SmashMouth

Watching New Orleans Saints training camp, it would be impossible to know that rookie wide receiver Keith Kirkwood is relatively new to the game of football.

The 6-foot-3 Kirkwood looked like a natural catching passes during the first week of practice, and when other receivers like Cameron Meredith, Austin Carr and Tommylee Lewis missed time dealing with injuries, Kirkwood received opportunities with the first-team offense.

But, in Kirkwood's first interview of camp on Monday, he explained that he didn't begin playing football until his senior year of high school in New Jersey.



"My whole story is just amazing, and I wouldn't change anything about it," he said.

Kirkwood grew up playing basketball and had dreams of playing in the NBA, but after his high school's football coach, Mark Ciccotelli, saw him on the hardwood, the coach suggested he try football.

He joined the football team for his final year of high school in 2012, and he impressed before even putting the pads on, showing out in a 7-on-7 practice.

"After I had two touchdowns, (Ciccotelli) told me, 'Kid, you could potentially be in the NFL one day,'" Kirkwood said. "I believed him and stuck with what he had to offer."

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