LB impresses at K-State, KU camps
Every June there are players that go to summer camps, impress and end up being very solid recruits. One player from the state of Missouri that has suddenly caught fire with the college coaches is Kansas City (Mo.) Oak Park outside linebacker Michael Keenan.
Keenan, who measured in at both Kansas and Kansas State’s one day camp this week at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, has suddenly began to open up some eyes with his strong performances this week.
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At the K-State camp, Keenan clocked a 40-yard dash time of 4.5 seconds. At the Kansas camp, he had a 37-inch vertical leap. Combine that with his 305-pound bench press and 500-pound squat and you have a very intriguing prospect.
“I think I just have the size and speed to move really well for a guy my size,” Keenan said. “It’s a pretty big guy and I’ve just always been faster than everybody else out there.”
And also better.
Keenan earned first-team all-state honors from the coaches and was an all conference running back. This past season, he played mainly running back, but he said he knows that his future is likely on the defensive side of the ball.
“I’ve thought about where I project,” he said. “It’s probably going to be on defense. I love defense. In college most of them are talking to me about being some sort of linebacker. I think it’d be a great fit for me.”
Why does he love defense?
“It’s just good contact,” he said. “It’s also not so much that you have to remember every single play and having to remember what guy to block. You get to get out there make your own decisions, react and do what you can do best.”
Both Kasnas and Kansas State made good impressions on Keenan at their camps and he’s currently at the Missouri one-day camp, hoping to impress them too. With all three schools close to home, does he already have a preference?
“Actually I grew up in McPherson, so I do have some Kansas ties,” he said. “But this past year, I’ve gone to a lot of Missouri games and activities. Missouri is a team that I like to watch, but I’m not really a fan of one team over the other.
“I really enjoyed working with Coach B at K-State’s camp, and coach Doren at KU is a great guy and I really liked working with him. I can see myself at a number of places.”
With May calls from Illinois, Vanderbilt, Missouri, K-State, Kansas, Arkansas and Nebraska (talked to his family), he’s probably going to have plenty of options to look at.
Then again, without his strong performance here this week, he might have flown in under the radar screen.