Malvern tight end Kealen Juniel commits to Arkansas State

By Kyle Sutherland | Photo by Jimmy Jones

Arkansas State received some additional fireworks on Independence Day when Malvern tight end Kealen Juniel announced that he is continuing his football career with the Red Wolves.

Juniel, 6-4, 240, is a three-star prospect and picked Arkansas State over Memphis. He also holds Division I offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Navy, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois, UNLV, and Tennessee-Martin. He is the ninth commit overall, first in-state, for the Red Wolves' 2024 class. 

"What really came down to my decision is Coach (Butch) Jones made me feel at home," Juniel said. "I went to Jonesboro like five times within three months and he just always wanted me up there. The rest of the A-State community made me feel at home, too."

Nick Grimes took over as the Red Wolves' tight ends coach earlier this year, coming to Jonesboro from Alabama-Birmingham. Juniel mentioned the relationship formed with Grimes also played a factor, along with his desire to focus his studies on the physical therapy program.

"He is a great guy and family guy who wanted me around just as much as Coach Jones," Juniel said. 

Jones has compiled an overall impressive career as a college head coach, posting a combined 50 victories at Central Michigan and Cincinnati, along with back-to-back nine-wins season during his five-year tenure at Tennessee.

However, the Red Wolves have won just five games in two seasons under Jones and Juniel is excited for the opportunity to bring the program back up.

"That is really big to me especially playing under a guy with so much experience," Juniel said. "He has coached at big time programs so I know he can turn me into a great player."

The type of player that Juniel is tends to be much more rare than it once was. His statistics from 2022 may not jump off of the page (19 receptions, 294 yards, 3 touchdowns), but that is far from all he brings to the table. 

While Juniel is a tight end/H-back by definition, his willingness to put his hand down and do the dirty work helped lead Malvern to the program's first state championship since 1993, while the Leopards also proved to be one of the state's premier offenses eclipsing nearly 7,000 total yards.

"I do not really get upset or anything if I do not get the ball," Juniel said. "I know that we have other threats around, so as long as we are winning ball games then that is fine with me." 

Malvern head coach JD Plumlee mentioned it would be hard to achieve what the Leopards have without Juniel as the unsung hero. 

"Kealen is the glue to our offense," Plumlee said. "He communicates and makes our calls up front. He will play quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, and fullback for us - and sometimes that will be all in the same series."

Arkansas State is coming off of a 3-9 season and will kick off 2023 at Oklahoma on September 2 on ESPN.