Previously: Last year's profiles. S Quinten Johnson, S Daxton Hill, CB DJ Turner II, CB Jalen Perry, LB Joey Velazquez, LB Anthony Solomon, LB Charles Thomas, DE David Ojabo, DE Gabe Newburg, DE Mike Morris, DT Chris Hinton, DT Mazi Smith, OL Jack Stewart, OL Nolan Rumler, OL Zach Carpenter, OL Karsen Barnhart, OL Trente Jones.

Crystal Lake, IL – 6'6", 301
		24/7	4*, #184 overall #19 OT, #1 IL
		Rivals	4*, #208 overall #22 OT, #1 IL
		ESPN	4*, #171 overall #16 OT, #1 IL
		Composite	4*, #176 overall #16 OT, #1 IL
		Other Suitors	UGA, OSU, PSU, Bama, Clemson
		YMRMFSPA	Ben Braden
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from your author.
Notes	Twitter.
Film
Keegan took his hudl highlight private. Here is a TMI reel from a game. He's 58; he starts a left tackle and moves to LG about halfway through:

I hope you've enjoyed the rapid-fire THIS IS A LARGE MAN recruiting profiles; this is the sixth and last. I know they can get repetitive but bear with me: Trevor Keegan is a large man who's a good bet to play some football.

Unlike the rest of the OL class, Michigan had to sweat it out with Keegan. The other five guys were all committed by the end of May and had barely a waver; Keegan took his recruitment to mid-December. Along the way there were scares about OSU, Georgia, and Clemson. But this was a recruitment that would have taken some screwing up:

"It’s a crazy feeling," he said. "My mom’s side of the family is all from Michigan and are all Michigan fans. It’s like a big tradition in my family. I definitely grew up a Michigan fan — I grew up watching them since I was like three or four. It’s awesome — it’s surreal."

4-star OL Trevor Keegan commits to Michigan.

Dad was excited, accidentally swore like 3 times on the live mic. Pretty outstanding.

Midwestern football at its finest.

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) December 15, 2018

Hooray for not screwing up.

[After THE JUMP: hope you like the words "right tackle" repeated ad nauseum.]

Bizarrely, Keegan has less scouting than anyone in the class aside from Jack Stewart. Stewart is a three-star from the hinterlands of Connecticut who had a couple decent offers and went off the board early; Keegan was a major prospect courted by blue bloods deep into December. Goes to show that quality coverage is more about location (Bill Greene had the Ohio guys down; Allen Trieu had Barnhart in his backyard), an all-star appearance (where Jones blew up), and sometimes who's recruiting you (you're going to get good scouting whenever you beat ND for a prospect) than how big of a recruit you are.

Keegan is the most tackle-shaped person in the class but maybe not the highest potential left tackle. Barnhart and Jones draw raves for their ability to move; Keegan's scouting is much more mixed. It's frustrating that Keegan ghosted his Hudl account, because TTB asserted that his senior reel was at guard and I'd like to examine that. The TMI video above has a little at tackle and then more at G, and that says at least a little something.

FWIW, TTB seems a little torn on his position:

… excellent frame for a college offensive tackle. He looks every bit of 6’6″ with long arms. He runs well in a straight line, and he shows the ability to bend. … likes to finish blocks. … can be a little slow with his first step, … needs to work on his lateral quickness. He plays a little bit high in pass protection … has some reshaping of his body to do. … reminds me of former Michigan offensive lineman Mark Ortmann.

Ortmann was an adequate right tackle during one of the many recent eras during which Michigan's offensive line was a couple competent guys surrounded by chaos. Not exactly the comparison you're hoping for with a guy who had some very committable, very legitimate offers.

24/7 is in a similar boat:

…big, thick prospect … college-ready frame … good kick step and initial quickness… excellent drive blocker… athletic enough to make blocks in space and get to the second level. Solid bender. … Can still get more flexible and explosive. … right tackle … [can] slide inside if needed.

"Solid" bender says something. It says he can bend; it says he is not Jones or Barnhart when it comes to doing fluidly athletic things. ESPN focuses on the largeness, not the mobility:

…nice height and length and demonstrates excellent strength. When gets hands locked on can control defenders … Tall player that needs to watch pad level and can continue to work on agility... towering and powerful tackle prospect.

