TU's Keevan Lucas Finds Triumph After Tragedy

Keevan Lucas is off to a hot start for the Golden Hurricane. His highlight reel catches are all part of his motivation to be the best.

But throughout his life, scoring touchdowns has been easy compared to his turbulent past. "I feel like the hard part of my life is over with,” said Lucas. “Everything from here on can only be in a positive way because to me nothing will be as worse as that week, this week. I'm just blessed, because it can be taken away from you in a split second."

Six years ago this week, Lucas' mother and grandmother passed away, just three days apart. "I was 14 at the time, during football season, around the third game of the season, how it is right now, they were taken away from me… I used it as motivation, I'm a better man because of it, I'm a stronger man because of it," he elaborated.

His mother was mom and dad due to his father being in and out of prison. So, he and his brother were taken care of by his uncle. "He gave me that fatherly impact when mom was gone,” shared Lucas. “She raised us so that we're not going to be lazy, making sure we're going to bathe, stayed on top of us for homework, everything, so when she was gone I still had those qualities. And then to move in with him, you know, now you're going to be a man." 

Motivated to be a success as a man, he found comfort with a family of brothers on the football field.

At Abilene High School, he became a star wide receiver. Colleges came calling. "I was planning on going to (Texas) Tech. I almost didn't' come here, but [I] got hurt my senior year. Tulsa stayed true... I felt like this was my calling," he explained.

And after over 100 receptions last year and already three touchdowns this season, it's now week three and Lucas is determined to have the game of his life against Oklahoma. "This is personal to me just because I’m thinking about my family, my mom and my granny. Just to play on this week with everything that happened, I got to show out. I got to put on for them," he said. "Me sitting around being sad is not going to bring them back. Me sitting around mopping and crying is not going to bring them back. I mean, I got to keep pushing on, I got to keep doing what I'm doing [and] I got to keep trying to be the best man that I can be."