You’ve probably heard this story before if you’re a Virginia Tech fan: Jaden Keller is having a great offseason and is poised for big things in the upcoming season. Unfortunately for Keller, that story has had a similar ending to it for the first three seasons of his career with seemingly unfair expectations put on him even as he's shown some signs of growth over the years.
In 2021, Keller was one of the most talked about true freshman yet ended up only playing four games and redshirted.
In 2022, Keller appeared to have surpassed Alan Tisdale in fall camp based on not only what coaches were saying, but also what we in the media saw in open portions of practice. Instead, Jayden McDonald was the surprise starter at will LB in the opener before Keller had a rotational role that season finishing with 25 tackles including 1.5 for loss and a forced fumble in what was probably a solid season for a redshirt freshman, but one that didn’t live up to the hype.
In 2023, Keller shifted to mike LB and seemed poised to be the guy at that spot after impressing the coaches during the spring more than anyone expected. Keller got a few starts early in the season, but struggled and saw his role dissolve playing 10+ defensive snaps only three times in the final 10 games including 20+ defensive snaps only once in that period. He finished the season with 23 tackles including two for loss, but his struggles were clear with his PFF grade of 53.7 reflecting that, even with him earning over 200 defensive snaps for the first time in his career.
Add in the addition of Sam Brumfield in the offseason, the rise of Jayden McDonald during the season, the return to 100% health for Keli Lawson, and Caleb Woodson's starting to take some reps at mike and will LB; and many started to wonder what Keller’s role may be in 2024, if any.
While most outside the program don’t see Keller as much more than a fringe, rotational backup LB this fall, there’s once again optimism about what Keller can do. When I discussed Tech’s 2024 LB room with Brent Pry in June, the linebacker he talked the longest about wasn’t Brumfield or Lawson or McDonald or Woodson, but rather Jaden Keller.
Of course, Pry acknowledges that we’ve heard this story about Keller delivering on the practice field but not in games. However, Pry believes that Keller now is ready to put it all together on Saturdays in the fall.
“And then the other guy I got to mention is Jaden Keller. He’s always flashed in practice and done good things. He’s probably got our best well-rounded skill set of anybody. And we’ve never got him to do it in a game, and I think he’s ready to do that,” Pry said
Pry added this on why he feels Keller is now ready to put it all together on the field and not just in practice.
"His scrimmages this spring in Lane Stadium have been awesome. He’s fast, he’s athletic," Pry said.
Now with all that said from Pry, it's hard to imagine Keller surpassing Sam Brumfield for the starting mike LB job given that Brumfield is a more natural and proven mike LB. Keller should benefit from another year working at mike LB, but it's still a tough task to overcome a guy who's had success elsewhere and was brought in for the job.
There's also the new challenge of Caleb Woodson who has grown into being more of a mike or will LB and while Brent Pry did tell us that Woodson will still work some at STAR LB, it appears the defensive staff seems him at one of those other two linebacker spots.
Keller could possibly try to push his way into the battle at will LB as well though I'd would be mildly surprised if he surpassed Keli Lawson and Jayden McDonald.
Defining success for Keller this season may come down to whether he can earn and hold onto a significant backup role throughout the season while providing quality snaps in the opportunities he does get. If Keller can at least do that, he should be in a good position to take over from Brumfield in 2025. If not, Keller's final season of college football could easily end up being elsewhere.
Jaden Keller has shown plenty of promise over the years, but just hasn't been able to break through as a sustained, quality starter for the Hokies on Saturdays in the fall. However, Brent Pry has optimism that this year will be different and that Keller will put it all together on the field and not just in practice.
