McCallie School receiver Keenan Hale has committed to sign to continue his football career with Syracuse University.
The 6-foot-3, 188-pound Hale was also being recruited by Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Duke, Yale, Harvard and Brown but decided not to wait and see if any of those programs extended an official offer.
“We haven’t been throwing the ball much, and to be honest I was a little worried that some teams might lose interest,” Hale said. “I really liked the staff at Syracuse and everything about the program, so rather than wait and see what happened, I spoke with my dad and we agreed this would be the best place for me to go.”
Hale caught four passes for 96 yards in the Blue Tornado’s season opener against McMinn County but has just one reception since then. Hale was ranked the area’s No. 8 prospect in the annual Times Free Press preseason Dynamite Dozen.
Last season against Brentwood Academy, Hale also showed his sprinter’s speed by rushing for more than 100 yards on jet sweeps. Also an all-state track performer, he said he will likely try to compete in the high jump for the Syracuse track team.
“I really like both sports, so I would like to be able to continue competing in track, but I’m concentrating on football,” Hale said. “It’s been a little frustrating not getting to show what I can do lately, but I feel like my time will come this season.
“In the meantime, I’m solid with my decision to go to Syracuse and I’m excited.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.