JACKSON TWP — After hardly seeing playing time as a Seneca Valley senior football player, Aaron Yeager is starting over.

With a football program that is starting up.

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound fullback-outside linebacker recently signed a letter of intent with Keystone College, a Division III school in Scranton. Keystone has not fielded a football team in 70 years.

“I played in maybe three varsity games last year,” Yeager said. “I was behind (Edinboro recruit) Saige Ley and he was a really good player.

“I was never planning on playing football in college, but I went to a camp at Morrisville College (New York) and was doing some long snapping when a coach from Keystone approached me.

“He asked if I'd be interested in playing for their new team. I figured ... Why not?,” he added.

Seneca Valley reached the WPIAL championship game last season with Yeager primarily serving as a spectator.

“He never played for us, unless there was a big score in our favor or something,” SV coach Ron Butschle admitted. “But this move can be good for him. It's a chance to reinvent himself.”

Yeager never did any long-snapping in high school — not even on the practice field.

“I've never seen him do it,” Butschle said.

He may be doing it for Keystone, along with playing a regular position.

Yeager will be one of 65 freshmen on the approximate 90-player roster this fall when the Giants debut with an eight-game club schedule. They will join the East Coast Football Conference (ECFC) in the 2020 season.

Justin Higgins, who had served as recruiting coordinator at Seton Hill, is Keystone's head coach.

“Everybody coming in here has a clean slate as far as I'm concerned,” Higgins said. “We've got nothing on campus right now — no weight room, no equipment, I think we have one helmet.

“We're basically starting from scratch. All of the positions are open. This isn't easy or hard. It's just different.”

Yeager was looking at Stevenson College and Allegheny before deciding on Keystone. He plans to major in criminology and eventually become an officer in the military.

But he's not through with football yet.

“My goal is definitely to become a starter,” Yeager said. “My main position is linebacker, but I'll play anywhere I can.

“Coach Higgins told me positions are wide open. This will be a totally new culture and I want to take advantage of it.”

Higgins said the first step in starting a new team is to establish trust between the players and with the coaches.

“Everybody's situation in high school is different,” the coach said. “We'll have some kids who started for their high school teams, others like Aaron who are looking for an opportunity.

“We want good football players. Some guys are late bloomers in this sport. Some are hungrier than others. The bottom line will be sticking together as a first-year team.

“We're going to take our lumps early. You have to be able to see down the line a little bit. We have to stay committed as a unit. None of us coming in here is guaranteed anything,” Higgins added.