2019 Lawrence (KS) Free State prospect Keenan Garber turned in an impressive effort during Saturday’s 810 Varsity Combine in Liberty, MO. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound cornerback finished in the top three performers for the 40-yard dash, broad jump, and short shuttle.

“It went very well,” Garber said before he left the field. “It was very competitive out here, just everyone grinding and putting in work.”

The All-Sunflower League defensive back clocked the day’s fastest short shuttle, with a blistering time of 3.94-seconds, and led the field of more than 300 athletes with a 10-foot, 6-inch broad jump, outdistancing second place by a full two inches. He finished tied for second in the 40-yard dash with a hand-timed 4.44. His performance impressed the more than 20 college football coaches on hand, generating an offer from Southern Illinois this morning.

With the Salukis joining Missouri State, North Dakota, South Dakota State, and Western Illinois on Garber's offer list, the Firebirds standout is looking to land his first Power 5 offer as he heads out on the summer camp circuit.

“I’m definitely going to go to K-State camp,” Garber said of his travel plans. “That’s my main camp this summer. I’m probably going to go to Iowa State also, and Nebraska.”

The Firebirds standout is close friends with three-star Lawrence High CB and Kansas State signee Ekow Boye-Doe. Garber said the Wildcats have made him well aware of their interest.

“They’ve been talking to me the most of the colleges that haven’t offered me,” he said of K-State.

For the first time in recent memory, the Wildcats are riding a wave of recent success in recruiting Lawrence. Even with the success Bill Snyder has had in recruiting Kansas kids, his program had not signed anyone from the home of the rival Kansas Jayhawks until landing three-star offensive tackle Scott Frantz in 2014. With Frantz and Boye-Doe already on the roster, Garber could be next to make the move to Manhattan.

“That’s one of my best friends, for sure,” Garber said of Boye-Doe. “We’re always talking about (K-State), talking about the future, about what it could be.”

Garber said he knows what he’s looking for as he continues the recruiting process.

“Whoever shows me the most love, really. Whoever I have the most connections with, and that family aspect. Just getting to know them.”