Tim Keenan III joined future Los Angeles Rams teammate Ty Simpson as a captain for the Alabama Crimson Tide during his senior year.
His road to becoming a team captain was difficult, but it ultimately led him to the Rams. Keenan was L.A.’s final pick in the 2026 NFL draft, going in the seventh round with the No. 232 overall pick.
While his path to playing time in his rookie season is uncertain so far, everything he has accomplished in his football career has prepared him for the ups and downs of life
in the pros.
An Alabama-tough mentality through and through
All the signs that Keenan would be a Los Angeles Ram date back to his high school days.
For one, Keenan was a member of the Ramsay High School Rams in Birmingham, Alabama.
According to AL.com, Keenan had 50 tackles, which included 10 tackles for loss and five sacks as a sophomore and 43 tackles with 21 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a junior. Even during his injury-shortened senior season, where he missed Ramsay’s runner-up finish in the 2023 Alabama 5A Region, he still racked up 22 tackles, including six tackles for loss and four sacks.
Despite his success at Ramsay, some scouts felt he had plenty of work to do during his time in college. Barton Simmons of 247Sports wrote the following high school evaluation of Keenan in March 2020, months before he committed to the University of Alabama:
“Appears to play with good effort for a bigger lineman. Commands attention on the interior. Sees through blockers to the football. Lack of length allows blockers to get into his body. Short area burst doesn’t flash. Very limited in terms of scheme and position. More development and conditioning could unveil a much more explosive athlete. Currently an early down defensive lineman at the Power Five level that needs college development to tap into NFL upside.”
At that stage, Simmons also projected Keenan to become an undrafted free agent by the time he declared for the NFL draft. Nonetheless, then-Ramsay coach Rueben Nelson praised Keenan in a December 2020 article for AL.com, saying at the time that he “rules the middle of the field.”
“If you look at our games this year, he dominated against those bigger programs and maybe against some more talented teams. He went out and anchored the middle of the field.
But when Tim came in here, he was really ahead of everybody as far as training. His parents provided him with so much training before he was just ahead of the curve. He’s continued to improve and you could just tell from Day 1 that he was going to be a big-time recruit.”
Playing in Tuscaloosa meant staying closer to home, which was something Keenan preferred. He was especially intrigued by the Crimson Tide’s ability to produce NFL-caliber players at his position, citing Quinnen Williams and Daron Payne as successful transitions to the pros.
Those players served as models for what Keenan hoped his career would become, yet he had a long way to go after stepping onto campus for any of his dreams to come to fruition.
His first two seasons at Alabama were quite forgettable, as he played in only two games. His weight was a main contributor to his lack of playing time. Rather than admit defeat and give up his push for more playing time, he decided to change his mentality, and it saved his career when he had a breakout 38-tackle season in 2023.
In 2024, Keenan played in all 13 games for the Crimson Tide, including 12 starts. He amassed 40 tackles, 7.5 of those going for a loss and 2.5 sacks. During his final season, he was named one of the team’s permanent captains for the season, and made the most of his opportunities after missing the first three games with an ankle injury.
He was named a preseason first-team All-American by The Sporting News and earned second-team preseason All-America honors from the Associated Press, per Alabama football. Had Keenan stayed healthy for the full season, he might’ve achieved All-American recognition. Still, 16 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a blocked punt are nothing to sneeze at.
Keenan’s Alabama career ended with heartbreak, with the Tide losing 38-3 in the Rose Bowl to the eventual national champion Indiana Hoosiers.
It took him a bit longer to begin reaching his potential with the program, but he wanted to leave a legacy as a “dominant football player” and a “great man off the field”:
“Just being from the state, watching this ever since I was knee-high running around, dreaming one day I was going to get to play on that field and I get to live out the dream. It’s an honor and blessing to represent [Alabama] here as a leader,” said Keenan via Alabama on Sports Illustrated on April 25.
I’d say mission accomplished.
What Keenan brings to Los Angeles
The Rams stressed stopping the run during the 2025 campaign, and it largely worked, save for some defensive lapses down the stretch. Keenan fits the mold of a player Chris Shula’s unit is looking for, even if he lacks a diverse pass rushing skill set.
The Alabama product isn’t a physical specimen, nor is he going to stuff the stat sheet. What he will do is clog up running lanes, since he’s a big body along the defensive line who could pose a threat to overpowering opposing offensive linemen as he did in college.
Again, he’s not going to bring anything special to the Rams’ D-line, yet he could become a solid rotational player, albeit a two-down player at the very least. Guys like Keenan tend to last a while in the NFL not due to being a jack of all trades, but because they can bring enough to the table when called upon in their limited opportunities.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder complimented Keenan’s ability at getting control of the block and using a leverage advantage against interior offensive linemen. That much is evident from the tape, as is his talent for plugging gaps while being double-teamed.
As much of a luxury as it would be to have, not every defensive lineman drafted needs to be a stellar pass rusher. Fortunately for the Rams, they already have guys like Myles Garrett, Kobie Turner and possibly Braden Fiske to harass the QB, something Keenan is well aware of.
Expect 2026 to be more of a redshirt season for Keenan, as his main chances of seeing extensive playing time will likely come during the preseason. Keenan has another challenging path ahead while he gets his professional career off the ground. Just don’t expect him to give up easily along the way, because his final three seasons at Alabama are proof that anything with him is possible after putting in the work.
