Alabama DL, former 5-star recruit, entering transfer portal after 3 seasons
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Kalen DeBoer and his staff will have their work cut out for them during this transfer portal season, because the Crimson Tide have lost some key contributors to other programs thus far.
After starting right tackle Wilkin Formby was revealed to have entered the transfer portal Sunday morning, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that defensive end Keon Keeley will also be hitting the portal.
Originally rated a 5-star prospect by 247Sports, Keeley was ranked as the No. 1 defensive end in the Class of 2023 and was ESPN’s No. 12 overall recruit that year. However, Keeley had struggled to consistently crack Alabama’s defensive-line rotation, as he tallied just 16 total tackles, 3 sacks and 1 pass breakup over three years in Tuscaloosa.
Keeley arrived in T-town with plenty of hype behind him, but the Tampa, Florida product redshirted in 2022 and eventually moved from his outside linebacker spot to the defensive-end role. 2024 saw Keeley appear in five games and register 3 tackles before he played in a dozen contests this past season as a depth piece for Alabama.
Keeley held offers from a laundry list of high-caliber programs coming out of high school, although Notre Dame and Ohio State were the only other schools he took visits to.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
