- [Announcer] McMaryion, play-action,
gonna go deep, that's Johnson and he's got it!
And, Johnson to the ten!
Johnson dives!
he scores!
Touchdown, Fresno State!
- From where I'm from, there's not a lotta kids
that go to college or that can play D-1 football
or that can do this,
'cause they don't have the support system.
- School was big for me, my grandmother always told me
that without an education you're nobody.
You wanna get your education
'cause nobody can ever take your education away from you.
I love where I come from but the activities
that I put them in was to keep them off the streets.
- Streets is tough in East Palo Alto.
My thing was for them to go to school
in the mornin' when it's dark
and come home from school and it's dark
and now I know they're safe.
- Keesean was always ready for my games more than I was.
Even before the games, he's jumpin' up
tappin' on my shoulder pads like,
"Let's go brother, let's go!"
Gettin' me pumped up and everything.
He always been my number one fan.
He always was proud of everything I did, too.
- My big brother always played football, before me.
So it wasn't my first love but I put his pads on
and I felt like it was something I felt like I could do
and pursue in a great way.
Grass goes up to my ankles,
but this is where it all started.
This is where it all started at, right here.
This field, right here, is where
everything started to happen
and without this field
I don't know if I'd be playin' football.
So, I'm thankful for it and thankful for everything
that's been happened on this field.
- It's like everybody supports,
everybody from East Palo Alto
support people from East Palo Alto.
- This was the first coach, this was the first coach.
- We realize we got certain jewels in this community
and we gonna push them jewels to be diamonds.
We make sure that these young men had a good path,
and for them to go on, fulfill their journey in life.
I'm just proud, you know.
Your brother, then you, y'all makin' us proud.
- If you guys seen Keesean when he was a freshman,
he was very little.
His coach, recently, sent him that from PALY.
See, when he was a freshman, you see the difference?
(gentle music)
Junior year, spring ball, I got a call
and he got hurt really bad.
- I injured my neck and, from there,
they told me that I wouldn't be able to play
another down at Arizona.
I could transfer somewhere else and go play,
but I couldn't play there again
because they didn't wanna risk me gettin' hurt.
I'm not gonna say it was a lotta pressure on me,
but I put the pressure on myself
because I wanted to get my family outta the situation
that we were in.
- Once we didn't know what was goin' on
with my brother's situation, it just motivated me,
pushed me, 10 times harder, for him.
He started me playin' football,
so I told him, straight up, that I would go
get a scholarship just for you.
It was somethin' that I wanted to do
and put my mind really forward for my brother.
Before my senior season, I had no scholarships,
like, not one.
I was doin' everything in the right way,
I was workin' hard, I finally started liftin' weights.
Just, my dad was tellin' me, "If you're hungry go get it."
He was always tellin' me, just, if you wanna do somethin'
go make the best of it.
- And, just, something came to my head, like,
okay my brother's not gettin' any scholarships right now,
but is see the talent that he has.
I see what he's doin' week in and week out,
and there's not a lotta kids
that can guard him on the field.
So, I'm like, I need to make him a highlight tape.
I've never done anything like this,
tryin' to figure out how to work Hudl and everything.
Cuttin, croppin' and videos and everything
to make his highlight tape.
It was, kinda like, keepin' me in football.
So him doin' so well and me makin' his highlight tape
made me feel like I was still playin'.
'Cause I'm like, I can still see my brother
still doin' his thing and let me help him
get to where he wanna go.
And, once I finished the highlight tape, luckily,
a lotta colleges respond and he got some scholarships
and here we are today.
- [Announcer] McMaryion, deep shot!
Johnson hauls it in!
Keesean Johnson over Cameron Kelley.
- For me, I think that was the best move
that Keesean could've made.
I think he did exactly
what he was supposed to go there and do.
It's kinda scary 'cause I didn't expect it to go
as well as it's going and as far as it's going
but, I'm proud, I'm happy.
There's no other way I can say it.
- I love Fresno, it's my second home.
- Lovin' that the fan base pickin' up now, too.
Make sure y'all make it out this year.
It's a big season.
- Nothin' has came easy,
it's just always the work, work, work.
And that's what my dad keeps instillin' my head until now.
- [Mom] Number three has went a long way,
has opened a lotta doors for Keesean.
I think his being humble, staying focused,
and being a hard worker has really brought him far in life.
- Every year, I just try to progress and get better,
stronger, faster, whatever it could be.
And, right now, I'm at a good spot
but we gotta keep it goin'.
(gentle music)