Tag: Koby Keenum

Wisconsin offers 2023 three-star OL Koby Keenum

The Badgers offer a three-star offensive lineman

The Badgers continued to hand out 2023 offers this week, and Wisconsin extended one to offensive tackle Koby Keenum on Tuesday.

Keenum is a Florence, Ala. native who is currently playing his high school football at Mars Hill Bible School in Alabama. The three-star offensive tackle stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 285 pounds.

He holds offers from a number of high-profile programs, including Penn State, Nebraska, LSU, and Kentucky. Keenum has played on both sides of the line in high school, but is being recruited to play on the offensive line in college.

Check out the Alabama native’s high school tape via Hudl: http://www.hudl.com/v/2GY8X5

Under-the-radar OL dishes on relationship with Austin, interest in Tigers

An under-the-radar prospect recently told The Clemson Insider that Clemson has him as the No. 2 interior offensive linemen on its board in the 2023 recruiting class. TCI recently caught back up with Mars Hill Bible School (Florence, Ala.) three-star …

An under-the-radar prospect recently told The Clemson Insider that Clemson has him as the No. 2 interior offensive linemen on its board in the 2023 recruiting class.

TCI recently caught back up with Mars Hill Bible School (Florence, Ala.) three-star Koby Keenum. He dished on his ongoing relationship with Clemson offensive line coach Thomas Austin, his interest in the program and future plans for getting back up to Tiger Town.

“Me and Coach Austin — the new offensive line coach — we’ve been talking a lot,” Keenum told TCI. “We scheduled a time, we’re not sure what day, but it’s gonna be in March to go back up to [Clemson]. He was saying that they’re really interested in me and to make sure I was interested in them, of course.

“We’re kind of building that relationship and then when we get up there in March, we’re really gonna sit down and break down my film and see how everything looks.”

Keenum is planning on taking all his visits in the spring, including going back up to Clemson in March and staying in The Valley for a few days. 

“The first time I went up there, I really liked it,” he said of Clemson. “I liked the coaching and I liked the atmosphere, that’s why they’re gonna be one of my top schools. I just like the way they coach their guys and stuff like that.”

“They’re definitely gonna be one of my top-5 [schools], I would think,” Keenum added.

As for his relationship with Austin, when Keenum first started talking with Clemson’s newly minted offensive line coach, he figured that the former analyst would eventually step into his current role. 

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced after Clemson’s 20-13 win over Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl, that Robbie Caldwell had coached his last game and would be transitioning into an off-field role with the program as the director of high school relations.

Keenum is a big fan of Austin and they should be hopping on the phone again sometime later this week.

A typical phone conversation between them will generally be just Austin checking up on Keenum and talking about how he likes his film.

“I told him that I’m in no rush to commit,” Keenum said. “I’m gonna sit back and wait ‘til I know for 100% fact where I think home is and he knows that. I think we’re in no big rush right now, just kind of figure out what he wants and is looking for and the same for me too.”

With Keenum in evaluation mode, he’s already outlined some of the more important factors that he’s looking for in a school at the next level.

“Probably the family atmosphere and how well I can bond with the coaches,” he said. “That’s gonna be one of my big priorities is how I respond to coaches, kind of see how they coach and how I like it.”

Keenum feels like he progressed a lot during his junior season and that college coaches took note of that as well. 

With that being said, has Austin told Keenum what he likes about his playstyle and what he showed on film during his junior campaign?

“He likes my nastiness,” Keenum said. “He likes how quick I can get off the ball and get to the next level. In most plays, I’m 20-yards down the field running and blocking for my backs. He sees that as a big factor, I guess, as a big lineman like me getting down the field, quick and mobile.”

Keenum sees himself as a guard or center, but he’s willing to play wherever to help his team at the next level.

