Derek Kief - Class of 2014 - Wide Receiver

Family sendoff video for Derek

2014-05-25T10:00:00.001-04:00

Who is Derek Kief? from Lance Hart on Vimeo.

This is a short film I created with the help of friends and family to say goodbye and show our love and support for Derek. The family gathered privately with Derek on Thursday, May 22nd and watched it together prior to him leaving for Tuscaloosa (today) Sunday, May 25th.

Good luck kid. Work hard.

-Lance

A Tribute to Derek Kief's FAM!

2014-03-14T16:01:00.001-04:00

Adrick Ceaser (Derek's dad) was a WR at Furman and Pat Kief (Derek's granddad) was a OG at Miami (OH)

Click image for full resolution image.

Recapping Derek Kief's National Signing Day

2014-02-06T01:53:00.001-05:00

Senior picture of Derek Kief taken in 2013 with photo edit, "SOON TO BE BUILT BY BAMA"

Derek Kief signs and faxes his letter of intent from his house due to a snow day at La Salle

Officially signed to the Alabama Crimson Tide! 🎉🎊🐘🅰 Still Rollin' even though I'm snowed in #RollTide pic.twitter.com/j4f41KvIKn
— Derek Kief (@DKief10) February 5, 2014 @ 7:14AM

Derek Kief was the first to fax in his letter of intent on NSD (1-8 are 2014 early enrollees)

Derek Kief graphic, posted on the Official Facebook of Alabama Football

Derek Kief's bio posted on the Official Website of Alabama Athletics

Quotes from Derek on National Signing Day

Cincinnati Fox 19:

"They say it's like the mini-NFL in the SEC, so you might as well play with the best."

Cincinnati Enquirer:

“The recruiting process was great but I was glad it’s finally over and I can focus on Alabama and get ready.”

Tuscaloosa Tide 99.1 radio show, The Game:

"Nothing is given to us. We have to go down there, work as hard as we can & try to be the best people we can be."

"Other coaches tell you what you want to hear... Coach Saban tells you how it is."

"There's no better place to play than Alabama."

Roll Tide Roll

AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO REPUBLISH ANY OF THE PICS (click each pic for full resolution)

Pics: Derek Kief's Official Visit to #Alabama (Coach Cochran, Coach Napier, Coach Kiffin, Elam, Clark, Williams & more)

2014-01-23T13:27:00.001-05:00

2014 WR & Alabama commit, Derek Kief in the WR Room during his official visit

The Family

Adrick Ceasar (dad), Kelly Ceasar (mom), Zoey Ceasar (sister) & Derek Kief

Adrick Ceasar (dad), Zoey Ceasar (sister) & Kelly Ceasar (mom)

Kelly Ceasar (mom) & Zoey Ceasar (sister)

The Coaches

The man that will make Derek Kief faster & stronger, Coach Scott Cochran

The man that will take Derek Kief's skills from good to great, Coach Billy Napier

The man that will architect windows of opportunity for Derek Kief to
utilize his skills & contribute to the success of the team, Coach Lane Kiffin

The Recruits

#10 Derek Kief with a lot of Alabama recruits during his official visit

Alabama recruits play a little hoop at Saban's lake house during their official visit

Matt Elam has the wheel but Derek Kief is navigating where to pick up the crystal balls

Here's to hoping Matt Elam's next home is sweet.

Keith Holcombe, Derek Kief & Matt Elam

Ronnie Clark, Derek Kief, Matt Elam & Chris Williams

Chris Williams & Derek Kief

The History

Derek Kief standing in front of a long history of tradition

Derek Kief's little sister Zoey admiring all the shiny rings

The New Friends

Derek Kief's little sister Zoey hanging out with Coach Billy Napier's daughter

Roll Tide Roll

AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO REPUBLISH ANY OF THE PICS (click each pic for full resolution)

Derek Kief's Career Highlights

2013-12-16T12:02:00.001-05:00

Pics: Derek Kief's Visit #Alabama vs LSU (Cornwell, Sims, Robinson, Pierschbacher, Mosley, Elam & more)

