We haven't provided much of an update on DE Keon Keeley recently, because the prevailing opinion from @KyleKellyND and I has been that it seems like Keeley's less likely to stay in the class than S Peyton Bowen.
I did some check-ins today and this continues to trend in that direction. As of right now, I expect Keon Keeley to make official visits to other schools. I don't believe visits are set yet, but they're in the works. I'd anticipate Ohio State and Alabama to be among those to get official visits from him.
The question then becomes: How does Notre Dame handle that given its previously discussed stance on commits making official visits? My understanding is it will be handled much the same way as former CB commit Justyn Rhett. When Rhett took off for an official visit to Georgia, Notre Dame no longer considered him committed.
So if Keeley schedules an official visit to Ohio State for the season opener against Notre Dame, the Irish won't be treating him as if he's still committed to them as soon as that visit starts. That doesn't mean that Notre Dame would stop recruiting him at that point, but it would then become more aggressive in pursuing other vyper end options.
Keeley could still insist he's committed to Notre Dame at that point, so I think we'd still list him as a commit until he publicly declared that he wasn't committed. I'm not 100% sure how we'd handle that. In Rhett's case, we didn't change his commitment status until he declared he was de-committing. I'm not sure how Keeley would/will choose to handle it.
Losing Keeley would be a blow to the class given that he's the only five-star recruit in it, but the Irish have serious talent in this 2023 class. I also wouldn't rule out him ending up back in Notre Dame's class if he steps away from it. If he's able to change his mind once, he can certainly change it twice.
Notre Dame would like to avoid situations like Amorion Walker and CJ Williams from last recruiting cycle, so it has to be proactive when commitments are wavering.
I did some check-ins today and this continues to trend in that direction. As of right now, I expect Keon Keeley to make official visits to other schools. I don't believe visits are set yet, but they're in the works. I'd anticipate Ohio State and Alabama to be among those to get official visits from him.
The question then becomes: How does Notre Dame handle that given its previously discussed stance on commits making official visits? My understanding is it will be handled much the same way as former CB commit Justyn Rhett. When Rhett took off for an official visit to Georgia, Notre Dame no longer considered him committed.
So if Keeley schedules an official visit to Ohio State for the season opener against Notre Dame, the Irish won't be treating him as if he's still committed to them as soon as that visit starts. That doesn't mean that Notre Dame would stop recruiting him at that point, but it would then become more aggressive in pursuing other vyper end options.
Keeley could still insist he's committed to Notre Dame at that point, so I think we'd still list him as a commit until he publicly declared that he wasn't committed. I'm not 100% sure how we'd handle that. In Rhett's case, we didn't change his commitment status until he declared he was de-committing. I'm not sure how Keeley would/will choose to handle it.
Losing Keeley would be a blow to the class given that he's the only five-star recruit in it, but the Irish have serious talent in this 2023 class. I also wouldn't rule out him ending up back in Notre Dame's class if he steps away from it. If he's able to change his mind once, he can certainly change it twice.
Notre Dame would like to avoid situations like Amorion Walker and CJ Williams from last recruiting cycle, so it has to be proactive when commitments are wavering.
