The saying goes that football games are won and lost in the trenches.

While the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers tend to get a lot of the headlines on offense, it’s the offensive linemen who hold the operation together. Without talented offensive linemen, the running backs have no holes to hit. The quarterbacks have no time to get the ball off, which prevents the wide receivers from making any plays.

It is critical that teams add good offensive linemen to their rosters, and San Diego State center Keith Ismael is looking to be one of those building blocks up front for an NFL team.

Draft Wire recently spoke exclusively with Ismael about his collegiate career, his family’s lineage in football, how he has been preparing for the 2020 NFL draft, and much more.

JI: What was your favorite memory from your time at San Diego State?

KI: My favorite memory: 2017, my redshirt freshman year, my first year starting. We hosted, I think they were 19th or 18th ranked Stanford, at the time. My uncle is actually the offensive coordinator at Stanford right now, Tavita Pritchard, so that was a little rivalry within my family. We beat them, we ended up upsetting them, the lights went out in the fourth quarter on our winning drive and delayed the game. I remember the fans, they started chanting ‘we believe’. They put all of their phone lights up, and it created this great environment. The lights [ended up] coming back on, and we went down the rest of the field and won the game.

So that was probably my favorite moment, beating Stanford my redshirt freshman year, 2017, we [faced them] at home, all the fans rushed the field. It was a surreal moment. My dad, he rushed onto the field, I found him through all the commotion, all the ruckus, and we just gave each other a big hug. It was a really big [accomplishment], kind of started by everything that we worked for, getting to that level of play. It was my first year starting, so I had a couple games under my belt, but that game was huge, playing Stanford, growing up 30, 40 minutes away from that school, looking into the program, watching them when I was younger. Being able to play them and beat them was a huge accomplishment, one of my favorite moments of college.

JI: You mentioned your uncle. How would you say that having family who was involved in football helped your early development?

KI: He’s not the only one [with football experience]; he played for Stanford, he played quarterback. He ended up beating USC, I think it was in ’07, when they were ranked number-one in the country. My dad played college football at Florida A&M, my uncle, he played defensive line at Oregon, and another one of my uncles was drafted in the first round by the Falcons back in the ’70s. Football’s in my blood; all my family, all my cousins, all my uncles, they’ve all played the game. It was kind of like, I don’t want to call it destiny, but the cards were definitely there and the path was set for me to play.

I have the genetics, I had people around me that played a lot of ball. My dad’s friends, some of them have played in the league, so having that background –  that family background – my passion and my love for the sport, watching it with my dad when I was younger and seeing his passion, I definitely grew a love for the game that carried me to this point right now…I talk to [my uncle], when I was younger at the time when he was playing quarterback at Stanford, and of course my dad’s playing days and my uncles. They’ve been talking to me, they’re more about just trying to get a feel for my passion, trying to make sure that I was ready to commit completely to the game, whether I made it to the pros or even the college level.

Starting in high school, I wasn’t thinking about playing college ball. It was a dream…I didn’t get very good at the game until maybe my sophomore year of high school, when I started to kind of grow and develop. Using them as tools, just trying to gain good principles and good values, a good work ethic, through them and knowing what I need on every level I end up going to, I use them more for that instead of Xs and Os type stuff…it’s a little bit more advanced at the college level. I started to unlock my game and my skills.

JI: Going back to 2017, you were in the starting lineup and played a part in Rashaad Penny’s season of over 2,000 yards that year. What was it like, playing a key role behind such an outstanding season?

KI: It was huge, I mean, it was my first year [in the starting lineup]. I was the second guard in the two-deep depth chart my freshman year, so I travelled all year, and I was able to be behind four seniors that ended up winning the [conference] championship that year; they were back-to-back Mountain West champions. I learned so much from those guys. They took me under their wing when I was a little freshman, and I’d try to work week in and week out with them, trying to learn the ins and outs of how to be successful, how to win a championship, and it was just important for me to carry on that tradition once they left.

That following year, even though we feel short, we won 10 games, and Rashaad broke [Donnell Pumphrey’s San Diego State] single-season record [that he broke] the year before, the year that he broke the NCAA rushing record [for the 2016 season], and [Penny] ended up beating that, being the first school in NCAA history to have two back-to-back 2,000-yard rushers. It was a proud moment, finishing off that season with those guys – it was a great senior class – I just wanted, my whole time there, to carry on that tradition and those values that the seniors left for me when I was a freshman, that Coach [Rocky] Long tried to instill in his time at San Diego State, his message carried on consistently in all my four years, and I just try to live up to that expectation and be an Aztec warrior as much as I could. That was one of my proudest moments, that season, especially playing with the player that Rashaad was, and playing with all of those seniors who are now successful in the league. It was an honor to play next to them, to practice with them and to go through that process with them.

