TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Ja'Quan Keys is known for his smile. The first thing you end up noticing about the Indiana State running back is that his beam inevitably lights up any room he enters. And it might be one of the most remarkable things about the young man considering the storms he has weathered to reach the starting tailback position in his senior year.
 
Originally from Louisiana, Keys initially was raised outside the town of Hammond. Located just 45 miles north-northwest of New Orleans, it is home to just over 20,000 people and to Southeastern Louisiana University, a school similar in size to Indiana State. But despite the state producing more football players in the NFL per capita than any other state, Keys would not pick up a pigskin until he was forced to leave the only home he had known.
 
Keys was 12 years old as he escaped the 96 degrees of the summer sun on August 28, 2005, taking a respite from the heat in his small home that housed his parents and six siblings. He and his brothers – and one sister – ran around outside, as they often did and as young children often do. Little did they know it would be the last time they would ever do that as their front yard playground would become home to nearly three feet of standing water as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Louisiana shoreline.
 
In Louisiana, hurricanes are commonplace from June to November and the threat of one is often not cause for great alarm. But there would be something different about this storm. Katrina kept gaining power but also kept traveling west. She had already crossed the Florida peninsula as a Category 1 storm (surface winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour) but bucked the trend of most storms by continuing into the Gulf of Mexico after hitting land, rather than turning north.
 
Native Louisianans often keep a close eye on hurricane movements. It is more than a hobby to the state's 4.9 million residents. And that no cause for great alarm changed in the state when Katrina's path finally turned north towards New Orleans as it became a Category 3 storm (wind speeds of 111 to 130 mph).
 
"It was just another storm," Keys said of the time leading up to the storm. "We were just going to stay inside and wait it out. I was in Hammond, I wasn't in New Orleans. We didn't think we would get that much."
 
As the storm continued its march towards New Orleans, it continued to build power. Katrina reached Category 5 level with 160 mph winds before dropping to a Category 4 level (131 to 155 mph winds) as it reached landfall in Plaquemines Parish, 45 miles southeast of New Orleans.
 
But at that point, it was too late to evacuate. Gas stations ran dry of fuel. What vehicles that did have gas clogged the roads heading north, away from the coastline. Besides, the Keys had never lost power in a hurricane before.
 
There is a first time for everything.
 
"When the storm hit, there was two-to-three feet of standing water outside our house and we were an hour's drive to New Orleans. It was crazy," Keys recalled. "I lived in the country – there was nothing but trees around our house. But during the storm I would hear the trees crack and fall and we were just hoping they wouldn't fall on the house. I could hear the shingles get ripped off the roof of our house during the storm."
 
Katrina would move through the area, thankfully without dropping any trees on their house, but then came the real challenge. James and Lynette Keys, Ja'Quan's parents, were left with seven children in a house with no power and no usable running water.
 
"I was scared, really scared," recalled Keys. "I didn't know what to do. I was 12 years old. I don't know how my dad handled the situation because he made sure we had food to eat."
 
After a day or so, edible food ran low but the family was sustained by Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) distributed throughout the region by the National Guard.
 
Most of the terrain in South Louisiana includes low-lying areas, either at or below sea level. Located just north of Lake Pontchartrain, the Keys' house, like many others in the area, was built a few feet off the ground in case of minor flooding. This would allow the family to safely remain in their home for the time being.
 
James Keys, Ja'Quan's father, obtained a generator about four days after the storm hit. That allowed the family to get by. But nearly two weeks after the storm hit, it became evident that schools would not reopen anytime soon and a new home would have to be found.
 
The immediate family was safe, but what of extended family in the area? Keys' maternal grandfather lived in New Orleans, the town that took the brunt of the damage. An example of fortitude himself, he only had one leg and lived alone. With no power, no working phone lines or cell towers, there was no knowledge on if he was alive or if he would be one of 1,200 lives lost in the storm.
 
For Keys' parents, however, first came the decision on what to do with the children. Luckily the children's grandmother lived in Fort Wayne and was able to provide a home for them while James and Lynette tried to rebuild their lives and home.
 
Nearly two weeks after Katrina hit land in Louisiana, Keys was in a car with his six siblings and his grandmother, headed to Fort Wayne. Originally thought to be a temporary move, they returned two months later to find little progress in restoring their former life. That temporary move quickly became permanent.
 
But every storm has a silver lining. The Keys kids had never really played organized sports in Louisiana but upon moving to Indiana, they quickly became enrolled in several youth leagues, including in football. That sparked an interest and a love for Ja'Quan. It also sparked an outlook on life.
 
"The situation in Louisiana (after the storm) was a terrible situation," Keys said. "It humbles you. I had more opportunities when I came up here. We were boiling rice and eating rice for two weeks. When I came to Indiana, I had more opportunities. There is no point in frowning when the stuff I've been through was bad but I still made it through it all. That keeps me going – having a positive attitude."
 
Keys had other reasons to smile. Over four months after Katrina hit – around the time he was truly experiencing an Indiana winter for the first time – a call came in. His grandfather was found.
 
Like many residents in New Orleans that did not or were unable to evacuate, Keys' grandfather ended up on the roof of his house to survive as levees broke and over 80 percent of the city became flooded. The Crescent City's nearly half-million residents dwindled down to only 10,000 nearly a week after the storm, so severe and wide-spread was the damage. He would be rescued from his home and ended up in Houston. Another reason why his smile stayed.
 
"He has a great mental approach to life," Indiana State Head Coach Curt Mallory said. "It is just how he carries himself every day. He is a wonderful kid. I have no idea how that all went (surviving Hurricane Katrina) other than he went through it, but you would never know he went through it."
 
Keys' parents eventually moved to Indiana after about two years and the family ended up in Indianapolis where Keys became an all-state football player at Perry Meridian High School before becoming a Sycamore.
 
But that was not the storybook ending to his story. He would suffer a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) his sophomore season.
 
After a year of rehabilitation, Keys worked his way back onto the field and saw action in all 11 games in 2016 in a backup capacity. As he looked forward to a redshirt junior season where he might have finally earned the coaching staff's trust and a more prominent role in the offense, he was sent back to the beginning again when a staff change was made and Mallory was named head coach.
 
But his work ethic, dedication and smile continued to stand out. And he continues to lead his teammates by example.
 
"He is one of the hardest-working kids on the team," ISU Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave McMannus said. "He does everything right and it is important to him that he does everything right. He is always helping his younger teammates – even the guys he is competing for jobs with, he is always trying to teach them and help them be better.
 
"The kid always has a smile on his face. Because of that smile you can see how he is as a person and you just have to love the kid. You want to see him succeed."
 
Indiana State fans will get their chance to see Keys lead the Blue and Whtie when the Sycamores begin the 2018 season under the lights August 30th as Quincy makes its way to Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
 
For more information on tickets or group sales to the season opener, contact Senior Assistant Athletics Director John Sherman at 812-237-3047. Fans can also visit the Hulman Center Ticket Office during normal business hours or call 800-745-3000, or visit TicketMaster.com.