Dec. 10, 2007
The following story appears in the December edition of KnightVision. Produced 10 times per year, KnightVision is the official publication of the UCF Athletics Asssociation. Each issue includes stories about UCF teams, student-athletes and coaches. To order 10 exciting issues from August through June, call 1-888-877-4373 (ext. 121) or 336-768-3400 (ext. 121).
Senior defensive tackle Keith Shologan will literally go head-to-head against the Mississippi State offensive line on Saturday, Dec. 29 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. As he has done so many times over the past four years, Shologan will quietly line up in his customary down lineman's stance and butt heads with some Bulldogs this time around.
For 60 minutes on the last Saturday in December, Shologan will give it his all for every snap he is in the game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. He will open up holes for the Knights' linebackers to make plays behind him. He will undoubtedly stuff a run play or two, force a hurried throw and perhaps even sack the quarterback. When the clock runs down to zero, Shologan will be spent. Everything will be left on the field.
That is what he has been taught to do for every task and every challenge that has been presented before him - from his days as a national champion wrestler in high school to the gridiron in Conference USA.
No. 74 has been a mainstay on the Knights' defensive line since he made the trek from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada back in the summer of 2004. In fact, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl clash with the Bulldogs will be his 50th career game for the Black and Gold. Only his classmate Josh Sitton can make the same claim. The duo will go down as having played in more games than any other Knights in program history.
The journey for Shologan, who teammates named a permanent captain in November, has had as many ups and downs as the nearly 2,900 miles that separate his hometown of Edmonton to the city in the Sunshine State he has called home for the last four years.
Those peaks and valleys have included a winless season as a freshman in 2004 to the team's first conference title as a senior. There are few emotions Shologan has not experienced on the field of play, but the one he will savor the most happened following the Knights' 44-25 victory over Tulsa in the C-USA title game on Dec. 1.
"Winning the C-USA Championship was the best feeling," Shologan said. "It gives you a since of pride and ownership to be a part of the first conference title at UCF. It's another feather you can stick in your cap knowing you were a part of UCF history."
The field is not the only place Shologan has excelled during his time in Orlando. The senior will graduate in May with a degree in finance and in late November the academic accolades started to pile up for Shologan, who was also named to the Coaches' All-C-USA second team this season.
Shologan, who carries a 3.52 overall grade point average, racked up ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-District III and All-America Academic first team honors in late November. He also earned a spot on the All-C-USA Academic Team, which is in its second year of existence.
"Success on the field and off the field go hand-and-hand," Shologan said. "All the hard work you put in just shows other people how important all aspects of being a student-athlete are to your college experience. Athletics are going to end for us all someday, but you will always have that degree."
Shologan will make his 47th start for the Knights against Mississippi State and there will not be a better representative on the field that day of what really makes a student-athlete.
- Ryan Powell