Keon Keeley 'trending in the right direction,' Alabama DC says
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama added to its Bandit position on Tuesday with a commitment from Florida transfer Kelby Collins. That could be one of the deepest groups on the Crimson Tide’s roster next year should everyone who can return for the 2025 season.
One of those players is Keon Keeley, who moved from outside linebacker to defensive end in Year 2 at Alabama. Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack spoke highly of Keeley after Wednesday’s on-field practice for the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan.
“I’m as excited as I’ve ever been about Keon Keeley,” Wommack said.
A former 5-star recruit, Keeley has played in five of Alabama’s regular-season games this fall after not seeing the field as a true freshman in 2023. He has been behind older players like LT Overton, Jah-Marien Latham and Jordan Renaud this season, but Wommack and the Crimson Tide coaches have been pleased with the progress made by Keeley.
“Keon obviously was a very highly-touted player out of high school,” Wommack said. “That’s a perfect example of a guy that, let’s not pigeonhole him and put him in a box of you are this position or that position. Let’s let him develop, as all big people do, right? It takes years to do that.
“And then he is getting more and more comfortable with the defense. But there were some plays that he made out there, even today, that I’m sitting there going, ‘This guy is trending in the right direction.’
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“Keon Keeley will be a good player here at Alabama.”
The Crimson Tide’s Bandit unit could be crowded next season. Overton, Latham, Renaud and Keeley can all return, and Alabama added Collins via the portal and signed Steve Mboumoua as part of its No. 3-ranked recruiting class. If everyone comes back, Overton and Latham would be at the top of the pecking order, although the latter can move around.
“LT would stay at that position in the field, and then the nice thing about Jah-Marien is he’s been going back and forth, playing the Wolf position and the Bandit position, which has been huge for us,” Wommack said. “It was a lifesaver the last two games, being able to have him play both positions. And athletically, even though he’s 280 pounds, the dude can move in space, he can drop under one to the boundary as a buzz dropper and do a lot of things for us.
“A lot of value when you have guys that can play multiple positions.”
Overton and Latham have yet to announce their plans for 2025, and the transfer portal is still open for players to test the waters. Wommack said conversations about the future are occurring right now, particularly with the upperclassmen, but the coach remains optimistic.
“Those guys love Alabama, and we want what’s best for them and I think they want what’s best for us as a football team,” Wommack said. “Hopefully, those things all match up.”
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