2013-11-12T10:57:00.001-05:00

2014 WR Derek Kief's little sister Zoey at the 2013 Bama vs. LSU game

Left to right: Derek Kief, Kelly Ceasar (mom), Zoey Ceasar (sister), Adrick Ceasar (dad)

Left to right: Cameron Sims, Cameron Robinson, David Cornwell, Derek Kief

Left to right: Zoey Ceasar (Derek Kief's sister), Charles Mosley, Derek Kief, Matt Elam, David Cornwell

Is is just me or would Mosley & Elam be fantastic additions to the Alabama family?

Left to right: David Cornwell, Derek Kief

Left to right: Derek Kief, Matt Elam

Kentucky is close to home but there is a big difference between the comfort zone and the championship zone.

“The path to all of your wildest dreams is not paved within your comfort zone.” -Stacey Alcorn

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” -Neale Donald Walsch

Your old home will always be in Kentucky but your new home in T-TOWN (as well as the air conditioning) would be very comfortable. Besides, Derek would give you someone to car pool with!

Left to right: Derek Kief, Ross Pierschbacher

THE Alabama Crimson Tide take the field to defeat the LSU Tigers 38-17

Coach Billy Napier (far left in white) observing the Alabama receivers warm-up

2014 WR Derek Kief's little sister Zoey at her first Alabama game

You may remember baby Zoey from Derek's commitment video...

2014 WR Derek Kief reveals commitment to Alabama using little sister (click here to watch)

Roll Tide Roll

AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO REPUBLISH ANY OF THE PICS (click each pic for full resolution)

The @WLSNRADIO media guide details Derek Kief's "historic career" as they call it

2013-10-31T16:12:00.003-04:00

Some random images of 2014 WR Derek Kief's career at La Salle High School

Below was published in WLSN's 2013 Media Guide for game 10...

"Derek Kief will complete his career as arguably one of the best receivers in the history of La Salle football. As a senior, heading in to his final regular season game, Derek already tops La Salle’s charts for most career receptions (152), most career receiving yards (2015), most career receiving touchdowns (22), most single-season receptions (65) and is tied for most single-game receptions (12). He has also surpassed all other receivers in the history of the GCL South for most career receptions and is only 136 receiving yards away from surpassing all other GCL South receivers for most career receiving yards. In addition to the success he has had on the field, Derek has made 1st and/or 2nd honors every year since he has attended La Salle and maintains a high GPA. Next year, Derek will go from rolling deep as a Lancer, to rolling with the tide! LANCERS ROLL (TIDE) DEEP!"

Keep working kid.

Derek Kief's 2013 Mid-Season Highlights #RollTide #Bama

2013-10-06T22:16:00.001-04:00

2014 WR & Alabama Commit Derek Kief Selected as LaRosa's MVP

2013-10-01T11:21:00.000-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief LaRosa's MVP (image source: www.larosasmvp.com)

Derek was selected as the LaRosa's MVP of the week. For more information, visit http://www.larosasmvp.com/mvps/index.htm

You can also download and print the the MVP Highlight that the LaRosa's team put together here.

Congrats Derek!

Derek Kief (Alabama commit) & Tyrell Gilbert (Cincinnati commit) Battle Week 3! #RollTide #BearcatNation

2013-09-08T09:04:00.003-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief (Alabama commit) & 2014 ATH Tyrell Gilbert (UC commit) go head to head week 3

Derek and Tyrell are like family. They first met on a basketball court as rivals playing AAU basketball way back when. To make a very long story short, Derek hit a buzzer beater to knock Tyrell's team out of a regional AAU tournament in Maysville, KY. It was a tough loss for Tyrell, but in life, there are ALWAYS silver linings. It wasn't long after that tournament that Tyrell was playing on Derek's AAU team and they have been brothers ever since.

Click the pic for a full resolution version. Give it a second, it is a big file.

