| Keith Heyward-Johnson |
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 | Class:
Senior
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| Hometown:
Woodland Hills, Calif.
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| High School:
Woodland Hills Taft High School
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| Height / Weight:
5-11 / 179
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| Position:
Cornerback
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| Birthdate:
02/02/1979
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| Experience:
3V
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PERSONAL--Born 2/2/79 in Washington D.C....son of Darnell and Belinda Johnson...his father is a mortgage banker and his mother is a beauty consultant...has three brothers and sisters, Saint, 17; Monique, 13; and David, 11...he is in the College of Liberal Arts and is a speech communications major...his top athletic thrill to date happened in a football game against Westchester as a senior, a game in which Taft trailed 8-6 with less than three minutes remaining...on a fourth and 19 situation, Keith caught a 39-yard pass to set up the winning score and propel Taft into CIF championship game at the Los Angeles Coliseum...selected OSU because, "it is a great school for me to pursue my academic and athletic careers."
OSU-(2000--Senior)--Keith has started 23 straight games for OSU at cornerback...he has played in a total of 34 games in three years...Keith started all 12 games in 1999 at left cornerback and all 11 games at right cornerback as a sophomore and played in all 11 games as a freshman backup cornerback...he has produced 246 career defensive points and has 50 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 12 career passes broken up, 2 fumble recoveries and a lone interception against Washington in 1999...Keith has been a very consistent player for OSU...seldom makes any mental mistakes and is a tremendous competitor...his preparation helps him be a solid cornerback...Keith entered spring drills as the No. 1 left cornerback and he will report to fall camp listed No. 1 at right corner...during winter conditioning, Keith posted weightlifting bests of 350 in the back squat, 275 in the bench press and 269 in the power clean.
OSU-(1999-Junior)--Keith entered spring drills as one of two veterans in the OSU secondary...Keith started all 11 games at right cornerback as a sophomore and played in all 11 games as a freshman backup cornerback...so far in his OSU career, he has recorded 110 defensive points, coming on 23 solo tackles, 14 assisted tackles, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and 4 passes broken up...Keith moved from right corner to left corner during spring drills and that is where he will open the season in 1999...was having a solid start to spring practice only to suffer a shoulder separation (right) in a scrimmage at Roseburg on April 17 that knocked him out of the rest of spring drills...in the weight room, Keith has posted personal bests of 270 pounds in the hang clean, 285 in the bench press, 380 in the back squat and 265 in the incline...his best vertical jump is 34.00 inches and he tested for only 6.29 percent body fat.
(1998-Sophomore)--Keith opened spring drills as the No. 1 right cornerback and he maintained that position when spring drills concluded...Keith was the most inexperienced player among the OSU secondary starters as three other Beaver starters returned for 1998...Keith replaced the graduated Basheer Elahee...has a tremendous upside with a lot of speed and a great ability to cover one-on-man...Keith started all 11 games during his sophomore season and recorded 70 defensive points, 16th best among Beaver defensive players...his highest point production game was against USC when he posted 17 points, coming on 3 solo tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass break up...for the season, he had 14 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles, a tackle for loss and 4 passes broken up...had one pass break up in the Nevada, Baylor, USC and UCLA games.
(1997-Freshman)--Keith participated in all 11 games for OSU in 1997 as a true freshman...played on special teams as well as being a backup cornerback from the first week of the season...he was named the Beavers' defensive Rookie of the Year as a result of his play following the season...accounted for a total of 40 defensive points on the season, which ranked 20th among Beaver defensive players...recorded 9 solo tackles, 3 assisted tackles and he recovered one fumble against Oregon.
WOODLAND HILLS TAFT HIGH SCHOOL, Woodland Hills, CA (1996)--Keith was a two-way starter for the Woodland Hills Taft High School Toreadors for Coach Troy Starr, a team that was 13-1 on the season...started at safety on defense and at wide receiver on offense...played one year at Taft after transferring from Montclair Prep High School in Van Nuys, CA...despite playing only one year, Keith was named first-team all-league (Northwest Valley Conference); first-team all-city in division 4A by the Los Angeles Daily News; second-team all-city on defense by the Los Angeles Times; all-San Fernando Valley first-team defense by the Los Angeles Times...played in the City vs. Southern Section All-Star game in the summer of 1997...returned 14 kickoffs for 372 yards (26.6 average) and one 84-yard touchdown...caught 37 passes for 722 yards (19.5 average) and 7 touchdowns as a wide receiver, including a 78-yard TD...runs the 40 in 4.6...on defense, Keith had 78 solo tackles, 41 assisted tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 blocked kicks and 2 passes intercepted...also recruited by Arizona, UCLA, Utah State and Colorado State...his coach, Troy Starr, said, "He has outstanding foot speed and very fluid hips, which is what you look for in a defensive back. He has very good motor skills. He can really go get the ball. He is a talented athlete and can dunk the basketball at 6-0."
MONTCLAIR PREP HIGH SCHOOL, Van Nuys, CA (1993-95)--Keith attended Montclair Prep High School in Van Nuys, CA, from his freshman through junior years...he was a two-year letterman at Montclair Prep on a team that produced a 12-1 record his sophomore year and a 12-1 mark his junior season...played defensive back and wide receiver as a sophomore and defensive back as a junior under Coach George Gianinni...as a sophomore, he recorded 25 solo tackles, 17 assisted tackles, had 5 pass interceptions and returned 13 kickoffs for 329 yards (25.3 average) and a long gain of 64 yards...as a junior, Keith posted 64 solo tackles, 38 assisted tackles, 3 tackles for loss, blocked one kick and intercepted 3 passes...returned 22 kickoffs for 779 yards (35.4 average) and 1 TD, which went for 99 yards.
