A Matter Of The Heart For Cincinnati quarterback Deontey Kenner, family comes first

Moments after Cincinnati quarterback Deontey Kenner had led the
unheralded Bearcats to a shocking 17-12 upset of then No. 9
Wisconsin on Sept. 18, he stood at midfield, euphoric, watching
as Cincinnati fans tore down the goalposts. When he finally made
his way to the locker room, offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher
congratulated him before relaying some somber news: Kenner's
maternal grandmother, Ruby, had suffered heart failure in
Jacksonville and was scheduled to undergo emergency surgery.
Kenner showered, spoke briefly to the press, hurried home to
pack and was on a plane within two hours. "Football was the
furthest thing from my mind," says Kenner, a 6'2", 204-pound
junior who had 103 yards of total offense and one touchdown
against Wisconsin. "My grandmother basically raised me and has
always been my inspiration and my source of strength. There were
so many things I wanted to say to her, and I prayed that I would
be able to see her again."

Upon arriving in Jacksonville, Kenner learned that Ruby had
survived surgery and that a pacemaker had been implanted. He
wasn't allowed to see her that night, but he was at the hospital
early the next day. "All she wanted to talk about was the
Wisconsin game," says Kenner. "She said she had been upset with
the people at the hospital because they couldn't get the game on
television. That's when I knew she was O.K."

Kenner grew up in Hopkinsville, Ky., the son of Debra McNeill, a
single parent who was 17 when she gave birth to her only child.
Because Debra often worked two jobs, Deontey spent a lot of time
with Ruby, who had raised 16 children of her own in a
two-bedroom house. He was a four-year starter at Hopkinsville
High, where he threw for 7,046 yards and 80 touchdowns, the
third-highest touchdown total in Kentucky schoolboy history,
behind only Browns rookie Tim Couch and Chris Redman, a senior
at Louisville who's eighth in the nation in total offense this
fall. Four years ago, in Kenner's junior season at Hopkinsville,
he and the Tigers beat Couch's Leslie County High team 61-0.

Last season Kenner was one of the few bright spots for
Cincinnati, which finished 2-9. Despite starting just five
games, he became the first Bearcats sophomore quarterback to
throw for more than 2,000 yards in a season. That prompted coach
Rick Minter to junk his run-oriented attack in favor of a spread
offense this year. Kenner has flourished in the new scheme,
throwing for 925 yards and six touchdowns as the Bearcats have
split four games. The week after Cincinnati's win over
Wisconsin, he passed for 343 yards against Ohio State, guiding
the Bearcats to a 17-3 lead at the half of a 34-20 loss. "What
you've seen so far is based on a lot of natural ability and
instinct," says Minter. "He's just starting to learn the system,
and he can be as good as he wants to be."

Kenner wants to play in the NFL one day, but he's just as
focused on getting a degree in exercise physiology. "My dream is
to be able to pay back my mother and grandmother for all the
sacrifices they've made for me," he says. "If I can do that with
the NFL, that's great, but if I can't, I want to make sure I can
take care of them through my work. It might take me a little
longer, but I'll do it."

--B.J. Schecter

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BIEVER