For my personal history with Tyrell Gilbert, click here. I wrote that after he received his first D1 offer last March. -Lance

2014 WR's Kief & Fuller: History of the Twin Towers & Feeling Fuller #LRD

2013-08-26T11:56:00.001-04:00

The Twin Towers: La Salle Lancers, WR Derek Kief & WR Izaiah Fuller

Six football seasons ago (yea, around here, everything is about football), 2014 WR and Alabama commit Derek Kief and 2014 WR and college prospect Izaiah Fuller played together at La Salle's Lancer Stadium for the very first time. Actually, let's rewind, I am getting a little ahead of myself.

Roughly twenty football seasons ago, give or take a season or two, Kelly Kief (now Ceasar) and her family were living in Columbus, Ohio. Kelly's father, Pat Kief, took a new job back in their hometown of Cincinnati. After moving back, Kelly enrolled as a Junior in the Diamond Oaks School of Cosmetology. It was not long after she started attending before she had met and became very close friends with Ronicole Jordan (now Hyman).

Throughout their time at Diamond Oaks, they were like two peas in a pod. They were so close in fact, when Kelly was in the hospital after giving birth to Derek, Ronicole came to visit her. While she was there supporting her friend and meeting Derek for the first time, Ronicole shared with Kelly that she was pregnant with Izaiah. Try to top that day one friend!

Although, just as all first time parents have experienced, a new baby can be quite the shock to your lifestyle. Considering that both Kelly and Ronicole became new mothers only months apart, it is not at all surprising that they lost touch with each other.

Now, lets fast forward back to the very first time Derek and Izaiah played on the same field together. What I failed to mention earlier, they were playing against each other in the annual Gravy Bowl. In fact, Derek had no idea that his day one was standing on that same field as him. During warmups, an overly excited mother rushed the field and ran up to Derek. "WHERE IS YOUR MOM?!?", she so franticly asked. If you know Ronicole, I know you just got a mental picture of her, facial expressions and all!

As you can imagine, Derek was thinking, "who is this lady?" Heck, he probably even thought he was in trouble for something. After she provide a quick explanation, Derek pointed out where his mom was sitting in the stands and he directed his focus back to preparing for the game.

2014 La Salle Lancer and team
captain Morgan Willcox

While Izaiah and Derek didn't score against each other that game, Izaiah was certain that his team, the Little Cards, laid the smack down on the Eagles. Izaiah did remember one offensive weapon in addition to Derek that the Little Cards had a hard time containing, 2014 La Salle Lancer and team captain, Morgan Willcox.

Regardless of who won or who lost (Izaiah will remind you that they won!), what matters to this particular story is that the music between Ronicole and Kelly played once again like it never skipped a beat. It wasn't long after the Gravy Bowl before the two families gathered together to catch up on the old times, and start making the new times. Since then, theses two families or as we simply call it, the family, have been inseparable.

Izaiah eventually transferred to Our Lady of Grace (OLG) and they had the opportunity to graduate from OLG together following their 8th grade year. Just as they did then, in a few short months they will be graduating together once again, this time from La Salle.

Just like I did when I interviewed Morgan Willcox, I started asking Derek and Izaiah a lot of questions. Below is a compilation of those efforts.

Derek Kief:

2014 WR's Derek Kief & Izaiah Fuller
at the 2013 scrimmage vs. Centerville

It is crazy how your mom and Izaiah's mom were close friends in high school and now here you and Izaiah are as Seniors together at the same high school. On a personal level, what can you say about your friendship with Izaiah? Izaiah and I have been best friends since about 7th grade. People often call us the twin towers.

Now to football, why will Izaiah be important to the success of the team this year? Izaiah will be important to the team because with he and I, it gives us height on both sides. This will cause match up problems and will be difficult to defend.

How has Izaiah positively influenced and/or impacted you personally that has resulted in you improving your skills and/or work ethic? Izaiah has positively impacted me in many ways. Having a person comparable to me in size pushes me to work hard in the weight room everyday. In my opinion, it has helped us become who we are today.

