The last of the Houston-Five, which is a relief to me because I'm finally caught up on all of the commits. This was actually a pretty big deal with the commitment of Keenan and I think that this is an excellent commit for the Red Raiders and just about shores up the offensive line, although I might leave room for one more lineman, maybe more of a guard-type of player as Keenan, Okafor and Vaitai are long tackle type of players while Kaster is at center.
DTN FanPost and/or FanShot: Hat-tip to jdhud and TTCollegeRing!
The Measurables:
TREY KEENAN
Position: OL
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Rivals5.7
Scout
ESPN
24/7 Sports
Ht: 6'5" | Wt: 270 lbs | Forty: 4.80
High School: Argyle (Argyle, TX)
The Player Speaks: Denton Record-Chronicle's Adam Boedecker has the best article on Keenan where Keenan talks about his commitment and why he chose Texas Tech:
"I’d always been a big Tech fan," Keenan said. "I know a lot of guys from my school go there, and I’ve been on a couple of visits and been to some games. I felt I just fit in there the best and it was best for me. It’s where I can accelerate my game the best."
Snip.
"I just really like it out there," he said. "It was my top choice ever since they offered me a little over a year ago. I think last year was the best signing class they’d ever had, and I think our class will be even better. They’re doing great things out there."
Keenan's coach also talked a bit about Keenan's game:
"I think he is a good pass blocker, and I think he’s a good run blocker, as well," Rodgers said. "It’s one of those deals where he’s managed just fine at the classification we play in, but he has so much athleticism that you can project him out as a really strong player at the collegiate level. Once the competition increases across from him, he has the skill set to equal it."
Keenan also talked with LAJ's Don Williams and Keenan's flirtation with Michigan, which is where is dad grew up:
"They have the national titles and the winningest program and all that," Keenan said, "but I had to tell them I didn’t see one pair of boots, blue jeans and a cowboy hat."
Yeehaw! You also have to appreciate this quote:
"They told me they’d recruit me harder than anybody else," Keenan said, "and that’s one thing they held true to the whole time."
Big hat-tip to the entire staff and to Sonny Cumbie.
Offers and Rankings: It's a long list, including Michigan, Air Force, Arizona, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas St., Minnesota, Mississippi St., Oklahoma St., Tennessee, etc. Both Rivals and Scout have Keenan as the #45 offensive lineman in the nation while ESPN has him at #58. 24/7 Sports does not have him nationally ranked.
More after the jump.
The Video: Film don't lie.
Scouting Report: The first thing that stands out to me is that Keenan looks athletic and he stays low in his stance, especially when run-blocking. He doesn't get high as soon as the ball is snapped. I think that can be a bad habit to break. He looks a little shaky in pass protection, but I'm thinking that with his frame, that won't be a problem. Again, really pretty impressed by his athleticism and the Williams article mentions that he's played hockey and is actually pretty decent. You can see that he's just not a big kid, he's got something.
I also want to point out Dave Campbell's Greg Tepper who had this to say about Keenan and head coach Tommy Tuberville:
We’re approaching the point where we need a name for Tommy Tuberville’s prowess in landing big name big men. First aboard the Texas Tech OL commitment train was Houston Westbury 300-pounder Christian Okafor. Then, it was the big Haltom lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Then, it was beating out boatloads of suitors for the services of Waco La Vega star Michael Starts. Then, it was landing Rice Consolidated lineman Jared Kaster after he decommitted from Rice. And now, it’s Argyle lineman Trey Keenan, a first-team Super Teamer who pledged to the Raiders late last week.
Keenan is a bit of an under-the-radar pickup for Tech, as he doesn’t have the big-time hype of Michael Starts or Pearland Dawson’s Kennedy Estelle (Texas) or Fort Bend Elkins’ Mike Matthews (A&M). But Keenan is a potential starter from Day One in Lubbock. At 6-6 and 270 pounds, Keenan’s a good fit for Tech for a number of reasons: he plays in a pass-happy spread offense at Argyle, he’s got good enough speed for the big splits Texas Tech employs (4.8 40-yard dash time) and he’s got the football IQ to be dominant. All in all, a very nice pickup for the Raiders.
I don't know that Keenan is a starter from day-one, but he's pretty darned good.
Trey, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
The 2012 Class: ##
| Position | Commitment | Ht/Wt | School/State | Rivals |
Rivals Rating |
Scout |
ESPN |
ESPN Grade |
24/7 |
24/7 Grade |
| QB | CLAYTON NICHOLAS | 6-3/205 | Cooper (Abilene, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 2 | 4 | 79 | 3 | 88 |
| RB | ||||||||||
| WR | REGINALD DAVIS | 6-1/185 | Tenaha (Tenaha, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 81 | 4 | 91 |
| WR | MARCUS JOHNSON | 6-1/180 | Clear Spring (League City, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 89 |
| WR | DOMINIQUE WHEELER | 6-2/178 | Crockett (Crockett, TX) | 4 | 5.9 | 5 | 4 | 82 | 4 | 95 |
| TE | ||||||||||
| OL | CHRISTIAN OKAFOR | 6-6/320 | Westbury (Houston, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 4 | 4 | 79 | 3 | 88 |
| OL | HALAPOULIVAATI VAITAI | 6-5/260 | Haltom (Haltom City, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 89 |
| C | JARED KASTER | 6-4/268 | Rice (Altair, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 2 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 87 |
| OL | TREY KEENAN | 6-5/270 | Argyle (Argyle, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 4 | 90 |
| DL | J.J. BYNUM | 6-3/275 | A&M Consolidated (College Station, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 79 | - | - |
| DL | MICHAEL STARTS | 6-5/285 | La Vega (Waco, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 80 | 4 | 94 |
| DL | ANTHONY SMITH | 6-0/291 | Westfield (Houston, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 76 | 3 | 86 |
| LB | MICAH AWE | 6-0/210 | Mansfield Summit (Mansfield, TX) | - | - | 2 | 3 | 78 | - | - |
| LB | KRIS WILLIAMS | 6-2/200 | Bryan Adams (Dallas, TX) | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| LB | RYAN FLANNIGAN | 6-1/200 | Marshall (Missouri City, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 79 | 3 | 86 |
| DB | LA'DARIUS NEWBOLD | 6-1/180 | Lancaster (Lancaster, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 75 | - | - |
| ATH | KEENON WARD | 5-9/176 | Snyder (Snyder, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 86 |
| Averages | 2.81 | 4.96 | 3.13 | 3.13 | 73.63 | 2.50 | 66.81 |