Parker commits to Beavers

BURNABY, B.C. - For Keynan Parker, all it took was one visit. The 6-foot, 183-pound athlete from St. Thomas More Collegiate expected to take a few official trips to get the feel for where he wanted to spend the next years of his life. But he fell in love with the small-town charm of Corvallis, Ore. and Oregon State University.

"I committed to Oregon State," he told Scout.com Thursday night. "I was thinking about taking a couple more trips, explore my options, but I talked it over with my parents and my Mom asked me what else I was looking for in a school besides Oregon State - because I had a great visit there. I couldn't think of anything. I liked it so much there - the people, the coaches are so supportive and it was a great atmosphere, so I thought why not? It's the place for me.

"You just feel welcome down there."

Virginia, Wake Forest and North Carolina were all candidates to get an official visit from Parker, but those plans went for naught. "I didn't want to go too far east and I didn't think there was any reason to go to California either," he said. It (Oregon State) just felt right."

The Beavers want Parker to come into their program as an athlete. "They could see me at six or seven different positions," he said. "I could play defense or offense. They just wanted to get me on board."

James Rodgers was his player-host. "They talked about putting me at James' position," Parker said of his talks with Mike Riley and Danny Langsdorf. "Last year he (Rodgers) said he got tired doing it all by himself, so I might come in right behind him."

Parker admitted that he got a little ribbing when the players found out where he was from. "Every time they asked where I was from, I'd say Vancouver, and then James would say 'Canada', and everyone would be like, 'What! You aren't from Vancouver, Washington?' It was kind of funny," he said with a chuckle.

There's nothing humorous about Parker's game. The son of James 'Quick' Parker - who is in the Wake Forest and CFL Halls of Fame for his own football exploits - Keynan clearly got all of his father's football genes. He ran 219 times for 2279 yards in 2007, scoring 29 times.

"I think it's my speed and my ability to change direction," Parker said when asked what it was about his game that initially attracted the Oregon State coaches. "I have good movement in my hips. A lot of football skills. I can catch the ball."

Since British Columbia is the only province to play American rules in Canada, Parker won't have to change a thing in his game. "I'll just have to adjust to the speed of the game," he said. "It's nice that I don't have to change anything else."

Keynan Parker Scout.com Profile