KU’s Keith growing into role on defense
End putting on pounds after move from quarterback
Charlton Keith is trying his best to pack on the pounds.
“I’m eating four to five meals a day,” said Keith, Kansas University’s 6-foot-5, 224-pound junior football defensive end from Akron, Ohio. “I’m doing my best to gain, to put on some muscle.”
Keith is the perfect size to play his old high school position (quarterback), but skeletal for his current position on the line.
The speedy Keith, who returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown in Saturday’s 63-14 rout of Toledo, has undertaken a conventional weight-gaining plan.
That is, he’s hitting the iron in KU’s strength center and dining on beef, pasta, bread — anything and everything but protein shakes that some athletes swear by.
“Shakes mess up my stomach a little bit. Just good eating,” Keith said of his diet, which includes his favorite dish — spaghetti that he makes for himself.
“I can cook,” he stated, “but I don’t have much time to cook during the season. I’ve got a meal plan so I go to eat at Naismith (Hall) a lot.”
He’s not kidding when he says “a lot.”
“I work out at 6 in the morning. That means I have to get up at least 5:30,” Keith said, outlining his daily routine Monday through Friday. “My classes don’t start until either 8 or 9:30. So once I’m done working out an hour and a half, I eat breakfast, go to class. At noon every day I eat lunch before practice.
Kansas University's Charlton Keith takes a breather during a recent practice at Memorial Stadium. Keith, who played quarterback in high school, has been trying to bulk up so he will be better suited for his new position -- defensive end.
“After practice we eat together as a team. When I go home I eat again at night and snack.”
He snacks on a plethora of items.
“I like to munch on pizza pockets all day,” he said.
Keith, who attended Minnesota West Community College last year after playing at the University of Minnesota as a freshman, arrived at KU in August after becoming academically eligible. He didn’t have the opportunity to work with KU’s strength coaches during the summer, so now he’s playing catch-up.
“We tell him after practice he’s got to go over to Burge (Union for meal) and he’s got to dig in and bulk up over there, be the last guy out until they throw him out,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He’s been working at it. He’s diligent about it. He really is.”
Linemen in the Big 12 Conference need to weight more than Keith does, but he’s made up for his lack of bulk with blazing speed.
“He’s doing some things on natural ability,” Mangino said. “We’re going to need him to do that, but he really hasn’t had any summer conditioning, weightlifting or anything.
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Bio: Charlton Keith“He’s now in our in-season weightlifting program, but physically he has a way to go but because he has a motor and because he’s a very intense young guy he’s been able to contribute despite his situation.”
Keith, who has one tackle and two fumble recoveries heading into Saturday’s nonconference finale at Northwestern, is somewhat surprised at his early-season contributions.
“I am playing a lot, more than I expected,” he said, not taking exception to 6-5, 250-pound Jermial Ashley beating him out for the starting position. “Jermial is making plays. I feed off his energy, and hopefully he feeds off mine. Whether making a sack or having a couple of linemen fall on me, whatever it takes, I’ll do it if it helps us win.”
There’s another reason Keith likes Ashley a lot.
“He can help me gain weight. He has a car, and I don’t. He can drive me to get something to eat,” Keith said with a smile.