If you had to sum up Izaiah in a single word, what would it be? Driven. Izaiah knew he had to buckle down this year in chasing a scholarship, and I noticed this change. He began working harder than I had ever seen him before and this even carried over into the weekend. He began straying away from the fun things, and started working toward what was really important to him.

Izaiah Fuller:

What are a few descriptive words that you could give me to sum up who Izaiah Fuller is? Determined, focused, ambitious.

2014 WR and college prospect Izaiah Fuller is focused!

I have watched you play football for many years. What drives your passion for the game? I love the game of football, having fun and knowing any play can be my last drives my passion for the game.

What is your philosophy on preparation and training and what have you been working on to prepare for your Senior season? I have worked mostly on my speed and route running ability I understand to play the position I play (WR) those 2 attributes are crucial. I have worked my butt of this offseason to be a better player for my team so we can succeed.

Most spectators think a wide receiver only run routes and catches the ball. Considering the commitment you have made in your preparation and training, explain how this has improved your blocking game and why blocking is a critical component to the success of your team… Its improved my blocking tremendously. I am much stronger than last season. While I am not the perfect blocker and still have room for improvement, I have made a significant improvment from last season. I am a physical receiver and my goal is to dominate opponents.

What motivates you to strive to be successful on the field? What motivates me is to be the best football player I can possibly be.

Talk about your relationship with your teammates, coaches and what you feel will be special about the upcoming season? We as team have grown much closer. I feel we are more than just a team,
we are a family. This upcoming season will surely be one to remember. We have new coaches and a new mindset. I can't wait for it to kick-off.

A lot of people doubt La Salle can make an impact in the GCL, while a select few BELIEVE. Tell me why you believe and what goals you and your team have for this year. I BELIEVE we will be great. We have worked too hard and too long to not be GCL Champions. Personally, I BELIEVE we can be State Champions.

What are you currently working on and need to continue to work on to take your game to the next level? I am currently working on the little things like my mechanics. I have a lot of things I want to improve on, my strength and speed. Those are big ones I need to continue working on.

2014 WR Izaiah Fuller in scrimmage vs. Centerville

I have heard from various sources that coaches are anxious to see highlights of your first few games and it is only a matter of weeks before you receive your first offer. What schools have you been talking with? A lot of schools, mainly the MAC and the Big Ten.

That seems like an awful lot of stress and pressure you are under to perform. Are you looking to prove something to show these coaches why they should offer? Do you have a chip on your shoulder? I won't let this impact my performance on the field, I still have a job to do every game and that is to perform. I believe that college coaches will recognize my abilities, and see that I am a great contribution to their school and program. As for now, the only thing on my mind is WINNING.

Who do you look up to and provides you with inspiration to be the best that you can possibly be? I look up to my siblings. They inspire me every day to be not only a good football player, but a good person as well.

Izaiah's Summer Highlights:

Stay tuned for highlights after the first 3 games...

From BESTS to BEASTS in just 5 short years:

2014 WR and Alabama commit Derek Kief & 2014 WR and college prospect Izaiah Fuller
(2014 ATH and UC commit Tyrell Gilbert bottom left)

Izaiah is focused, stronger, faster, healthy and BIG. The Twin Towers, along with Ferguson, Willcox and the depth at the receiver positions, I will take the La Salle Lancer receiving corp over any other high school's receiving corp in the entire country.

I believe this team will do great things this season. I believe this team has what it takes and can be GCL Champs. I believe this team has what it takes and can be State Champs. This team and Lancer Nation have to think WE. Repeat after me:

WE believe that WE will and have the will so WE can!

WHEN WE ARE ONE,

THE BATTLE IS WON

Believe It.

8.28.13

by Lance Hart

7on7: Nationally Ranked No 25 Colerain vs La Salle #LRD #REDSTORM

2013-07-21T10:00:00.001-04:00

On July 10th, 2013, the GMC Colerain Cardinals football team were ranked No. 25 nationally by the USA Today Super 25 preseason high school football rankings. On July 21st, the GCL South La Salle Lancers with their Red Storm proved that they will be hard for ANY team to handle in the backfield, let alone the #25 ranked Cardinals.

