Neil Smith excited for son Keelan's ability to adapt on the field

Nebraska and Kansas City Chiefs football legend Neil Smith is excited to see what he is son, Keelan Smith, can do when he arrives at the college level in 2024. The current high school junior at Liberty (Mo.) Liberty North committed to his father’s alma mater last week.

Neil Smith hopped on with HuskerOnline and talked about where he thinks Keelan, who is currently listed as an athlete in On3’s database, will line up when he plays for Nebraska.

“He’s a great kid,” Smith said. “He’s really, really smart. He can fit in anywhere. The good thing about Keelan is he can adjust to anything. That’s one of the big key deals where he can get in and fit in. He can get him self acclimated. He’s not a shy kid. He likes to voice his opinion. He’s just got to learn when’s the right thing to say. I’ve taught him, along with his mother, those types of situations.”

Keelan Smith, son of Neil Smith, is a three-star recruit in the 2024 class

Keelan Smith is the No. 886 overall recruit and No. 50 athlete in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He is one of six commits in the 2024 Nebraska recruiting class along with Altair (Texas) Rice Consolidated four-star safety Roger Gradney, Miami Christopher Columbus three-star linebacker Willis McGahee IV, Katy (Texas) Taylor three-star tight end Ian Flynt, Houston Klein Cain three-star interior offensive lineman Gibson Pyle and Elkhorn (Neb.) Elkhorn South Storm three-star defensive lineman Ashton Murphy.

Smith currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $15.8k. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

When Keelan Smith told his father that he was going to head to play for his alma mater, Keelan said Neil was excited for him.

“When I told him I was committing to Nebraska, he said he was all in with it,” Keelan Smith said to HuskerOnline when he committed. “He’s happy for me. I want to work to surpass my dad’s legacy. That is the ultimate goal, and Nebraska is the best place to do it.”