“They’re really interested in me,” he said of Clemson. “They’re projecting me at the center, actually, for college.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

 

Quick Notre Dame football recruiting update after North Carolina win

The Irish were busy not only winning on the field but on the recruiting trail as well

The Irish are in the midst of building on the great class of 2022 and continuing to add on to the 2023 and beyond classes.

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Every weekend this fall there have been plenty of visitors but recently we have seen an uptick with recruiting action. Here are a few of the notable happenings regarding Notre Dame football from this past weekend.

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Grisham keeping tabs on fast-rising Alabama prospect

This fast-rising offensive line prospect has received interest from many big-time programs across the country, including Clemson. Florence (Ala.) Mars Hill Bible School three-star offensive tackle Koby Keenum recently caught up with The Clemson …

This fast-rising offensive line prospect has received interest from many big-time programs across the country, including Clemson.

Florence (Ala.) Mars Hill Bible School three-star offensive tackle Koby Keenum recently caught up with The Clemson Insider regarding his Clemson interest and how his recruitment has taken off since Sept 1., when colleges could start directly contacting high school juniors.

“They’ve been sending me a lot of stuff in the mail recently about how much they like seeing me on the field,” Keenum told TCI. “They message me on Twitter, the Clemson Football page, all kinds of graphics and stuff.”

According to Keenum, Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham has been talking to his head coach at Mars Hills Bible School, Darrell Higgins, asking for his transcripts and things like that.

“I haven’t gotten on with [Grisham] yet like I said, my head coach has been talking to him,” Keenum said. “I think soon we’ll be getting on the phone.”

What type of feedback has Keenum been getting from Clemson?

“They said they liked me,” he said. “They liked how I moved. They liked how I competed. After I want to say sometime in June or July, they got all my information, address and all that. They said they were gonna get in touch with me, that they really like how I play the game.”

Keenum camped at the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer and performed well alongside and against top competition. He also was able to take a visit around Clemson’s campus.

“It went really well. I won a lot of 1-on-1 battles, o-line vs. d-line,” Keenum said. “I think I performed really well. That’s what caught the Clemson coach’s eyes, I think, mainly me competing well with those other top guys.”

“It’s beautiful up there,” he added. “The water around the campus and everything. It’s just really beautiful.”

He had an opportunity to be coached hands-on by Robbie Caldwell at the camp and spoke with Clemson’s long-time offensive line coach about his overall performance.

“He was saying how much he liked me,” Keenum said. “He was one of the main ones I was talking to after the camp, just about how much he liked me and how well I play the game.”

Keenum indicated that he has to look into making it back up to Clemson for a game this season. He hasn’t put too much thought into it but said that he’ll “for sure” make time to get back up to The Valley this spring.

Though, he has been on game day visits to Alabama, Auburn, Penn State and Mississippi State. He’ll also be heading to Arkansas, Notre Dame and back to Tuscaloosa for another Alabama game.

“It’s been pretty neat, getting love from all these coaches, especially from multiple schools, big-time schools like Alabama and Auburn,” Keenum said. “It’s been pretty neat, honestly, getting to see the coaches again in person, instead of having to wait because of COVID and not do anything.”

Since Sept. 1, Keenum’s phone has been lighting up like a Christmas tree. When he woke up that morning, he had 80 or 90 direct messages on Twitter that he hadn’t opened up. At any given time, he could have over 100 messages in his inbox from either a college or a coach.

Keenum is focusing most, if not all of his attention on Mars Hill’s season at the moment. While he’s keeping constant contact with college coaches, he’s looking forward to talking more consistently with them after his junior season and seeing what they all have to say, he said.

While he’d like to be committed by the start of his senior season, Keenum specified that he wants to be completely comfortable with his decision before he makes it. His goal, though, is to be committed before the season.

Keenum plays tackle for his high school, but he understands that because of his height, he’ll likely have to play guard at the next level.

“I’ve been playing guard at these camps this past summer and I think I competed real well,” he said. “I’m feeling real comfortable in that guard position.”

Keenum ranks as the No. 39 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, per Rivals.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!