This video highlights the offense, lead by Nick Watson & Eric Green at Quarterback and Wide Receivers, Kevin Ferguson (and his one handed catch/TD), receptions and TD by Izaiah Fuller as well as some receptions by Derek Kief.

The thing that is most exciting, the RED STORM IS THICK and La Salle has even more offensive weapons than what was highlighted here.

Hold on tight Lancer Nation, the Red Storm is coming!!!

Derek Kief & Morgan Willcox: At the Helm of the Storm #LRD #THESTORM

2013-07-19T11:24:00.001-04:00

La Salle Lancers, Derek Kief & Morgan Willcox: At the Helm of the Storm

Derek Kief and Morgan Willcox have been sharing the field for almost as long as they have been pulling shoulder pads over their heads. Now seniors at La Salle high school, this double barrel will slug the field together for one final season. Right now, I'm calling out the entire Lancer Nation. You better get fired up, and you best be rollin' deep! Their final charge is a-comin', and they're bringin' a hellish storm of Lancers with 'em!

Derek Kief & Morgan Willcox 2007

While looking at this picture of Derek and Morgan in their Chargers' uniforms, it made me realize something. I knew absolutely nothing about a young man that I have watched play for years. This set me on a path to learn more about Morgan. I started asking Derek and Morgan a lot of questions and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. Below is a compilation of those efforts.

Derek Kief:

You and Morgan Willcox are no strangers to being athletic leaders on the same field. Where and what grade did you first start playing football together? We started playing football together in the 6th grade for St.Ann/St. John. We were the starting running backs.

Morgan displays great leadership qualities. How important is he to the success of this team and why? He is a very important asset to this football team. Not only is he a great, explosive football player, but is also a great leader with impressive intelligence.

How has Morgan positively influenced and/or impacted you personally that has resulted in you improving your skills and/or work ethic? Morgan has personally impacted me by being a great example of a great student athlete. Best lifting numbers on the team along with a 30+ ACT? That's crazy.

If you had to sum up Morgan in a single word, what would it be? If I had to sum him up in one word, I wouldn't. I'd describe him in two: work horse. He puts in 102% effort in everything he does, and it shows.

Morgan Willcox:

What are a few descriptive words that you could give me to sum up who Morgan Willcox is? Driven, Intelligent, Strong-willed and Leader are a few.

I have watched you play football for many years. What drives your passion for the game? I love to compete. I'm just a naturally competitive person, and the best athletes compete in football. There's just nothing that quite comes close to how it feels to play on Friday nights.

What is your philosophy on preparation and training and what have you been working on to prepare for your Senior season? You just have to work as hard as you possibly can. I mean you really have to go in to train with the mentality that when you're done, you can hardly move from working as hard as possible every second you're there. Personally, I've been working on getting quicker, faster, and catching in order to prepare for this season.

I am told that you are one of the strongest players on the team which obviously goes hand in hand with your philosophy on preparation and training. With that said, how much do you bench? Well, my best max out this year was 360 lbs.

What motivates you to strive to be successful on the field? My competitiveness, and how much I hate losing. I just can't stand to lose, so if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do everything I can to win.

I understand that you excel off the field as well. You have consistently achieved 1st honors (AVG of 89.5% or greater with no grades lower than 80%). You have also received LaSalle's prestigious academic all star award for achieving 1st honors 3 or more quarters in a single year. That's right, I do my homework. :)

Since I was unable to hack LaSalle's network to gain access to your transcripts, fill me in on your grey matter stats (GPA, ACT & SAT) GPA 3.94 (unweighted), 4.3 (weighted), ACT 31, SAT 1900 (sum of 3)

What motivates you to strive to be successful in the classroom? My parents have always pushed me to be successful in the classroom. And I realize that football might soon be over for me, so I need to prepare for my future and being smart opens so many doors to being successful in life.

What do to plan on majoring in and why? I'm not entirely sure yet, but I think I want to major in engineering. I'm a math and science guy, so that stuff seems interesting to me.

