go to the camps,” Hammerberg said. “A lot of times it’s not just one coach that is there, but a lot of them all going to one camp because it is easier to watch. Just put yourself out there.”
“Like Jacob said, if you want to go to the next level, being on a team is great, doing all of the team stuff, workouts, meetings, is great — but you have to take it upon yourself to do the things outside of football to help you get better,” Keele said. “Go to the camps, hit the weights by yourself, eat right. Those are things you can do yourself to help you get to where you want to go.”