ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Among those who had significant weight loss on the Michigan football team this offseason, fourth-year left guard Trevor Keegan was among the biggest beneficiaries of offseason work.
While Keegan had gone from 324-pounds to 305 from one year on the roster to the next, his slim down was actually a bit more significant.
“I don’t know what it was, but I played the Georgia game about 340-343,” Keegan said. “And I just didn’t feel good. Now I’m like 303-305. So I just, I didn’t really like playing — I felt kind of fat!”
The contrast is pretty stark and visually significant. Keegan says that it wasn’t a conscious choice to get a big as he had — which can be difficult to discern as an outsider, given that linemen tend to bulk up. But after the Capital One Orange Bowl, Keegan went to team nutritionist Abigail O’Connor and strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert and told them he wanted to get in better shape. They gave him a plan, and he followed it to a tee, resulting in 40 pounds now off of his already large frame.
“I just ate salads, honestly,” Keegan said. “I ate salads and protein shakes for about three months.
“I actually like salads! Just with a lot of dressing on top.”
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Of course, the question is, with 40 pounds gone, how does he play? We often tend to think of linemen as being better the bigger they are.
However, for Keegan, he says that’s not the case. Now that fall camp is over and the team is preparing for Saturday’s Week 1 contest against Colorado State, he feels like he’s better than ever.
“I think I’m playing the best ball I’ve ever played,” Keegan said. “I’m really light on my feet, I’m a lot better in pass protection. My feet were pretty heavy last year. I just feel like I’m playing my best ball right now.”
Keegan is part of the three returning linemen who won the Joe Moore Award in 2021. He and his compatriots hope to bring home the hardware for a second-straight year, but it will be determined in large part on the success of the offense.
It’s an offense that he feels pretty confident in.
“As everybody was saying in the offseason, we’re gonna be more dynamic,” Keegan said. “Yeah, I think we’re gonna be more dynamic. We have really good days like where we just push the ball up the field. And we’ve just got to be consistent with that. So it’s up to us. It’s up to us doing our job, if we do, we’ll be pretty damn good.”
Kickoff for the season opener will take place at noon EDT at The Big House. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
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