247Sports labels Alabama DL Keon Keeley as one of the most disappointing 5-stars

Keon Keeley has been in the Alabama football program for a year and a half. He's already endured a coaching change and now two position changes that have stunted his growth. Regardless of the circumstances, far too many have already labled the 2023 5-star a "bust", including 247Sports which published a list of the most disappointing 5-star recruits over the last two classes and it included Keeley.

Keeley was the No. 2 ranked player in the 247 composite in 2023, and a guy many expected to come in and have an immediate impact in Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide. But Keeley was a defensive end in high school and would be moving to outside linebacker in Nick Saban's defense, so the transition wasn't ever going to be as smooth as anyone hoped. Of course, Alabama also had Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell on either edge, two players who were ultimately drafted in the first two rounds of 2024's NFL Draft.

When you see players like Ryan Williams and Zabien Brown making immediate impacts as freshmen, it's only natural to expect others to do the same. But the truth is that most freshmen aren't ready to play right away, and that doesn't make them a bust.

Of course, Keeley is in his second year in the program, but he was tasked with learning a new system - and a completely new position to boot. After slimming down to play outside linebacker, Keeley spent the offseason bulking back up to play the "Bandit", more of a traditional DE in Kane Wommack's defensive system.

The truth is - whether you want to hear it or not - it's never fair to label a player a bust within the first couple of years of college football. We place expectations on these kids and tear them down at the first sign of adversity. Players develop at their own pace. Not everyone is going to be a generational freak like Williams. It takes time for some.

The Alabama program has quite a few examples over the last decade or so.

One of the guys Keeley was tasked with potentially replacing was Braswell. Braswell was a composite 5-star in the 2020 class. He redshirted his first season in Tuscaloosa and then combined for 33 total tackles and 2.5 sacks the following two seasons. It wasn't until his fourth year in the program last year where Braswell finally broke out with 8 sacks, and was ultimately a second round pick in the 2024 draft.

Christian Miller was a 5-star in 2014 and didn't make a big impact with the Crimson Tide until his fifth year in the program. He redshirted in 2014, played sparingly in 2015 and 2016, suffered a season ending injury early in 2017, and then had 8.5 sacks in 2018 - a full 5.5 more than the previous three seasons combined - and became a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft.

One of the best defensive players of the Saban era was Jonathan Allen. Allen was a 5-star recruit in 2013 and totaled 6 sacks in his first two years in Tuscaloosa before a dominant junior and senior season where he racked up 22.5 before becoming a 1st round pick.

Reggie Ragland was 4-star prospect in 2012, though just a few spots away from a 5-star ranking. Ragland was a little used special teamer his first two seasons before becoming an All American LB for Alabama over the last two seasons at the Capstone and becoming a 2nd round pick.

Will Keeley ultimately follow a similar trajectory to those four guys? Who knows. He could actually be a bust and never make an impact for the Crimson Tide. The point is that it is far too early to make that determination less than two full seasons into his collegiate career.

Misevaluations happen all the time, but Keeley is undeniably a talented kid who hasn't had the smoothest transition to this level of football. Part of that has been outside of his control, though.

Give Keeley, and all the others on that list, a chance to develop at their own pace. We can look back five years from now and determine who was a bust and who wasn't when their college careers have come to an end.