Back to football, what position(s) will you be playing this year? Y, which is like a tight end, and maybe some linebacker.

Talk about your relationship with your teammates, coaches and what you feel will be special about the upcoming season? I think that this year, we've got a real special group of guys with the right coaches to really unlock our true potential. We've had pretty talented teams before, but this year the team is pretty high up there. We're all working as hard as we can to prepare for week one.

Lastly, what is one word or phrase that as a team leader that you want every single one of your teammates to be thinking about heading in to this season? "4-6"

That's right Lancer Nation, your team ended the 2012 season with an abysmal 4 W's. Morgan said, "I think that was the first year I had ever had a losing record in nearly 11 years of playing football".

Morgan wants his team to be thinking about that record so they never forget the pain, and the let down, and the heartbreak that he and his brothers shared. As Morgan mentioned in the interview, "we've had pretty talented teams before, but this year the team is pretty high up there". Morgan is a leader with a very high IQ. He is mature enough to understand that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

This year, the Lancers have the talent. This year, the Lancers are working until they can hardly move. This year, the entire Lancer Nation will witness.

THE RED STORM

8.28.13

by Lance Hart

PICS: WR Derek Kief's Family #Bama Commitment Gathering #ROLLTIDE

2013-06-17T11:53:00.000-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief after committing to Alabama

Special thanks to Derek's Aunt (and my wife), Monica Hart for capturing some great photos at yesterday's family commitment gathering.

Kelly Ceasar (mom), Adrick Ceasar (dad), Zoey Ceasar (sister)

Derek Kief's cousins celebrating his commitment to Alabama!

No more stress for Derek Kief. It's time to focus on La Salle Lancer football!

Derek Kief, Kelly Ceasar (mom), Zoey Ceasar (sister) & Adrick Ceasar (dad)

Chris Kief (grandma), Derek Kief & Pat Kief (grandpa)

Pat Kief (grandpa), he played for the most winningest team in the history of Miami (OH) football.
They didn't lose a game in 2 years and won 2 bowl games beating Florida (1973) and Georgia (1974).

Kelly Ceasar (mom) & Monica Hart (aunt)

Lance Hart (uncle) trying to tell the young bucks a little something about life.

Behind the scenes:

Lance Hart (uncle) filming Kelly Ceasar (mom), Zoey Ceasar (sister), Derek Kief & Adrick Ceasar (dad)

Lance Hart (uncle) editing the video prior to Derek tweeting the link

Feel free to use the photos posted but please credit MonicaHartPhotography.com. Otherwise, I'll be sleeping on the couch! :)

This will likely be the last post until the 2013 La Salle season starts. Thank you all for supporting Derek, ROLL TIDE!

The Uncle.

2014 WR Derek Kief Commits

2013-06-16T18:11:00.000-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief Will Commit from His Twitter @DKief10, Sunday Between 5:30-6PM

2013-06-14T15:50:00.000-04:00

Derek will be ending the recruiting process and tweeting his college commitment from @DKief10, his personal Twitter account, this Sunday (June 16th, 2013), between 5:30-6PM.

Congrats Derek, everyone is looking forward to the announcement!

Pics: WR Derek Kief's #Alabama Visit (Coach Saban, AJ, Norwood, Kelly & more)

2013-06-11T11:11:00.000-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief pondering the possibility of Alabama

Family Matters

Left to right: Lance Hart (uncle), Derek Kief, Coach Nick Saban, Kelly Ceasar (mom),
Zoey Ceasar (sister), Adrick Ceasar (dad), Pat Kief (grandpa), Chris Kief (grandma)

Back row, left to right: Lance Hart (uncle), Derek Kief, Chris Kief (grandma), Pat Kief (grandpa)
Front row: Kelly Ceasar (mom) holding Zoey Ceasar (sister)

Zoey Ceasar (Derek Kief's sister)

Adrick Ceasar (dad) & Derek Kief

Derek Kief & Lance Hart (uncle)

