The cell phone for Toronto’s Shane Keenan is poised to get busier. A LOT busier.
No, the current Red Knights senior-to-be didn’t just hit the lottery. But if his performance at a key upcoming camp is impressive, it may soon feel like he has.
Keenan earned second team All-Ohio status last season playing both tight end and defensive end for the Red Knights. His 6-foot-6, 285-pound frame coupled with his 6-11 wingspan and quick feet tend to stand out.
Teams already took notice. Both Eastern Michigan and Akron offered Keenan a full ride back in January. Two Division-I offers are a great opportunity. A deluge of offers may soon follow.
That’s because Keenan recently received word he’s invited to a Final 5 Offensive Lineman camp next month in Frisco, Texas.
For the unfamiliar, the Final 5 is put on by the same people who run the Elite 11 events across the country. Keenan wasn’t too sure how important of an invite he’d just received, so naturally he called up his coach, Josh Franke.
“He screen-shotted the email and said to me, ‘Is this something I should go to?'” Franke said of his conversation with Keenan. “I told him absolutely. I think I was more excited than he was initially.”
After Franke explained what exactly the Final 5 was, Keenan quickly came around. It will feature some of the best offensive lineman in the country. Keenan will be able to showcase his skills, and if he opens some eyes, potentially add to that soon to be growing list of D-I offers.\
“I’ve worked a couple of Elite 11 events, so I’d heard of the Final 5,” Franke said. “From my understanding, there was an evaluation period, and they were looking for the best offensive linemen or prospects, and I’m not sure if word of mouth or what got back to them. Recruiters talk obviously.
“But they found out about Shane, and he was lucky enough to receive an invite.”
But He’s a Tight End Right?
Yes, the Final 5 is a camp for linemen and yes, Keenan primarily plays tight end and H-back on offense. But given his measurables and skill set, many project him as a tackle at the next level, particularly, for Division I.
“He’s extremely athletic and does a lot of things a guy his size, you’d think to yourself that he should not be able to do those things at his size. It can be perplexing to the brain,” Franke said. “A lot of schools are interested in him as an offensive tackle, some at tight end, and some, like Syracuse and Tulane, are talking about giving him a shot at tight end, and if it doesn’t work out, moving him to tackle.
“They recognize how athletic he is at that size.”
As a junior, Keenan led the Red Knights in yards (329) and tied for the lead in receptions with 16. He averaged 20.6 yards per catch and hauled in two touchdown passes in nine games.
He also carried the ball nine times for 90 yards—a 10 yards per tote average.
“We’ll split him out wide and get 1-on-1 matchups, use him as the H-back and fullback,” Franke said. “He’s so athletic that at our level, there are not many guys that can defend him. They are either too small or too slow.”
Keenan’s agility is evident on the basketball court too. Playing forward, Keenan can use his size to post up in the paint and then his quickness to split past or use an up-and-under move for easy points.
One of the best parts according to Franke is his willingness to play wherever he’s needed on the field.
“When he was coming in as a freshman, it was my first season here,” Franke said. “We had a conversion and told him that with your size, you probably will be a college tackle. But as a staff, did we really want to waste his athleticism? At our level, putting him at tight end makes him a huge problem for the defense, so we rolled the dice.
“Shane said even back then, wherever I have to play to be able to play college football and potentially make that run, that’s where I want to go.’”
COVID-Era Recruiting
Franke knows that in most years, Keenan likely would have already received more offers than he already has.
But COVID wiped out a lot of camps he might have attended during the summer before his junior season. Now, this Final 5 camp will provide the opportunity for some big-time eyes to get a good look at Keenan’s current skill set and potential.
If they are wanting to evaluate Keenan as an offensive tackle, they need to see how he handles himself in that environment.
“I don’t blame those schools,” Franke said. “This is an investment to them, and they want to make sure they are getting a good investment.
“COVID screwed up everything, including Shane going to camps last summer where he could have performed at the tackle position. It’s been different in terms of recruiting, and I don’t think he’s alone. There are a lot of guys going through something similar; they play one position but are projected at different one in college.
“The scouts want to see how they perform.”
But from which schools is Keenan drawing attention?
Franke said Purdue calls frequently, and he’s in communication with Arizona State, Penn State, Pitt, Toledo, Kent State, Kentucky and Wisconsin to one degree or another.
“Cincinnati is pretty high on him as well,” Franke said. “He got a lot more attention after he received those first two offers.
“I think once he attends some camps as an offensive tackle, he will see a lot of offers roll in after that. People are waiting to pull the trigger and see what his transition (to tackle) might look like.”
