Name Leroy Keyes Position Halfback Rushing att-yards: 125-369 Education Purdue University | College: Purdue Career end 1975 Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight 94 kg Nominations Heisman Trophy | |
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Date of birth: (1947-02-18) February 18, 1947 (age 68) NFL draft: 1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 Role American football halfback | ||
Place of birth: Newport News, Virginia | ||
Marvin Leroy Keyes (born February 18, 1947) is a former American football running back and safety who played five seasons in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. He was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue. He was an All-American as a halfback on offense and played corner on defense and returned kicks and punts. He also played both ways for Philadelphia before settling in as a solid strong safety.
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College career
Keyes played college football at Purdue University, where he was an All-American in 1967 and 1968, and finished second on the 1968 Heisman Trophy voting. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990. In his very first collegiate game, played on national television against eventual national champion Notre Dame, Keyes made his presence known by returning a fumble 94 yards for a touchdown. He played in the January 1967 Rose Bowl game, which Purdue won by 14-13 over USC.
He was a dynamic player running and catching the ball. He finished his career running for 2,090 yards and also had 1,204 receiving yards.
In 1967, he ran for 986 yards with 13 TD and had 45 catches for 758 yards and 6 TD. As a Senior in 1968, he followed it up by running for 1,003 yards and 14 TD while catching 33 passes for 428 yards and 1 TD.
Keyes is a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
On December 11, 2014 the Big Ten Network included Keyes on "The Mount Rushmore of Purdue Football", as chosen by online fan voting. Keyes was joined in the honor by Drew Brees, Bob Griese and Rod Woodson.
Philadelphia Eagles
Keyes was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the third pick in the 1969 NFL Draft. He played for the Eagles from 1969–1972.
He started out as a running back and had 637 total yards on offense including 3 rushing TDs as a rookie. He saw little playing time in 1970 and was moved to Strong Safety in 1971, where he would get 6 INT and recover 3 fumbles. The next year, he had 2 INT in 14 starts before going to Kansas City.
Kansas City Chiefs
Keyes played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1973.
After football
Keyes has recently retired from the John Purdue Club as Assistant Director for the Purdue Boilermakers.
On December 30, 2010, Keyes was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center.
In 1987, Keyes was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.