Signed, sealed and soon to be delivered

 

Who would have thought Brian Kelly, head coach of Notre Dame football, would be sitting in a living room in a home in Brighton, Colo.?

He was. Last week. And Mullen’s Aidan Keanaaina, who with a slide of his index finger, made it official on Wednesday – he belongs to Kelly’s Notre Dame team, as storied of a football program as there is in the country.

The Fightin’ Irish.

Touchdown Jesus.

“Play Like A Champion Today!”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Keanaaina said of a coach the stature of Kelly returning to Smalltown, Colo., for recruiting. “But we have some kids in younger classes … we’ll see. I definitely will be promoting Colorado there.”

And the thing that made it special for the 17-year-old Keanaaina was that Kelly “was all happy and we had a normal conversation. We talked about boating … it was so easy to talk to him.”

Keanaaina actually handled the business part of becoming a Notre Dame player at 7 a.m. on the third year of an early signing day for football players that took another step forward – he did it through an app that went to eager men sitting in a coaches room in South Bend, Ind., that included an electronic confirmation from a defensive end in Germany.

And, certainly, Keanaaina was happy to get it over with and cap it with a ceremony at Mullen’s Hutchison Fieldhouse in front of family, teammates, friends, school personnel, coaches and media.

“It was stressful, but now it’s over,” Keanaaina said.

Stanley Richardson, the senior defensive lineman’s head coach, said “this is phenomenal and well-deserved. He put in all of the work the past four years. He’s super humble, doesn’t do a whole lot of verbal stuff. He did a great job this year carrying the team. I just look for him to do great things and I think he’ll play on Sunday (as in the NFL).”

Stacey Keanaaina, Aidan’s father who also played at Colorado State, felt even better about his son’s 4.12 grade-point average as “his academics come first, then football, because he knows football doesn’t last forever. If he makes it to the next level, he makes it; and if he doesn’t, he has one of the best degrees in the country.”

Realizing that his chance is here and it’s all he can ask, Keanaaina will report to Notre Dame in mid-June for summer classes to begin his quest as a national, top-flight student-athlete. His credentials afforded his opportunity.

He’s 6-foot-3, 305 pounds and will probably compete for a spot on the Irish interior defensive line. He was first team all-league the past three seasons and honorable mention as a freshman. As a senior, multiple opposing coaches found out where he was lined up and purposely went the other way. Keanaaina will have one more game as a prep player – he’ll compete in the Polynesian Bowl at Aloha Stadium on Jan. 18.

Also considering throwing the weights in track in the spring, his speed and quickness is widely considered high for a bigger, heavier player and Keanaaina had two dozen offers from Division I, including the University of Colorado.

Academically, his considerable GPA is modified by several subject awards and he plans on majoring in business.

In terms of character, Richardson said it would be difficult “to find a better kid.”

Running back and teammate Damien Cearns said “Aidan is my guy, he’s like a brother to me. I call him ‘AK-47’ for a reason. He tears everything up. He’s good at it and he’s going to succeed.”

Stacey Keanaaina called his son’s recruiting process “really nice.”

And the younger Keanaaina added: “It worked for me. I like it better now that it’s done. Now, there’s no pressure, you’re signed, you can finish high school and go into college.”