John Keenoy (born February 26, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...

High school career

Keenoy attended

East Kentwood High School East Kentwood High School (EKHS) is a public high school located just outside the city of Kentwood, Michigan, United States. It is part of the Kentwood Public Schools district, working together with the Crossroads High School, an alternative l ...

, where he was a three-star prospect. He did not have many college offers coming out of high school and was recruited to

P. J. Fleck Philip John Fleck Jr. (born November 29, 1980) is an American football coach and former wide receiver. He has served as the head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team since 2017. Born in Sugar Grove, Illinois, Fleck played colle ...

College career

Keenoy was an early enrollee at

as a freshman and allowed 25 pressures and four sacks in 2015. Keenoy was named to the Second-team All- MAC as a sophomore in 2016 after helping Western Michigan's rushing game to finish in the top 25. Keenoy anchored an offensive line on a team that finished with a 13–1 record and a No. 15 national ranking and played in the Cotton Bowl. He missed one start in 2017 against

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. He was a First-team All-MAC selection in 2017 and helped the Broncos to finished in the top 25 in rushing again. Keenoy had his second consecutive season of not allowing a sack. As a senior in 2018, Keenoy helped the Broncos finish 33rd in rushing (204.6 yards per game) and 27th in sacks allowed (17). Keenoy was named to the Second-team All-Conference. He was also a three-time academic All-MAC selection. Keenoy was a four-year starter at Western Michigan, starting 51 of 52 games. He graduated with a degree in finance and was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the "Academic Heisman."

Professional career

After not being selected in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, Keenoy was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He was waived after training camp on August 31 and became a volunteer assistant at Western Michigan. Keenoy subsequently joined the Vikings practice squad. Keenoy was selected in the ninth round of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

by the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

. By the fourth game of the season, he was named the starting center. However, the season was cancelled after Week 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020. On April 16, 2020, he was signed by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Keenoy joined offensive lineman

Chukwuma Okorafor Chukwuma Okorafor (born August 8, 1997) is a Nigerian professional American football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Michigan. Early years Okorafor was bo ...

and linebacker Robert Spillane as former WMU players on the Steelers. He was waived on September 5, 2020.

Personal life

His father, John Keenoy, played football at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

, while his mother, Melissa Keenoy, played basketball at the school. Keenoy is a fan of country music and plays golf. He describes himself as a major foodie.

References

External links

Western Michigan Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenoy, John Living people 1997 births American football centers Pittsburgh Steelers players Dallas Renegades players Western Michigan Broncos football players Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan