Barrington’s Keeler plants roots at Wisconsin

When Jack Keeler was younger and played basketball he was called “Oak Tree.”

That’s what it was like for kids who had the misfortune of running into Keeler. Just like painfully smacking into a big old tree.

But Keeler would be more along the lines of a newer, recently planted tree on the football field. The 6-foot-7½, 290-pound junior offensive lineman from Barrington is still growing physically and blooming as a player.

And Keeler decided the best place for his continued growth is at Wisconsin after making a verbal commitment last week.

“Wisconsin was the closest and best for linemen and really high up there for academics,” Keeler said of picking the Badgers over Nebraska, Illinois and Vanderbilt. “When I went to watch their spring game it seemed like the place for me.

“It’s been a dream (to play Division I football) and I’m glad it finally came true. I had no idea it would get this big.”

Especially since Keeler spent his sophomore year playing at that level for Barrington after transferring from Cary-Grove. He didn’t start in last season’s opener against Libertyville but in the second game against Elk Grove he began to establish himself as the latest in the growing Big Red Line of Broncos’ offensive linemen who have gone to play for Division I programs.

“With that he took off,” Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said of Keeler’s ascent from his first start against Elk Grove. “It was nothing more than him getting everything in synch. Once he got it going he’s taken off and his best football is still out there.”

Especially since Keeler is expected to exceed 300 pounds but maintain the athleticism that projects him to play tackle at Wisconsin. That’s what also drew interest from schools such as Tennessee, Missouri, Miami (Fla.), West Virginia and Oklahoma, which Sanchez said was getting ready to make a scholarship offer if Keeler waited longer.

“Obviously he found a home,” Sanchez said of Wisconsin. “With his size combined with his athletic ability and upside, and the potential to still get stronger and improve his fundamentals and skills, he’s going to be a true tackle.”

Wisconsin’s interest in Keeler picked up late this winter and led to a scholarship offer a couple of weeks ago. It didn’t hurt that Keeler’s ex-Barrington offensive linemate Dan Voltz had not only signed with the Badgers but had already enrolled in the school for the spring semester.

“I had a lot of talks with Voltz and with my family and it was just the perfect school,” said Keeler, who scored 26 on the ACT and plans to study kinesiology at Wisconsin. “Dan just gave me all of the good advice of when to know when to commit and what he was looking for.”

So, Keeler’s whirlwind recruiting process came to a conclusion and allowed him to focus on his final year of high school football.

“I wanted to be done with the process and I found a home in Madison,” Keeler said. “I didn’t think it would happen this quickly but I’m just glad it’s over and I can work on being ready for next season.”