Home Athletics Being Frank: I Dislike Keaton Kristick

Being Frank: I Dislike Keaton Kristick

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This might be unpopular but it needs to be said: Keaton Kristick is an unlikable player.

There, I said it.

Always thought the guy was just a flat out jerk, but never had the means to prove it, so I was left disliking the guy solely for his overrated play on the gridiron. But this past Tuesday, Paul Buker printed the article I’ve been craving for years. Quotes from Kristick, proving he’s a All-American a-hole.

“My dad says, if you really don’t like a player you’ve got to hit him right there, right there in the chin,’’ said Kristick.

Well Keaton, your dad sounds like a class act. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

But that wasn’t the end of it:

“At the start of the year, guys talk about wanting to be all conference, or having this many tackles, but I really thought it would be neat if at the end of the year people were calling me the most feared, most violent player in the Pac-10,’’ said Kristick.

“And to my surprise, somebody mentioned that during a TV telecast.”

Yes, Keaton, it’s really “neat” that you take high, cheap-shots at players’ heads and telecasters call you the “most violent” player in the Pac-10. That is something to be proud of.

And then there’s this nugget about his cheap shots on his own teammates:

Kristick apparently had seen enough of those Quizz cutback moves that were making the starting defense look foolish.

So he blasted him, which did not sit well with OSU coach Mike Riley.

“I’m not sure if that was a legal hit, either, but it was necessary,’’ said Kristick, letting out his trademark laugh. “I’ve never seen Quizz so mad at somebody. … yeah, coach Riley came up and gave me one of those ‘talks of a lifetime.’ But Quizz is a good kid, and it was all good.’’

So it’s funny that he could have ended a teammate’s career on an illegal hit during practice? A teammate who is carrying this squad toward a 2nd straight Rose Bowl bid. Yes, Keaton, that is hilarious–watch out, Louis CK.

The bottom line is that this guy is a real work of art. If he were on another team, we’d all be up in arms about his cheap shots and head-hunting. The guy should focus on wrapping up runners and getting to the QB cleanly instead of placing focus and energy into being known as a dirty, violent player. He’s basically Al Afalava but a step too slow to make the play cleanly. Afalava had similar (violent) motivations, but he at least was able to time things correctly so the hits appeared clean, legal, and justified. Al never laughed about possibly ending a teammates’ career during a scrimmage, either, though.

Before reading Buker’s article, Kristick was going down as one of my 10 most overrated players to ever don the corny Beaver headgear, but solely for his on the field play; after reading it, he’s also going down as the biggest jerk, for both his dirty play on the field and his cavalier attitude toward that violence once off the field.

18 COMMENTS

  1. Also want to note: The USC game was Kristick in a nutshell. He put a late-hit on Barkley that cost his team the game, and then when he had time for redemption on the 3rd down pass with under a minute to go, he was slow in his read and blew the coverage on the running back, leaving him wide open. He’ll rack up meaningless tackles, but when the game on the line he never steps up.

  2. I have been off and on again but given that last piece about practice I really dislike him. I played with guys like that, it tore our team down, they are cancers. That shit gets old really fast in practice, also can cost you key players. The guys who did that were insecure because they got beat in PRACTICE by a good teammate. He does jog on zone movement in the end of the game, he did it at UCLA too. He is identical to a bunch of guys that I played with, including one guy who never made it to OSU (like he had a shot in hell anyways) because of attitudes like this.

    • The weird thing is how much Riley loves him and how he was voted team captain by the widest margin in Riley’s tenure. Makes me wonder if I’m misreading and misunderstanding the guy. It’s why I waited for quotes from the horse’s mouth before writing something on this guy, even though he’s bothered me for a long time.

  3. The clown on Fox NW during the game was sure singing his praises…like Kristick was the second coming. I was sitting there thinking “who the hell are you talking about?” I’ve never thought the guy was anything particularly special (linebacking this year hasn’t been a big strength – one reason why the D has taken so long to gel). His comments, if straight up, do speak for themselves – no class. The fact he said them to a reporter is even more amazing. Let’s see if he can do anything with Masoli – maybe he can demonstrate in reality he’s as good he thinks he is inside his (apparently) twisted mind.

    • Agreed, he’s a very workaday linebacker whom, for whatever reason, gets lionized by the media. I liked Kristick best his first two years when he was on special teams. He stood out there. He’s not as good as a starter.

  4. Careful. I hear that even references to Louis CK are stolen by Dane Cook.

    I really thought the hit on Riley at Cal should have been called. He went in head first, and he smacked him pretty good on the chin. He was already flying, so it wasn’t late, but he should be made to lift his head when he tackles. He’s starting to remind me of John Lynch, and he’ll suffer the same fate… maybe sooner than later.

    He’s really good on the edge in both run and pass situations, but he’s almost always late when he pushes the edge deeper than 5 yards. That’s almost always going to happen because he’s the one defender the QB can see coming. So pro scouts like his lateral speed more than anything. What masks his weakness is also the cog in our D… #54. I have yet to see him really smack a RB in the hole or to see him just fly through a gap to disrupt a play I am seeing Bubba, Pankey, Roberson and Keo getting through gaps and converging. But KK always seems to be reaching for someone who’s busy trying to get away from Paea.

    I’m not shocked that he’s a jock. They still exist. I remember the Winslow Jr. “this is war!” outburst. It happened about a week or two after another overrated OSU linebacker was suspended for a game for choking Jim Sorgi in the pile while visible on camera. I remember thinking that he was such a dufus for admitting that his crack-back was intentionally trying to maim the opposing player. I thought for sure that he would be suspended for at least three games for that admission.

    Now we know that Half a game is the suggested penalty for dumb play. I don’t think Kristick is as bad as Taylor Mays. But look at how Mays is glorified for his also lousy play. We are probably looking at the next Rodney Harrison and John Lynch out of the Pac 10. I guess they can’t all be Nick Barnett.

    • I do want to say that I like a nasty D. I like a D that flies around and absolutely destroys the other team physically and mentally. I draw the line when the hits are intentionally late/cheap and when the hits occur in practice against your own team. I really liked how Afalava played, he was a bad man and I loved watching him play, but I don’t agree with taking late hits/cheap shots.

    • Seriously, Keaton’s probably a nice kid away from football. The only questionable behavior involves his sportmanship. I’ve heard nothing involving trouble in his civilian life. The term ‘dumb jock’ does not mean that someone is unintelligent. It simply means that the perspective an athlete has is sometimes so skewed as to be ridiculous, yet it is within the norm in an athlete’s life. So what pushes the limits in football would be illegal on the streets… and for good reason.

      The dumb jocks who are also unintelligent lose the camouflage of team when they step into the real world and into the headlines. Some repent and grow. Most just go on being stupid.

      • My view is that there’s controlled violence and unbridled violence. The latter is what is dangerous. We call those guys headhunters, cheap-shot artists, out of control sh*t bags, and any other pejorative you can imagine. Kristick has played himself into that kind of company.

        Violence is part of the game. It’s a part we all like. But I don’t think anyone likes watching a player purposely trying to injure someone. That is what is known as sadism–Keaton might have a future in Saw VIII.

      • No Ausie is correct you are taking those statments out of context. The only time he really did play dirty was against USC. His hit on Riley was a very good tackle that would probably be reffered to as “textbook” I don’t think you understand that football is a violent sport.

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