SI All-American Candidate Jaden Keller Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Jaden Keller
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-3, 202 pounds
Position: Athlete
School: Bristol (Tenn.) Tennessee
Schools of Interest: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee, Duke, Virginia, Tulane, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Charlotte and Western Kentucky, among others.
Projected Position: Strong Safety/Outside Linebacker
Frame: Tall and lean, with budding muscle. Broad shoulders and wide chest taper to taut waist. Long, sinewy arms. Relatively thick, tightly-wound lower half. Plenty of room for additional weight depending on position.
Athleticism: Long-strider, with solid top-end speed. Good feet for size. Short-area quickness merely average, but changes directions well on move. Great leaper with track background; broke school record for triple jump in March. Maintains balance through contact. Natural ball skills.
Instincts: Dangerous open-field ball-carrier. Long speed to hit home run with seam, plus wiggle, vision to make defenders miss. Tough to bring down on first contact. Tracks ball well in air as receiver and defensive back. Shows good awareness in coverage; will break on throws upon diagnosing.
Polish: Plays running back, wide receiver and safety for Tennessee. Flashes route-running promise. Fluid backpedal in secondary, but lacks hip flexibility to turn and run with burners. Technique must improve no matter where he ends up.
Bottom Line: Keller is an athletic, versatile and instinctive football player who possesses the tools to play on either side of the ball. Big frame suggests ceiling is highest on defense, where he could eventually play as hybrid safety/linebacker in proper scheme given additional weight. Project, but has ceiling as impactful Power-5 contributor.