JI: You got to take part in the Combine and the Senior Bowl before things started to shut down. How were those experiences for you?

KI: It was great. Jim Nagy and the staff down in Mobile, they do an amazing job, year in and year out. I had a blast up there and made a lot of good friends, some of them that I now call my brothers. I had an amazing time going out there and competing. Like I said, Jim Nagy and the staff, they set up a good week full of events, and we were able to get in with the community, we had a parade. It just gave us an unbelievable opportunity to showcase our talents on the field.

Going into the Combine, I rode that momentum of those good days at practice in Mobile and rode that into Indianapolis. That was a dream come true, watching that every year since I was a kid, and then finally getting there and soaking up the lights. I remember walking onto the field for the first day getting to an X-ray and I was just like, ‘wow. It’s really here’. I was reading the signs and looking up at the lights and the field, it kind of felt surreal, and it really was a dream come true. It was a long week, but it was a fun week. I learned a lot, I got to showcase my talents on the field and also work with teams [to] pick my brain and see what kind of person they get off the field, the type of leader, the type of player that they’re getting for the organization.

Each opportunity was extremely important, especially now, with all of this virus stuff, all the Pro Days that were canceled. A lot of my teammates here at San Diego State and [players] across the country, they were on the short end of the stick unfortunately, and they weren’t able to do that. I’m blessed that I was able to get those opportunities and get my evaluation locked in by these teams before [the virus outbreak]. It was great. It was a dream come true.

JI: Do you feel that being able to meet with coaches and personnel in-person gives you an upper hand as a potential draft pick now that in-person meetings are being canceled?

KI: For sure. I think it definitely gives me an advantage, that they’ve been able to get their hands on me in-person at least a couple times, which is huge. You can only get so much over the phone, but you really get to interact with people in-person: you get a feel of who they are. That’s basically what these teams want to see. They’ve seen the tape, and they’ve talked to the people at the universities. They can see some parts of it, but you try to get the whole package, especially where they’re investing so much money into us.

Getting to meet them in person and showing everything that I have to offer is definitely huge, and it gives me advantage over, like I said, guys who weren’t able to go to an all-star game or go to the Combine and then didn’t get to do a Pro Day, it’s definitely tougher for them. It’s all over the phone, and everybody’s just trying to get used to it – nobody’s used to it – so it’s definitely hard. There are a lot of people close to me that are in that position, and they’re doing the best they can to keep their heads up and stay positive. All of this stuff has definitely hurt guys.

JI: How has this whole COVID-19 situation affected your own predraft process and your overall routine?

KI: I’m just doing my part, trying to social distance as much as possible, but I definitely have been able to stay in shape. I have a trainer in a private gym that I have available here, just trying to make our ways, follow the rules as best as possible, but I’m blessed to be in San Diego and to be able to have a place where I’m still able to get elite-level training, work out every single day. I just end up going home [afterwards] and stay to myself and try to keep my distance, wear the mask and follow the rules. But it’s definitely different. I’ve had a lot of phone calls every day these last few weeks. It’s definitely different because at this time, I’d be traveling somewhere around the country for a team visit – I had a couple set up before the virus cancelled them – so it’s taken a little bit of the stress out of it, or this month of the process, at least. It’s made it a little bit easier for guys in my position. It’s interesting – like I said, it’s all new; nobody’s prepared for this – so we’re all just figuring it out.

JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?

KI: I love to cook. I like watching movies, I like to sleep a lot, too [laughs], recover my body. I like to be social as well, whenever I can. I love hanging out with my friends. I love listening to music and just connecting with people. Growing up in California, especially here in San Diego, I think going to the beach and going out there, watch the sunsets, it’s just next level, and the water out here is great. I love being outdoors and just relaxing, kicking my feet up.

JI: You mentioned cooking, what type of dishes do you like to cook?

KI: Anything and everything. I watch all the cooking shows on Youtube, on TV, I always have since I was a kid. I don’t really like to say I have one specific thing I like to cook all the time. I really like to get different influences from different dishes or recipes and kind of make them my own or try something new. I have a very diverse palate; growing up, I ate a lot of things, so I’m not scared of trying new things, and I’m not scared of trying new things in the kitchen, either. I like to experiment and try and get crazy with ingredients or techniques or whatever it is. It’s fun; cooking can be very peaceful.

JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?

KI: You’d be getting an unbelievable leader, the hardest worker out there, a real great player: someone that is tough that can persevere through any adversity. You’re getting a fast, consistent and technical player. I like to play the game fast, I think that my technique sets me apart from anybody else in the country, and you can check the tape: I’ve been very consistent over the last three years of playing at the collegiate level, and I hope to carry that along with my football intelligence and my brain to the next level. I think I have a high football IQ and I get the game. It plays out very easily for me. I think that’s definitely what’s helped me here in college, and I think that’s going to take me to the next level playing-wise in the NFL.

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