Melvin Keihn felt ‘great to be back’ at Maryland for pro day

After leaving Maryland football for Richmond last summer, Melvin Keihn was back in College Park Wednesday morning to participate at Maryland’s pro day.

Keihn’s decision to leave the Terps wasn’t easy, and wasn’t about football. The move allowed him to earn a master’s degree in one year and begin supporting his family. Keihn and his girlfriend, Rachel Wanant, welcomed a son in July. While fatherhood is Keihn’s top priority these days, football—and Maryland—haven’t gone away just yet.

“It’s definitely great to be back,” Keihn said. “Obviously Maryland’s always gonna be home. I graduated from here, got my degree from here, I live in Maryland, so it definitely feels great to be back with my old teammates that I played with. It’s good to compete with these guys.”

Keihn had 30 tackles and two tackles for loss in two seasons at Maryland, and played four games for Richmond last year, primarily on special teams. After asking director of player development Kevin Glover if he could come back, Keihn was back on the field in Cole Field House, donning his old No. 15 (he wore No. 32 at Richmond). He originally planned to attend both schools’ pro days, but they were scheduled for back-to-back days, so he chose College Park.

Melvin Keihn Jr., now 8 months old, watched from the balcony as his father performed in front of 40 pro scouts. The older Keihn said he sends pictures of his son to his mother, whom he visited in 2017 for the first time in 14 years (and plans to see again soon). It’s not easy to balance parenthood, school and football at once, but Keihn wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a challenge. Having a son gives a whole new perspective on life,” he said. “A lot of responsibility, not sleeping at night of course, waking up to take care of him, but it’s been a joy. It’s been a good ride taking care of my son.”

Keihn is far from a top NFL prospect, but all it takes is one good impression to perhaps earn a professional chance. The 6’3, 230-pound pass rusher didn’t know his running times, but he felt like he performed well. Now it’s time to wait and see what’s next.

“I felt like I gave it all I had,” Keihn said, “and I just left it all in God’s hands.”

In other news

Lila wrote about Darryl Morsell and Jalen Smith, who used to watch the NCAA Tournament together and helped lead Maryland to a Round of 32 appearance last weekend.

Maryland women’s basketball signee Diamond Miller flashed her potential at the McDonald’s All-American Game. (Ashley Owusu was on the same East roster but was held out of the contest.)

From InsideMdSports, Ty Johnson needed a fantastic pro day and had one.

Yesterday was the first day of the MLB season, and Brandon Lowe was in the cleanup spot for the Tampa Bay Rays.