The Inside Scoop: Ohio State trending up with 5-star EDGE Keon Keeley

Five-star Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep Keon Keeley will be back at Ohio State this weekend for the second time this month.

The No. 3 overall prospect in the On300 took an official visit to Columbus the weekend of Sept. 3, and now he will return beginning Saturday for the Buckeyes’ showdown with Wisconsin.

Initially, Ohio State wasn’t thought to be a serious contender for Keeley after he decommitted from Notre Dame last month, with Alabama taking a commanding lead in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). But it was the Buckeyes who got his first official visit, and On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons believes that has made OSU a very legitimate threat to land him.

“Ryan Day, Larry Johnson and that staff really I think hit a grand slam with the official visit,” Simmons said Thursday during On3’s Inside Scoop podcast. “Not only with Keon but with his family, from the academic presentation to the fit in their scheme.

… Obviously Larry’s Johnson’s resume speaks for itself. For him to go back this quickly to Ohio State, a school in his top three that’s definitely the farthest away from home, to me is very telling. I like where Ohio State is at, and I’m very close to putting in a prediction for the Ohio State Buckeyes for the five-star rush end.”

Keon Keeley Recruiting Profile

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Keeley is the No. 11 overall prospect in the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 EDGE and the No. 3 player in Florida.

On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power writes this about him as a recruit:

“Long pass rusher with high-end flexibility and finishing ability behind the line of scrimmage. Has a big frame at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds with outstanding length (7-foot wing-span). Plays with advanced bend and flexibility, sinking his hips and using his supreme length to create disruption off the edge. Already shows signs of some technical acuity with quick hands and pass rush moves. Displays strong closing speed and finishes plays behind the line of scrimmage at a high rate. Among the more productive pass rushers in the nation as a junior. Also a bouncy athlete with a basketball background.”