Dusty Bonner and Keith McKeller To Join DII Hall of Fame
The Gulf South Conference upped its number of Division II Football Hall of Fame inductees to 10 today.
This year's crop of three new members includes former GSC standouts
Valdosta State quarterback Dusty Bonner and
Jacksonville State tight end Keith McKeller. The 2013 class will be officially inducted at the 28th annual Harlon Hill Trophy and Division II Hall of Fame Banquet, scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center in Florence, Ala.
Bonner, a native of Valdosta, Ga., is a two-time recipient of the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year, taking the honor in 2000 and 2001.
Bonner completed 649-of-913 pass attempts and threw for 8,163 yards during his two-year career. He tossed 107 touchdown passes with just 22 interceptions, while leading Valdosta State to playoff appearances during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Bonner holds the VSU school record for passing yards in a game, touchdowns thrown for in a game, total offense in a game, touchdowns responsible for in a game, yards per game in a season, total offense in a season and touchdowns responsible for in a season. He is third overall in career passing yards and second in both career touchdowns and total offense.
He threw for 4,126 yards and 55 touchdowns as a junior at VSU, completing 71.9 percent of his passes. He led the nation in total offense, touchdown passes, passing yards and pass completions while leading VSU to a 10-2 record. He was a three-time Gulf South Conference Player of the Week and a three-time Division II National Player of the Week. He was selected first-team All-GSC and GSC Co-Offensive Player of the Year. He was named All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, the College Sports Information Directors of America and Don Hansen.
As a senior he threw for 4,037 yards and 52 TDs while leading VSU to a perfect 11-0 regular-season and No. 1 national ranking. He was GSC Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and accounted for eight touchdowns in a game against Delta State, throwing for six and rushing for two more. He was named All-American by Daktronics, D2Football.com and Don Hansen.
Bonner, Johnny Bailey and Danny Woodhead are the only players to have won the Hill Trophy more than once in the award's 27-year history.
Bonner was also selected as the quarterback on the GSC Team of the Decade for 2000-09.
Prior to playing at Valdosta State, Bonner spent two seasons as a quarterback at the University of Kentucky, serving as the backup to NFL No. 1 draft pick Tim Couch in 1998 and was then the Wildcats starting quarterback in 1999. During the 1999 season he ledthe Southeastern Conference in passing efficiency, total offense and passing yards per game. He transferred to ValdostaState prior to the 2000 season.
Following his senior season at VSU Bonner signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons and later played three seasons with the Lexington Horsemen of the Indoor Football League. In 2003 he was the North Atlantic Conference Offensive Most Valuable Player, throwing for 2,833 yards and 63 touchdowns. In 2004 he led the Horsemen to the league championship, throwing for 2,695 yards and a league-record 72 touchdowns. He later joined the front office of the Horsemen as the General Manager.
He currently resides in Lexington, Ky., and is employed as a medical device sales representative.
McKeller, a Fairfield, Ala. native, was a two-sport standout with the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, but he did it in an unconventional way. A highly respected tight end in high school, McKeller signed a basketball scholarship with Jacksonville State. During his four-year career, the 6-4, 220-pound McKeller earned All-Gulf South Conference honors four consecutive years. In addition to being named the “Most Valuable Player” in the 1984-85 GSC Tournament, he helped the Gamecocks to a 31-1 record that same year, including a 31-game winning streak, and the NCAA Division II National Championship. He concluded his basketball career as JSU’s second all-time leading rebounded with 1,209 and fourth leading scorer with 1,495 points.
In 1986, he walked on with the Gamecock football team, having not played a down of football since his high school days. He immediately became the starting tight end and led Jacksonville State in pass receiving that year, hauling in 26 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns. For his efforts he earned first-team All-Gulf South Conference honors.
He impressed the Buffalo Bills enough that they took him in the ninth round of the 1987 National League draft.
After two years on the inactive roster, McKeller became a solid fixture in the Bills offense. In addition to hauling in 121 passes for 1,383 yards and 10 touchdowns during his NFL career, he was the starting tight end in four consecutive Super Bowls (1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993). Injuries forced an early retirement in 1993, but McKeller still ranks third on the Bills’ all-time list for receptions by a tight end with 121.
He currently lives and works in Winston-Salem, N.C.
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