When 500 of the nation's top underclassmen football players descend on San Antonio in early January, Mike Keese will be among them.

The Olathe South junior quarterback applied and was chosen to participate in the 2007 U.S. Army National Combine, which is presented by Reebok. The event will be Jan. 4-6 at the Alamodome and precedes the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the premier high school football showcase game in the country.

Started in 2002, the combine gives players a chance to see how they stack up against other top players in the nation. It also gives them invaluable exposure to college recruiters via the recruiting experts and analysts who run the event.

"Anytime you get selected to go do something like that, it's an honor," South coach Mark Littrell said.

Keese, the first Falcon to attend the combine, is looking forward to that exposure but isn't setting any goals for the event per se.

"I'm just hoping to do well -- represent the Midwest and just have some fun and do my best," Keese said. "I won't do anything special to prepare for it -- just lifting weights, running and working on my technique."

During the offseason, Keese works with Quarterback's Edge founder Skip Stitzell to refine his throwing motion. Shawnee Mission Northwest's Alex Carder and St. Thomas Aquinas' Matt Joshi use the same quarterback tutor.

But the combine will be a completely new experience.

"It's a little exciting and a little nerve-racking," Keese said. "I'm definitely not the biggest, fastest or strongest guy, so I'll just have to stand out by my mechanics."

By beating out Branden Lyons during a QB battle over the summer, Keese heads to the combine with a year of experience as the Falcons' starter under his belt.

"He did a good job coming in and directing our offense," Littrell said.

Keese finished the year with 1,530 yards passing, completing 92 of 169 tries and tossing 11 touchdowns.

"I had an up and down year just like our team's performance," Keese said.

"At times, I made great throws and greats things happened. But there were other times where I made bad decisions that resulted in an incompletion or an interception."

Making better reads, which should lead to better decisions, as well as getting bigger, stronger and faster are Keese's top priorities before next fall.

The combine will give him a baseline from which to work, exposing both his strengths and weaknesses.

"I don't think it will hurt me at all," Keese said. "I guess it could if I just did terrible, but if I can hold my own, I think it'll will only boost my confidence."