Jackson Keeler: 2013 Wisconsin Football Recruiting Class

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Part of a stellar crop of lineman in Illinois' 2013 class, Jackson Keeler entered his senior season as one of super scout Tom Lemming's Top 10 offensive tackles in the country. Though his Barrington High School team persevered through a down year after committing fairly early to Wisconsin, Keeler still became perhaps the most highly sought-after prospect to poach from the Badgers during their search for a new head coach after Bret Bielema's departure.

Why, you ask? This consensus 3-star offensive lineman lined up at guard much of the time for Barrington, but has the size to play tackle at the next level. He has a bit of nastiness to his game and also moves very well in space. That agility would have been perfect for the pulling schemes of the previous Wisconsin coaching staff, so it will be interesting to see what direction Gary Andersen goes with Keeler.

Rankings

Rivals: (#29 OT - #8 in IL)
Scout: (#44 OT)
ESPN: 81 (#29 OT - #10 in IL)
24/7: 88 (#38 OT - #12 in IL)

Verbally committed May 2, 2012

Wisconsin always had a leg up in Keeler's recruitment seeing as he hails from the same high school as current Badger lineman and 2012 early enrollee Dan Voltz. Even so, UW and Camp Randall made a strong impression on Keeler over a year ago as the recruiting started to heat up. Keeler picked Wisconsin over 20 other offers, Illinois, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Tennesse, Vanderbilt and West Virginia being among them.

Though he committed to Bielema's coaching staff, Keeler felt comfortable enough at Wisconsin to show Ohio State a stiff arm when Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes swooped in with an offer after Bielema's departure. In fact, Keeler made a point to reach out to Badger247.com's Evan Flood directly on the matter ($):

"Could you let people know that I am solid on Wisconsin and don't want to take calls or anything."

That didn't stop eight more schools from offering Keeler, perhaps the most desirable poaching target from Bielema's initial group of 2013 recruits at Wisconsin. Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Oregon were some of the programs that came after Keeler, but new Wisconsin offensive line coach T.J. Woods locked the lineman down for good during an official visit in January.

Video Highlights

You can view more game tape on ESPN.

Honors

2012 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl

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