Just looking around the Twittersphere the last month here, and one 2023 recruit that has caught our eye as an under the radar athlete, well, at least for a freshman, is Keion Wallace. At the time of writing this Wallace has less than 70 views on Hudl, but flip on his film, and the class of 2023 Effingham County athlete stands out for a number of reasons.
First, he’s already 6’3″ and 200 lbs., and well built power cleaning 240 lbs and fairly explosive with a 29″ vertical too. Wallace had 327 receiving yards and 22 receptions in 2019 while also hauling in 4 touchdowns as well, but that looks more like the prelude to what the future holds for the young pass-catcher.
Watching his earliest film, and you have to be impressed with how fluid he moves, and the hand-eye coordination displayed when hauling in a pass. Wallace is obviously a hard-worker, so we asked him how he has adapted to life during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The pandemic is a great way to improve for this season, it’s like an extended offseason. I workout three times a day. This is the time to separate myself from other athletes around the country. Everyone wants to go pro, but not everyone wants to put in the work, and time to be an elite athlete. Sure, you have to have the elite athlete body, but you have to eat, sleep, and work like an elite athlete too.”
The young 2023 recruit has definitely bought into the process and that sort of commitment will certainly take him places. There is already some recruiting smoke around him, the Effingham Co. staff let us know that Auburn was already putting out some feelers.
Wallace quickly expunged on the college interest, “I don’t have any offers yet, but I am blessed to have looks from Florida State and Auburn.”
Just racking our brains on past player comparisons from inside the state, and honestly the one that really shines through is Demariyius Thomas from West Laurens, who went on to star at GT and the NFL. His natural size being an obvious similarity, but we can also see the debate among college staffs on if he is a wide receiver or a tight end at the next level. Wallace has a remedy to hopefully end that discussion.
“I am trying to improve my speed, and strength because there are not many 6’3 wide receivers that have speed, that are amazing in the weight room, can go out for a route, and complete a play consistently.”
Wallace also had a brother, Khiry, who is a rising junior, and equally as good of an athlete. He is still getting his feet wet on the gridiron; both are basketball players, Khiry being the bigger star according to the Effingham County staff. Colleges have definitely taken and interest in the athletic duo, and their recruitment will definitely end up being intermingled.
The season is still a good distance away, and there is still a lot of time to improve, but Wallace already has some leadership goals that he would like to hit for this fall.
“This upcoming season I want to be a role model for the upcoming freshman, but not just on the field, I want to show them that the classroom is very important, and guide them to being respectful young men who want to do something with their lives.”
If you did not know better, that would sound like it is coming from the mouth of a senior, not a rising sophomore, but it’s obvious that Wallace will make the most of any opportunity. That positivity off the field will make an even bigger impact on the field with his teammates.
Flip back to his freshman film or even some of these small group workouts that we have been retweeting almost nightly the last month, and you have to be impressed with body control, and overall athletic upside of Wallace. He already dunks the basketball with relative ease, and his commitment as a two-sport basketball-football athlete should continue to pay dividends with his receiver development.
No doubt, Keion Wallace is a recruit to watch here. In our eyes, he is an obvious FBS caliber recruit that we fully expect colleges to be offering throughout his high school career, so be sure to keep track of his Twitter, as there should recruiting news there before you know it.
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