College commitment: Keystone's Ryne Shackelford to play football at Purdue

Keystone's Ryne Shackelford has already made a big name for himself on the football field, the track and the long jump pit. Now the Wildcats senior is ready to take on the Big Ten. Monday the All-Ohio wide receiver and four-time Division II state champion in track and field announced through his Twitter account that he had orally committed to continue his football career at Purdue University. "Purdue has been my top school for over a year," Shackelford said. "When I first went to a game last fall, I really loved the school and the coaches. I went to a camp there last Wednesday, competed there very well and got to see how they like to coach. I had my official visit there this past weekend, had the chance to talk more to the coaches and see the academic side and everything. I thought Purdue was just the perfect place for me. They like to throw the ball a lot on offense and their engineering school is top five in the country so it was pretty much a no-brainer for me." Shackelford made a grand appearance on the local football scene his freshman year, catching 31 passes for 632 yards and nine touchdowns to earn third-team Division IV All-Ohio honors as Keystone won the first of its three consecutive Lorain County League titles. He followed that by averaging 675 yards and 8.5 touchdowns a season in his sophomore and junior years, landing on the All-Ohio team both seasons, including a first-team appearance in 2020. "Watching Ryne's maturation over the last four years has been awesome," Keystone coach Don Griswold said. "We're in the people business and Ryne has put in the time and energy to invest in himself and to be a great teammate, a great student and a great athlete. It's been humbling and very gratifying to be able to watch it first hand." Griswold is quick to point out that what separates Shackelford from his peers can't be quantified on a stat sheet. "Athletic talent alone doesn't pay the bills, so to speak," Griswold said. "What separates Ryne is his consistency. He wakes up early in the morning to go train. He's been to countless camps and he's very diligent about working his craft. It's all kind of come together and the scholarship from Purdue is just the fruition of all of those efforts." Shackelford started playing football when he was 6 years old and although he has outstanding success in track, winning three Division II state championships earlier this month in the 100 and 200 meters as well as the long jump to go a long with his win in the long jump in 2021, he said football has always been his favorite sport. "I've always had the feeling I could do something special since I started playing football," Shackelford said. "I really enjoy track but I just like football that much more." He did hold out the possibility of also having the opportunity to run track at Purdue. "It feels really good to be a Division I commit," Shackelford said. "I've put in a lot of hard work getting up early to work out, driving all over for football camps to try to get my name out there. Since my freshman year I've been waking up at five in the morning to go work out by 5:30 or six, even during the summer." "Purdue is a great fit for Ryne," Griswold said. "It's a great fit academically, athletically and culturally. There's a lot of things to like about Purdue, they certainly check all the important boxes." Shackelford said it was a personal goal to have the recruiting process complete before the start of his senior year. Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.