Redhawks soar as Luster shines
Sophomore quarterback leads the area in rushing and passing
Accolades and awards are piling up for sophomore quarterback Keldric Luster. Leading the Redhawks to a 3-1 record, Luster has 657 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns, with 1087 yards passing and 4 touchdowns heading into Friday’s District 7-5A game at Lake Dallas.
9 years.
It’s been nine years since the Redhawks football team even made the playoffs.
It’s been 10 years since the team made a playoff run on the shoulders of former Redhawk, and former NFL player Jay Ajayi, who led the team to a District 4-9A championship and the 3rd round of the playoffs.
It’s been a downward spiral since then as the team endured a 20 game losing streak, finishing the 2019 season with a 1-9 record.
But 2020 is off to a different start.
Kicking off the year with 3-1 record, the Redhawks’ newest superstar is sophomore quarterback Keldric Luster.
The leading 5A rusher and passer in the DFW area, Luster has guided the team to a 2-0 record in District 7-5A and in line for a possible playoff run.
But hopes and expectations don’t mean anything to Luster.
“I don’t feel any pressure,” Luster said. “I know what I’m doing and so do my teammates.”
It shouldn’t be surprising. After all, Luster first took the field at 5-years-old, but even before that, his talent was recognized.
“We were outside at a park one day playing like normal children do,” Luster’s mom Kamesha Jones said via phone. “One coach drove by, and stopped at the park because Keldric would just throw the football up as high as he could and run and catch his own football. They coach was like ‘hey, I know the team that plays football and we would love to get your son out there.’”
Joining the team led to football joining their life, in every aspect of it.
“If he’s not at school, he’s at football,” Jones said via phone. “Or he’s out somewhere with a football. It used to get so bad that he would sleep with his football, when he’s eating dinner at the table, he has a football and when he takes a shower. I mean, it used to be so bad that we used to be in our family room and he’d say for example be in the shower, and I just hear the noise of balls thrown in the shower. He got out of the shower and he would be throwing the football.”
Seeing his love for the game grow as he got older, his mom did everything she could to help him grow as a player.
“We see that he has a passion for the game,” Jones said via phone. “We’ve actually made it our business to assist him in whatever he has to do in order to further that passion he has for the game. He likes the game, we love the game.”
His passion is exhibited in his extra work with trainers and quarterback coaches whenever he has the time.
All of this help has paid off, as in just four varsity games Luster has been nominated for Vype Player of the week, Dallas Morning News offensive player of the week, and made ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 Plays of the Day.
“I did not think I would get this much attention,” Luster said. “It was kind of cool to be in the SportsCenter because not a lot of people are on it. My family’s reaction to me being on SportsCenter was happy and they were all hyped about it. I had all of my friends DMing me on Instagram and posting it on Snapchat and sending me videos. They were all happy for me overall.”
Luster made SportsCenter for lowering his shoulder and running over a defender on the way to the end zone. But Luster’s aggressive personality on the field doesn’t represent who he is off the field.
“He is a very quiet and very humble kid,” Jones said via phone. “He doesn’t say much, you have to talk to him before he will respond. But when he gets into something he enjoys he’s more open.”
For Redhawks head football coach Matt Swinnea, Luster is defined by how much he cares.
“I know he’s concerned about the season,” Swinnea said. “And concerned about his teammates and he’s a very humble man and that’s much appreciated and he’ll be as much successful as he wants to be.”
Even though he is relatively quiet and one of the youngest players on the team, Luster is seen as a leader.
He does it in several ways.
“I view myself as a leader on and off the field at all times,” he said. “I feel like with the position I am in right now, I have to set high expectations for me and my teammates. And you never know who is watching.”
“He’s a leader but he’s a quiet leader,” junior Joseph Hancock said. “He doesn’t say much, he’s a doer.”
“What makes Keldric a good quarterback, I think it’s his ability to run and throw,” senior running back Will Ashmore said. “He’s definitely a dual threat. He’s got one of the best arms I’ve ever seen in person. If you’ve been to any game you’ve seen his ability to run, I mean, he’ll break tackles and run past people like it’s nothing. He’s just truly an incredible athlete and just his athleticism, his feel for the game, that really sets him apart from all the other players on the field.”
5’11 and 205 pounds, Luster continues to show off his speed while breaking through tackles and wowing anyone who watches.
“I think he is just really good at making fast decisions that really help out in the middle of a play,” Redhawks fan, senior Lizzy Stone said. “He just kinda like get it there like he can run it or pass it really well or just like scramble ya know. ”
His performance on Oct. 16 against Memorial High School in a 58-51 Redhawks win got attention beyond The Nest.
“I had watched a film prior to the game and knew he was a dynamic player,” Memorial High School head football coach Derick Roberson said via email. “He was much taller and bigger in person. You could tell on film that he was a very physical player and that held true in person. I think Keldric is a game changer for the Liberty football team. He is a true dual threat quarterback that has the ability to beat you with both his passing and his running ability.”
“I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of amazing performances in my years with the Dallas Morning News and Frisco ISD,” FISD Facilitator for Athletics Matt Wixon said via email. “And Keldric’s game against Memorial is certainly one I’ll remember for a long time. His skills as a passer and runner, along with his determination, really showed as Liberty won a very entertaining game.”
Of course he can’t do it all by himself, and that’s where the guys up front come in.
“It’s fun to block for him because he makes big plays,” junior offensive linemen Joseph Hankcock said. “And to be a part of that is fun.”
Plowing through players is a regular occurrence for Luster, but he doesn’t think about it, he just does it.
“I’ve always been told ‘run to score’,” he said. “So that’s my mindset.”
Remi Williams is a senior and starting her fourth year in Wingspan. At school she is involved in Student Council, on the Girls soccer team, and is Historian...
