Vitals
| MATT KEELER | |
|---|---|
| Height: | 6’6″ |
| Weight: | 290 |
| Position: | Offensive Tackle |
| Offers: | Texas Tech, Arizona State, East Carolina, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, South Alabama, Virginia Tech |
| JUCO: | Coffeyville C.C. (Coffeyville, KS) |
| Video: | Hudl |
| Commitment Date: | January 11, 2021 |
| Cumulative Rating: | N/A |
Recruiting Services
| Recruiting Service | Grade | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Rivals | 5.5 |  | | |
| 24/7 Sports | N/A | |
| ESPN | N/A | N/A |
Texas Tech makes a late add to the 2021 class with JUCO offensive lineman Matt Keeler from Coffeyville Community College.
COMMITTED. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/BMrdXsfAjE
— Matt Keeler (@matt_keeler1) January 11, 2021
RedRaiderSports’ Ben Golan spoke with Keeler about his commitment:
“I have been talking with coach (Preston) Pehrson for a few months now. I have been talking with him and coach (Steve) Farmer the most, and they let me know the team was going through an OC change. I actually got to speak with coach (Sonny) Cumbie last night, and he was the coach who offered me. He is a great guy, we talked about him visiting Chicago before and what all they are looking for in their offense.”
Golan notes in the article that because the JUCO football teams decided to halt play this year, Keeler essentially has 5 years to play 4 seasons.
I hate to post Keeler’s high school film because he said that he worked on his strength and weight, he was too heavy, 330 coming out of high school, and decided to go the JUCO route. It’s tough to get a good read on just practice video, but it’s better than nothing. So Keeler has really already been through a transformation, going from 330 to 280 or so, and is listed at 290. I think when you lose that much weight, you have to start building the body back up and gaining some strength.
Texas Tech only added two offensive linemen in the 2021 class, both projects in a way, Jack Tucker from Argyle, and Jacoby Jackson, from Mansfield. The depth was probably needed. I think that Keeler is probably a project and I don’t have an expectation that he’ll come in immediately and play. I’ve been wrong before.
And honestly, this team needs better play from the tackle spots. In a really big and serious way (more on that later this week).