Coach Nick Saban

Coach Nick Saban and 2014 WR Derek Kief

The Players

2014 WR Derek Kief & SR QB AJ McCarron

SR WR Kevin Norwood & 2014 WR Derek Kief

Cincinnati Connection: 2014 WR Derek Kief & SO OL Ryan Kelly

On Deck

Left to right: FR WR/DB ArDarius Stewart, 2014 WR Derek Kief,
FR QB Cooper Bateman, FR TE OJ Howard, FR WR Raheem Falkins

2014 WR Derek Kief & FR LB Reuben Foster

FR RB Altee Tenpenny & 2014 WR Derek Kief

The History

Alabama football speaks for itself

2014 WR Derek Kief wearing a National Championship ring

Roll Tide Roll

AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO REPUBLISH ANY OF THE PICS (click each pic for full resolution)

Inside Scoop on WR Derek Kief: The Method Behind the Madness of "Speed Does Kill"

2013-06-08T07:35:00.002-04:00

The song "Speed Does Kill" wasn't just created to make Derek's highlights unique, it was a method of motivation for Derek going in to the off-season prior to his Senior year. You have to understand, for many years, Derek was playing sports all year round.

He was stuck in a never-ending loop, relying mostly on his freakish size coupled with his god-given talents to get him by. While Derek loved basketball (I coached him and various school and AAU teams for many years), he decided not to play his Junior year to focus all of his efforts on football.

For the first time ever, Derek was about to experience the upside of downtime. Derek's father called me and said, "Print some shirts that say, Speed Kills, Strength Punishes. That is going to be our theme during the off-season." Being the somewhat overzealous uncle (as some may say), I called up a friend in the biz and asked if he and his crew would be interested in making a song. Upon arrival to the studio, I told them I wouldn't stifle their creativity but I absolutely needed "Speed Kills" and "Strength Punishes" somewhere in the song. It wasn't long before they were bouncing ideas off of each other and the next thing you know, WORD IS BORN:

"Speed does kill yeah speed does kill. You'll get punished with my strength, that's for real."

Since Derek's Junior season ended, he has been laser-focused on one thing and one thing only, to be the best version of a WR that he can possibly be going in to his Senior season. That focus is harnessed by the "Speed Kills, Strength Punishes" theme. Derek knew he needed to work on his speed, strength, agility and quickness to make him a stronger and more explosive wide receiver. Not playing basketball provided him with the necessary downtime to focus on what was most important at the next level, his upside.

Let's rewind to the summer of 2012. Derek ran a 4.51 40 in front of the OSU coaching staff at their annual summer camp. At that time, dripping wet he might have weighed 185 lbs. Did he already and continue to put up amazing stats in the GCL, consistently catch everything in sight, display a high football IQ and very solid technical route running ability? Sure. Although, while that was probably good enough to be the best in the GCL and one of the best players in Ohio, that wasn't good enough for Derek. He wanted to push himself to be the best. He recognized that he needed to make room for some downtime, leading to his decision to drop basketball.

Fast forward back to today, his focus and efforts are paying off. To put it in perspective, I will compare Derek's summer pre-test stats (before La Salle's strength & conditioning) to the 2011 NFL combine stats of one of his favorite wide receivers.

	A.J. Green	Derek Kief
Height	6-4	6-5
Weight	211	200 (205 - 210 by season)
Vertical Jump	34 1/2	35
40 Low	4.40	4.47
40 Time	4.48	4.48
40 High	4.56	4.49
Broad Jump	126"	124"
3-Cone	6.91	6.94

Of course, I recognize that the methods for capturing the 40 and 3-cone times are not necessarily equal, that isn't the point. The point is simply, "Speed Kills, Strength Punishes". That theme is now woven into the fabric of Derek Kief. The investments that he has made and continues to make in his upside during his downtime are now paying dividends.

While his film and stats from playing in one of the Nation's top high school conferences have landed him 22 offers, including 3 of the top 4 ranked 2012 teams seems impressive, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Speed Does Kill.

