After a strong senior season, Long Beach Poly QB Shea Kuykendall has set his path for the future with a verbal commitment to the University of Northern Colorado. The Bears, a Diviision 1 program who compete in the Big Sky Conference, are getting a leader with a high work ethic in Kuykendall, who is a unicorn among SoCal high school signal-callers in that he spent four years at one high school.
“It feels very good, it feels secure, knowing where I’m going to college and where I’ll be living for the next four or five years,” said Kuykendall.
The Bears’ offense is very similar to Poly’s in that it features a lot of RPO elements as well as a quick read/throw tempo.
“It’s basically what we’re running now, get it out quick and let the guys do the work,” said Kuykendall. “I think I fit very well in their program offensively, and I got a great feel from the coaches.”
Due to COVID and the fact that he was being recruited during the season, Kuykendall hasn’t had a chance to visit the campus in Greeley, about an hour north of Denver. His phone calls and Zoom tours with the coaches were enough to give him a sense of how he’d fit within the Bears’ culture and system, and Kuykendall said he’ll take an official visit after Poly’s season is over.
For Kuykendall, the commitment signals that his journey isn’t over–although he’s almost done with everything he wanted to accomplish at the high school level. He’s been at Poly for four years, he’s won a CIF-SS title, and he’s found his college program.
“I’ve basically checked off everything I wanted to do into high school, except for win that state championship,” said Kuykendall. “Two games away, that’s the goal.”
Poly will play Serra this week in the CIF State Division 1A Regional Championship. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
Don’t miss our feature on Kuykendall from this year:
Feature: Long Beach Poly’s Shea Kuykendall Leads With Resolve, Work Ethic
