Ex-Nazareth standout D-lineman Ryan Keeler picks Rutgers

Ryan Keeler's recruiting list read like a who's who in college football.

Keeler, the No. 1-ranked defensive lineman in Illinois who starred at Nazareth, had offers from powerhouses across all the Power 5 conferences. Michigan, Michigan State and Ole Miss were just a few of the big names in that group.

Instead, he's chosen to be part of a Rutgers reboot.

Keeler on Tuesday made his verbal commitment to Rutgers, choosing the Scarlet Knights from a whopping 32 scholarship offers.

He's headed east soon, too. Keeler, part of a 2018 Class 7A championship team and 2019 runner-up at Nazareth, is taking online classes now, will graduate in December and enroll at Rutgers in January.

Keeler joins a Rutgers program that's last winning season was 2014, its first in the Big Ten. But the Scarlet Knights in December hired back Greg Schiano, who led Rutgers to six bowl appearances in his previous stint there from 2001-2011 and a top 10 ranking in 2006.

"I really wanted to be a part of the come up, to build a program," Keeler said. "I want to be a part of that process. I really believe in coach Schiano's dream, his vision. He believes that we are going to bring Rutgers back to national prominence."

Rutgers, ironically, was Keeler's 32nd and final offer, back in March. His top five was Michigan, Rutgers, Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Virginia. He never visited the New Brunswick, N.J. campus because of the pandemic, but took several virtual visits.

It checked all the boxes.

"Me and my family went through it and we couldn't find any downsides. We felt that strongly about it," Keeler said. "The coaching staff and I bonded and connected, they truly care about me. I could sense a family atmosphere. It's similar to how Naz was."

Keeler's first offer came the January after his sophomore season, from Florida Atlantic. His recruitment took off from there. He recalled getting five offers in one day, and had 20 offers by the end of the summer 2019.

One of the early offers came from Minnesota, whose defensive line coach Jim Panagos moved onto Rutgers after the 2019 season.

Keeler took his last visits to LSU, Ole Miss, Southern Mississippi and Arkansas State in March. Three days later, Illinois was shut down because of the pandemic.

"I took virtual tours which were helpful," Keeler said. "It doesn't give you the experience of what it's all about but the staff did a very good job."

Keeler said that playing for a coach with the pedigree of Schiano was a selling point. In his first stint at Rutgers he turned around a program whose last bowl appearance was 1978 and led the Scarlet Knights to winning seasons and bowl appearances in six of his last seven seasons.

Schiano went from there to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as head coach for two seasons, and was defensive coordinator at Ohio State for three seasons.

"He played a big part in my decision," Keeler said. "The first time he was at Rutgers he had them ranked in the top five. That's what we want to get back to."

Keeler is clearly a kid ready to put in the work.

At one time projected as a possible offensive tackle prospect, he played his junior season closer to 260 pounds. But through hard work and diet, he cut it all the way down to 225 pounds.

"I worked harder than I ever did in my whole life," said Keeler, now 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, "but the main thing that did it was I started eating healthier foods. I paid attention to proteins and carbs, that made all the difference.

"I was a little bit slow, wasn't moving how I wanted to, I decided I had to get faster and get more explosive. I had a lot of guys projecting me at O-line. That took the questions away."

There were questions about what Keeler would do this fall, after the IHSA's decision to postpone football to the spring of 2021.

He looked at IMG Academy in Florida, where former Nazareth teammate J.J. McCarthy transferred in May, and considered transferring to a school in Indiana to play this fall.

Instead he's finishing classes online through Apex Learning, working out religiously at three different training locations and looking forward to working with Rutgers director of sports performance Jay Butler.

"I'm pretty excited to get out there," Keeler said. "It's a college strength program, I'm excited to get down there and get to work with coach Butler."