Details: 2014 WR Derek Kief's Upcoming Unofficial Overnight to #Alabama #RollTide

2013-06-04T11:19:00.001-04:00

#10 Derek Kief from La Salle High School in Cincinnati Ohio leaves on Saturday for Tuscaloosa, AL with an entourage of family members. Derek along with 6 family members (including myself) will spend the entire visit from June 8th to June 11th in Tuscaloosa. We will have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the city, the academic programs, the athletic facilities and The Process.

While the family will be staying in a nearby hotel, Derek will be spending as much time on campus and overnight with the players.

Roll Tide.

2014 JJHuddle Top 100 Ranks WR Derek Kief #1 Football Prospect in Ohio!

2013-05-31T11:07:00.004-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief #1 Ranked by JJHuddle

Congrats Derek for being named the #1 football prospect in Ohio!

The staff at JJHuddle.com, Bucknuts.com and ScoutingOhio.com collaborated to select the Top 100 football prospects for the class of 2014. JJHuddle.com and ScoutingOhio.com focus 100% of their efforts on Ohio athletes and Bucknuts.com is the Ohio State Football & Recruiting source for 247sports.com.

Below are the first 25 of the Top 100. To see the entire Top 100 which includes verbal commitments, offers and stats...CLICK HERE.

1	Derek Kief	WR	La Salle
2	Marshon Lattimore	WR	Glenville
3	Parris Campbell	RB	St. Vincent-St.Mary
4	Kyle Trout	OT	Lancaster
5	Dante Booker Jr.	LB	Akron SVSM
6	Jimmy Byrne	OL	St Ignatius
7	Marcelys Jones	OL	Glenville
8	DeShone Kizer	QB	Toledo Central Catholic
9	Kyle Berger	LB	St Ignatius
10	Michael Ferns	LB	St Clairsville
11	Vayante Copeland	RB	Thurgood Marshall
12	Joe Henderson	DE	Shaker Heights
13	Chris Durkin	QB	Youngstown Ursuline
14	Daniel Cage	DL	Winton Woods
15	Mikel Horton	RB	Lakota West
16	Sam Hubbard	LB	Moeller
17	Ethan Wolf	TE	Minster
18	Nick Richardson	OL	Westerville Central
19	Mike Edwards	DB	Winton Woods
20	Erick Smith	DB	Glenville
21	Darryl Long	TE	Westerville South
22	Alex Dalton	OL	Troy
23	Robert Bowers	DE	Walnut Ridge
24	Noah Furbush	DE	Kenton
25	Thaddeus Snodgrass	WR	Springfield

2014 WR Derek Kief's Initial Top 5 (a fitting way to announce)

2013-05-23T18:21:00.001-04:00

2014 WR Derek Kief's initial top 5 released 05/23/2013
(feel free to republish the above image, if you click it you will get a full resolution version)

ABOVE ARE NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER

The lyrics above are from Derek Kief's highlight film below:

2014 WR Derek Kief Taking Unofficial Visits to Alabama and Clemson

2013-05-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

On June 8th-11th, Derek Kief and some family members will be traveling to visit both Alabama and Clemson. The agenda:

June 8th: Travel (overnight in Tuscaloosa, AL)
June 9th: Alabama (overnight on Alabama campus)
June 10th: Clemson (overnight on Clemson campus)
June 11th: Clemson & Travel

Junior WR Derek Kief Receives Offer from University of Connecticut (22nd offer)

2013-05-08T15:10:00.003-04:00

The University of Connecticut Huskies offered 2014 WR Derek Kief. This is Derek's 22nd offer. Congrats Derek!

Junior WR Derek Kief Receives Offer from University of Virginia (21st offer)

2013-05-06T15:02:00.003-04:00

The University of Virginia Cavaliers offered 2014 WR Derek Kief. This is Derek's 21st offer. Congrats Derek!

Announcement: Derek is on a school retreat and will be off-the-grid until Friday evening

2013-05-01T10:57:00.001-04:00

This announcement is for coaches, analysts or reporters trying to contact Derek over the next few days. Thank you in your continued interest in Derek.