Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 AUGUST 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE SINGER Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep defen- sive end Keon Keeley announced his commitment to Notre Dame June 28, ending his recruitment during the summer before his junior year of high school. The Fighting Irish offered Keeley during its Pot of Gold recruiting ini- tiative March 17, and defensive line coach Mike Elston pursued him hard the following three months. Keeley made his way up to Notre Dame for a visit the weekend of June 11-13 and was blown away. "Notre Dame is the right fit for me," Keeley told Blue & Gold Illus- trated. "The coaching staff, the peo- ple, the campus — I feel that I can accomplish my goals in life by going to school at Notre Dame. You can't go wrong by choosing Notre Dame; it has everything I want." After wrapping up his trip to South Bend, Keeley spoke with his family and high school head coach, Dominick Ciao, about the possibility of committing. Did he want to choose this early? Was Notre Dame the right decision? Ciao even had his own list of questions for the Irish staff. The Keeley camp came to the deci- sion of committing to the Fighting Irish. The 6-6, 230-pounder called Elston on June 21 to inform him of the commitment, and then he spoke with defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and defensive recruiting co- ordinator Chad Bowden. "They were all super excited," Keeley said. "It felt really good." Keeley hit it off with Elston and Freeman during his visit. "Coach Elston is a great coach," he said. "He did a great job of making me and my mom feel really welcomed there. He is a great coach; I got to see how he coaches during the camp they had. He does a great job of delivering his strategy to his players. He's a really good guy. He looks past just football. "Coach Freeman was also awe- some. He's bringing a lot of new stuff to Notre Dame, and he showed me and my mom that. He's coming to Notre Dame with a lot of energy to help them win even more. I'm ex- cited for him to see how he does." The term "Notre Dame-type kid" rings very true in Keeley's case. He's a strong off-the-field fit for the Fight- ing Irish, and he felt like he fit in with the Notre Dame players he met while on campus, including freshman de- fensive lineman Jason Onye. "We hit it off and become good friends," Keeley said. "I feel like I can talk to people at Notre Dame, and we all have similar ideas for what we want to do in the future. I'm com- fortable talking to people there, and I think that with my personality, I fit in really well." Keeley is glad to become Notre Dame's first commit of the 2023 cycle and help build the recruiting class. "It means a lot to me," he said. "I'm starting off the class and am trying to get some guys with me. We're going to be getting things going in 2023." Keeley also held offers from Flor- ida, Florida State, Miami, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, UCF, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. "I like to be me — friendly and nice to those around me — but on the field, I'm coming to work," he said. "I'm going to play hard and win games. Whatever the team needs me to do, that's what I'll do. I want to win. "I also want to be one of the best students in the classroom, be one of the nicest people in the community and help out as many people as I can." Notre Dame earned a commit- ment from Naples (Fla.) High class of 2022 cornerback Devin Moore July 4. If Keeley's and Moore's Notre Dame pledges hold and they sign with the Irish, they will be the first Sunshine State-born players to sign with Brian Kelly's program since the 2018 class (Joe Wilkins Jr., Kevin Austin Jr. and George Takacs). The Irish signed Caleb Johnson (Ocala) and Philip Riley (Val- rico) in the 2021 class, but they were born in the states of Indiana and Wash- ington, respectively, and didn't move to Florida until they were in high school. Rivals has not ranked Keeley yet. 247Sports has listed him as a four- star prospect and the No. 216 overall player nationally. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE KEON KEELEY Notre Dame Starts 2023 Class With Florida Pass Rusher Keeley is ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 216 overall player nationally by 247Sports. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS "Notre Dame is the right fit for me. The coaching staff, the people, the campus — I feel that I can accomplish my goals in life by going to school at Notre Dame. You can't go wrong by choosing Notre Dame; it has everything I want." KEELEY FILM ANALYSIS "[Keon Keeley] has tremendous upside. He's physical at the line of scrimmage and can rush the passer. His talent allows him to drop into coverage too. To me, he has the chance to be really special at that position. He can do a lot of things." — Berkeley Prep head coach Dominick Ciao