Background

Tim Keenan III grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and attended Ramsay High School, where he also played baseball. His father, Tim Keenan Jr., coached him in youth football. His father also got diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an experience that, along with the deaths of Keenan's grandmother and uncle, gave perspective to a young Keenan's life. As a junior, Keenan helped Ramsay to a 10-3 record and a state quarterfinal appearance before suffering an MCL injury during his senior year that caused him to miss the playoffs. Despite the injury, he remained a four-star recruit ranked No. 18 among defensive tackles nationally by Rivals and committed to Alabama on August 29, 2020. He arrived at 380 pounds and did not play as a true freshman. The turning point came on New Year's Eve 2022 in a New Orleans hotel room before the Sugar Bowl, when he resolved to transform himself. He dropped from 340 to 315 pounds by the start of 2023 and started all 14 games that year with 38 tackles, 1.5 TFL, and a sack. His 2024 season was his best statistically: 40 tackles, 7.5 TFL, and 2.5 sacks. Named a permanent team captain for 2025, he underwent tightrope surgery on his ankle and missed the first three games before returning to start the final 12, recording 16 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and a blocked punt. Off the field he is widely regarded as one of the highest-character players in this class, selected to the SEC Community Service Team, a regular volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, and the player Kalen DeBoer has called the spiritual leader of the Crimson Tide. He graduated from Alabama before declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

RAS:

That is one thick man. That vertical stands out like a sore thumb, because nearly every other test he had was poor. He has small hands, short arms, and no true top end speed. However, surprisingly, he has really heavy hands on his strike, and a great first step, even if it falls off by the third. His lateral quickness is fine, but not anything worth writing home about. Lower body strength is one of his calling cards, as he is just about impossible to move off the POA.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my DT radar charts, you can find more information here

And the award for the funkiest looking radar chart of the year goes to.... Tim Keenan III! It is all angles and juts out into space everywhere. Much unlike the big round man who created those stats.

As a pass rusher, Keenan shows next to nothing. He does not sustain his pushback on bull rushes, and seemed to only have one other move. I only saw it once, but he clubbed a guard and sent him to the shadow realm, so I am not sure why he does not use it more often. Maybe it is because he knows it will take him three seconds from the LOS to get to the QB, so he does not bother.

Against the run, he is a double teams eater. Keenan makes the lives of those around him easier, if he does not do a lot of the statistical work himself. It seems almost impossible to push him back, though you can more easily push him sideways. Keenan's short arms let him down as he cannot keep blockers' hands off him, and therefore has a very hard time disengaging to make a play on the ball carrier. That is one reason he has such a low missed tackle rate; you cannot miss tackles you don't try to make. Because he cannot get close to tackles or get off blocks, his decent play identification rarely gets to be used, but then again, it does not make much of a difference when he loses eyes on the backfield either.

Grade and Outlook

Keenan is an innings-eater. You know his play will not be fantastic, but it will be consistent and allow the rest of the defense to function smoothly. Linebackers will have holes, and the other defensive linemen can look to make plays because Keenan is out there doing his thing.

Grade: