Written by one of my former players

As a Salve Regina graduate student and a Portsmouth native, Daniel Kehew, at 22 years old has had quite the ride with football.

Kehew began his football career at 7 years old when his father, with the help of a friend, started a flag football league in Tiverton, R.I. The following year, Portsmouth initiated “Mitey Mites,” a youth football league.

Playing all of his high school years on the island, Kehew had decided to stay local and continue his career where it began. During his junior year at Salve Regina, he was first exposed to the possibility of reaching the NFL. Bob Chesney, former Seahawks head coach told Kehew that with hard work and a stellar senior season, Kehew had a shot to take his talents much further than Division III. This is when Kehew decided to set mind to purpose and work toward a goal that many football players have, to play professionally.

When asked how he received all the recognition coming from a Division III football program, Kehew states, “If you have the talent, they’ll find you.”

After an impressive senior year, Kehew was invited to the Division I North vs. South game, where top NFL prospects are encouraged to play in this all-star like game. Although he was competing against Division I athletes, Kehew states, “I played probably the best game I had in my entire life, and it was kind of then where I realized I can play with these kids.”

With the help from his agency, Above The Rest, Kehew attended a Regional Combine at the New York Jets facility. After doing well there, he was invited to the Super Regional Combine in Detroit, Mich. where he did extremely well putting up imposing numbers. Going into the combines, he knew he had the strength, but it was the speed and quickness that he needed to focus on.

Unfortunately nothing with the NFL worked out, and even with offers from both the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Arena Football League, Kehew decided to hold off on football and earn his master’s at Salve in homeland security.

As his years of education come to an end, Kehew still receives offers from the CFL which is thoroughly impressed with his combine numbers. Keeping the offers in mind, Kehew is now giving back to the Salve football program by being the offensive line coach, sharing his extended football knowledge with his former team.