Trieu:

"…quickly get[s] into his pass set … mauler in the run game. … good flexibility for a big guy, but he can be more consistent with his pad level and hand placement….finishes his blocks … further along in run blocking … has the tools you like in pass pro … right tackle. … big, strong, physical mauler more so than an elite athlete … high floor.

Helmholdt:

"…enviable degree of physicality combined with a solid frame for the position and the ability to move his feet," [in-person] performance was solid, not exceptional … right tackle, but could easily see him kicking down to an offensive guard role as well."

Right tackle, over, and over, and over again.

But these things tend to get overblown. Michigan's left tackle last year patently lacks the frame you're looking for, and Big Ten coaches voted him first-team all conference. Takes like this from Helmholdt are a wee bit aggressive:

He just does not have the length or the degree of athleticism required for [left tackle] at the high Power Five level.

I buy that Keegan isn't likely to be ideal in that spot. I don't buy blanket declarations that 1) left tackle is entirely different from right tackle and that 2) Keegan simply cannot play the former.

The "mixed" bit of that scouting mostly comes from his coach. High school coaches are often evaluating guys based on their level of play, not college, and tend to be over-enthusiastic for obvious reasons. So Rob Fontana's takes are more optimistic than the rest:

“…when you look at a kid that’s over 6’6, 300-pounds and you watch him the way he can move, it’s special … so flexible, so he can do so many things. He’s quick, agile, explosive and powerful. He has every weird adjective you can use to describe the way he can play. Really the way that he moves is unique for a lineman."

Also:

"…[has the] ability to get downfield after attacking the first row of defenders … still be able to catch a safety and finish them off in front of our running backs. … one of the most agile big men I have ever seen — he loves to punish guys in the trenches."

Fontana also called him "probably the most flexible guy on our team" when he committed and noted his "footwork, speed, and agility have all made huge gains." The good version of this story is that Keegan's coach has the up to date information and he could have had a blow up similar to Jones if he'd gone to an all-star game… and that he was playing guard because of high school scheme reasons that are unusual but legitimate.

FWIW it does seem like his offers were all committable deep into the cycle except for a couple schools that filled up (and, naturally, Bama). This was the Georgia 24/7's site take just before his announcement:

Kirby Smart and Sam Pittman were in-home this week. This one seems to be trending away from UGA at the end with Michigan. We will have one final update here on Sunday.

They would have taken him happily. Keegan also generated a positive take from someone inside the program who talked to Brice Marich; he's "in great shape" and "working very hard" while seemingly living up to his billing.

The good story is a little bit less likely to be the actual story because of Keegan's late commitment—a lot of this talk was generated in December, after his senior season.

Why Ben Braden? Braden was an extremely large, somewhat stiff tackle prospect who ended up starting at guard for a couple years; he had a tendency to lean on people and get off balance. When injury forced him to pop out to left tackle when he was a senior it went… fine. Braden was second-team All Big Ten and vaguely on draft radars. NFL.com:

…physical unit. … good upper body strength and looks to maul. Will gallop into secure block and blast defensive tackles in the ribs. …Tough guy who's willing to get his block by any means necessary. … Stiff as a board in his pass sets. … very little knee bend … Has to lean due to lack of flexibility, which causes balance issues.

Braden went undrafted but has stuck on the Jets practice squad as a backup guard.

If Fontana's right, Keegan will blow past this comparison and edge towards the Mo Williams/Jeff Backus tier of NFL-level not-quite-left-tackles.

Guru Reliability: High. Limited takes but they all say the same thing, not a lot of projection.

Variance: Moderate-plus. Size not in question but a lot of guard and right tackle talk; lot of guard experience.

Ceiling: High. Again, if Fontana's right Keegan can blow past concerns here and be a mid- or high-round draft prospect. Would prefer it if someone other than Keegan's coach had brighter things to say.

General Excitement Level: Moderate-plus. Rankings good; offers good; scouting seems a little concerning especially in context. If Michigan is moving to a mobility-dependent scheme seems like Barnhart and Jones have the edge and then he's a guard. Probably a decent one.

Projection: Is OL, redshirt. Could end up competing on the interior next year but probably makes more sense for Michigan to explore his upside at tackle early in his career and then move him inside if it isn't working out. Versatility means he'll be available for any particular position battle that pops up, and that'll be enough for him to start for a couple years if he's not one of the guys who gets struck by OL scouting disease.