Keylan LaGrant can vividly remember realizing he was pretty good on a football field.
It didn't start the way he intended, but his second varsity game solidified it in his mind.
"I tripped and fell but got back up and chased down the ball carrier," LaGrant said.
Since then, the 6-foot-3 and 215-pound senior linebacker and defensive end has been terrorizing ball carriers all over the field.
LaGrant played last season at East ºüÀêÊÓƵ after playing his first two seasons for Lutheran St. Charles in Missouri.
"He's so athletic," East ºüÀêÊÓƵ coach Darren Sunkett said. "He does things that you don't think a guy his size can do. He's a very physical kid."
As a junior, LaGrant tallied 69 tackles and two sacks while helping the Flyers to a 10-3 record and Class 6A state runner-up finish.
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He totaled 106 tackles and nine sacked during two seasons at Lutheran St. Charles, including a state championship in 2021.Â
"(LaGrant) is a very physical person," East ºüÀêÊÓƵ senior Mekhi Mixon said. "He's so athletic. I think he can jump over the goal post."
LaGrant hasn't committed to a college, but the No. 17 recruit on the Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown of the area's top senior college football prospects holds offers from Arkansas, Arkansas State, Ball State, Boston College, Connecticut, Indiana, Lindenwood, Memphis, UNLV and West Virginia.
Perhaps the biggest play LaGrant made in his debut Flyers season was a punt block in the second half of a 39-13 victory against Kankakee in a Class 6A quarterfinal playoff.Â
That supreme athleticism even surprised some of his Flyers teammates.
"They didn't expect me to be as quick as I was and move sideline to sideline like I did," LaGrant said. "I showed what I can do."
LaGrant's versatility is something Sunkett hopes the Flyers can take advantage of even more for his final high school season.Â
The East ºüÀêÊÓƵ coach relishes whenever he can unleash LaGrant in the opponent's backfield.
"That's his assignment," Sunkett said. "Close down on the inside zone and squeeze on power coming at him. We utilize his strengths. Whatever their strengths are, we will play toward those strengths."
LaGrant didn't shy away from difficult assignments during his first East ºüÀêÊÓƵ season and said he's prepared to move to wherever he is needed.
He made no fewer than three tackles in each game, including a season high of nine in two different games.
"It's whatever is the best fit, whatever they want me to do," LaGrant said.
Sunkett said he believes LaGrant is just beginning to scratch his potential as a complete defensive player.
"As athletic as he is, he's not the best cover guy, but we're working on it," Sunkett said. "We'll most definitely utilize his skills that way."
After East ºüÀêÊÓƵ' loss in last year's state championship game, LaGrant is focused on helping the team finish the job this season.
"We push each other every day, and it's making us better," LaGrant said. "It's never too much. It's just a matter of keeping my composure and trusting myself. It's mainly about self-trust and being able to go against these guys."
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