The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2019 COMMITMENT PROFILE C rystal Lake (Ill.) South four-star offensive tackle Trevor Keegan reeled in more than 25 offers over the course of his recruitment and whittled it down to a loaded top five consisting of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan and Penn State. Just a few days before making his choice he dropped Bama and Clem- son, leaving him with a top three of U-M, UGA and PSU. Keegan made his decision on the morning of Dec. 14 in his high school auditorium where he, his sister and his parents stood up to reveal Michigan gear. Keegan was quiet about his pro- cess throughout his recruitment and spoke about how tough the process can be at times. "It was very nerve racking," he said with a laugh. "I never thought I would be in this situation. I'm ex- tremely thankful for everybody who has helped me through this. "I'm just thankful that it's finally over, and I know where I'm going." The 6-6, 301-pounder signed with the Wolverines during the early sign- ing period in December and will ar- rive Ann Arbor next summer. Keegan is listed as the No. 22 offen- sive tackle and No. 208 overall pros- pect nationally by Rivals, but could end up playing guard at the next level. Either way, he was a big get for U-M, and he sees Michigan as the best possible place for him. "The tradition, just everything about it," Keegan answered when asked why he picked U-M. "My family felt comfortable there, and I felt comfortable there. "Overall, I could see myself being there and being successful." The day he picked up his offer from U-M was very special for Keegan and his mother, in particular. Ever since that day, U-M felt like the team to beat for Keegan's services. "My mom's side of the family is all from Michigan and are all Michigan fans," Keegan said in June 2017. "It's a big tradition in my family. "I definitely grew up a Michigan fan — I grew up watching them since I was like 3 or 4. It's awesome — it's surreal having this offer." R i v a l s . c o m M i d w e s t re c ru i t - ing analyst Josh Helmholdt always saw Michigan as a frontrunner for Keegan as well. "Keegan generated plenty of early offers, but was never in a rush to finish his recruitment," Helmholdt recalled. "Georgia put up a strong fight here, and Penn State was in the ball game until the end. B u t M i c h i g a n w a s a l w a y s a constant and ul- timately stood tallest when it was time to pick a future home." After a very impressive se- n i o r s e a s o n , Keegan was tabbed to the USA To- day All-Illinois first team for the sec- ond straight year and named first- team all-state by The News Gazette in Champaign-Urbana, Ill. The big lineman also landed on the Illinois Football Coaches Associa- tion 6A All-State squad after both his senior and junior seasons. The acco- lades started even earlier for Keegan when he was named a MaxPreps sec- ond-team Freshman All-American in 2015. — Brandon Brown Trevor Keegan Picks The Wolverines Out Of Loaded Top Group Keegan — who is listed as a four-star talent, the top player in Illinois, and the No. 22 offen- sive tackle and No. 208 overall player nationally by Rivals — chose Michigan over Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Penn State. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt on Keegan's recruitment "Georgia put up a strong fight here and Penn State was in the ball game until the end, but Michigan was always a con- stant and ultimately stood tall- est when it was time to pick a future home." FILM EVALUATION Strengths: Trevor Keegan has been billed as a big, athletic and versatile lineman who does a really good job blocking smaller players in space. That combination of traits and skills is what helps him play just about ev- ery position along the offensive line. Areas Of Improvement: Depend- ing on where Keegan ends up play- ing will determine what he needs to work on. If he plays guard, he'll have to bulk up and get stronger. If he stays at tackle, he'll have to continue to hone his technique and work on his foot quickness in order to handle speed rushers that he simply hasn't seen in high school. Michigan Player Comparison: Keegan is already as big as Jon Ru- nyan Jr., and the two could end up having pretty similar tracks at Michigan. Runyan was listed at 6-4, 275 coming out of high school and checks in at 6-5, 310 pounds right now. U-M lists Keegan at 6-6, 301 pounds, so getting to 310 pounds or more should be pretty easy for him. Runyan was listed as a guard coming out of high school, but now plays tackle, and Keegan is similarly built. Neither are overly long, but both possess enough athleticism to play virtually every position along the of- fensive line. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com