Jeannette’s Kennedy alters path toward football future

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 16, 2018 | 7:03 PM

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“Please respect my decision.”

Those four words closed Robert Kennedy's commitment tweet last week when he announced via social media that he would be attending Lackawanna, a junior college in Scranton.

A few days later, the Jeannette star won “Mr. PA Football” at an awards ceremony in Harrisburg, engraving his name on the small-school trophy below past winners Tyler Boyd, a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver who played at Pitt, and Lamont Wade, a safety at Penn State.

Those players were coveted coming out of Clairton and had dozens of Division I scholarship offers. But why didn't Kennedy? A 6-foot, 175-pound game-changer with all the tools: speed, power, defensive range and leadership qualities, made a humbling decision, but one he certainly does not regret.

Kennedy admits his grades became an issue and may have kept larger schools away, even the ones that came at him initially such as Howard, Albany, Duquesne and Robert Morris. He had to retake the SAT to better appease the schools looking at him. In the meantime, Division II schools became interested, in Cal (Pa.) and Slippery Rock. But in the end, junior college just seemed like the right fit to Kennedy, who, by all accounts, views himself as a work in progress. It's basically the impetus that led to his decision.

“He talked it over with his family, and that's where he wanted to go,” Jeannette coach Roy Hall said. “He can go there for a year or two and jump out. A lot of schools want him. Penn State just called me about him.”

Former Jeannette stars like Terrelle Pryor, Jordan Hall and Demetrious Cox all went straight to power-5 programs in the Big Ten — Pryor and Hall at Ohio State and Cox with Michigan State.

Kennedy, another dual-threat quarterback who was just as electrifying at times as Pryor and Cox, knows his path to college will have to be methodical, not in one big play like he and those aforementioned players were used to.

“The sky's the limit. He just has to go about it a little differently,” Coach Hall said.

Kennedy, the Pennsylvania Sports Writers' co-Class A Player of the Year, played quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back. He threw for 1,462 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 1,356 yards and 22 scores for the WPIAL and PIAA champion Jayhawks.

“Poogie” had a brow-raising 12 interceptions on defense.

And speaking of dual-threat, Kennedy wants to get his academics in order while still keeping his dream of playing at the highest level of college football intact.

“It started out bad in my freshman and sophomore years,” Kennedy said of his grades. “My junior year I tried to pick it up and give 110 percent just like I do in the field, but it wasn't enough.”

Now, Kennedy is taking the long way around to a big-time scholarship and is making a concerted effort to drive that goal.

You might say he gained in humility what he lost in self-assessment. His attention to reality overshadowed his perception of himself. And that could be what leads him to a Division I FCS program.

He wants to make his city proud. He wants to play for his family: his mother (Melissa) and grandmother (Toni) — his biggest supporters and fans — and even for his late father, Robert, who was killed when young Robert was 9 years old.

“Some people feel like I'm just that kid chasing the big offers; that cocky kid,” Kennedy said. “I am just trying to get things where they need to be. I want to play in the big stage, and I know I can.”

But first, Lackawanna.

The private, two-year institution enrolls about 1,400 students. Lackawanna has had players move on to larger programs, and even beyond.

“West Virginia gets a lot of guys from there,” Coach Hall said.

Chicago Bears receiver Kevin White went to Lackawanna for two years and transferred to West Virginia and became a first-round draft pick. Lineman Mark Glowinski followed the same path, to the same schools, before catching on with the Seahawks and Colts.

Lackawanna plans to play Kennedy at defensive back.

“Robert has great athletic ability and we feel he is going to be a D-1 player,” Lackawanna coach Mark Duda said. “We look forward to Robert playing a major role on our defense.”

Duda has helped turn Lackawanna into one of the most reputable JUCO programs in the country.

“Anyone can help the five-star (recruit),” Duda said in a story by Fansided.com. “Any guidance counselor can write a letter for someone for Harvard; it's easy. How about you remember the forgotten ones? I'm gonna help the ones that everyone forgot.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Jeannette