Arbor View senior got back on right track

Keenen King was not a typical freshman football player in terms of size and stature.

But in the classroom, the standout offensive lineman at Arbor View was like many other student-athletes just starting out in high school.

"When I was a freshman, I knew grades were important," King said, "but I wasn't thinking how important they were for football and college."

King, one of the state's top recruits, nearly paid for his early academic apathy because of a new set of NCAA initial eligibility requirements.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 308-pound senior now is on track to be a full qualifier and is expected to sign a letter of intent in February.

"It's nice knowing that I'm OK now and that I'm not worried about grades anymore," King said. "I'm still doing good in my classes right now, but it's nice knowing I don't have to worry about my old mistakes."

To be eligible to compete as a freshman at the Division I level, high school students now must carry a minimum 2.3 GPA in their core classes — up from the previous requirement of 2.0 — and have a qualifying ACT or SAT score based on the NCAA's sliding scale.

Student-athletes also are required to complete 10 core classes before the start of their senior year.

King met with school counselor Cassie Murray, who doubles as Arbor View's NCAA coordinator, at the beginning of his junior year and found out he was in danger of not qualifying based on the new requirements.

"When we just started going through and looking at here's where you are and here's where you're sitting," Murray said, "I think it was kind of a light bulb moment in that it doesn't matter if I'm the best basketball player, track superstar, football star in the United States, if I don't have the grades in the correct classes, the NCAA is not going to clear me. Period.

"So, it was just a matter of sitting down and saying, 'If this is something you really want to do, how can we make this happen? And No. 1, how can we go back and repair anything you've done in the past?' "

King buckled down in the classroom and boosted his core GPA during his junior year. This summer, he skipped Arbor View's annual trip to the Southern Utah football camp to retake three math classes.

"He made up passing grades to get better passing grades," Arbor View football coach Dan Barnson said. "Really, he was a C student as a freshman, which is not enough. It's enough to pass and graduate from high school and move on. But to earn an NCAA scholarship ..."

King, a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, has official visits scheduled to Washington State (Dec. 4) and Boise State (Dec. 11). He also is considering Oregon State and UNLV.

King was 6-3, 250 pounds when he entered Arbor View as a freshman, making it easy for Barnson to identify King as a potential college prospect and help keep him on track academically.

Other student-athletes blossom later, and Murray said the new NCAA eligibility standards make it imperative that students don't fall behind early in their high school career.

"We have to educate students on this from the beginning and letting them know, 'Do it right the first time around,' " Murray said. "You've got to do it right the first time around, because then you'll save yourself some headaches down the road and you're going to have more doors open for you after high school."

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.