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Colorado State picks up verbal from Keegan Shank

Justin Michael

June 27, 2023

Keegan Shank joined Colorado State’s growing 2024 class on Tuesday morning. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound EDGE out of Chaparral High School (Arizona) announced his verbal commitment to the Rams via Twitter.

COMMITTED!! @CSUFootball 🐏🟢 @CoachJayNorvell @CoachChadSavage @coach_buddha @CoachVang @CoachBanks13 @CSU_Nash @TheSportyBee @ChapfootballAZ @CoachNise @CoachAbt77 @CoachLindquist #AZtoFoCo @BrandonHuffman @JUSTCHILLY @BlairAngulo @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/GgDptxvKuQ
— Keegan Shank (@KeeganShank) June 27, 2023

A three-star prospect on 247Sports, Shank was originally offered by CSU back in January. At the time it was his first Division 1 offer and within two weeks he was on campus for an unofficial visit.

Shank now has seven offers, including three others from Mountain West programs. Air Force, Nevada and Utah State have all thrown their hats into the ring for his services. Army and former CSU linebacker coach Sean Cronin have offered him as well. So have Navy and Northern Arizona.

Out of the schools that have offered him, Shank has posted about taking official visits to Jay Norvell’s current and former teams this month. After checking out Nevada and CSU, though, it seems that much like his future head coach, Shank would rather be in Fort Collins.

As a junior this past season, Shank did a little bit of everything for his team. He suited up at defensive end, tight end and kicker — so there really wasn’t a time where he wasn’t making an impact on the field. According to what is listed on MaxPreps, he finished with 35 total tackles and four sacks over nine games. 15 of those tackles went for a loss.

While he does have the athletic profile to play either side of the ball at the collegiate level, watching him on Hudl, it’s easy to see why he’s being recruited to play defensive line. Shank is a natural pass rusher and really gets to the quarterback in a hurry. He is effective at sealing the edge and defending the run, too.

With Shank now on board, the Rams are up to five commitments for the defensive line this cycle. Of the 13 commits that have announced so far, eight are guys that will play in the trenches.

While we hope to see the vertical passing game make more of a splash in the coming seasons, and tend to give a lot of attention to the skill players, it’s encouraging to see the staff securing so many big boys for the offensive and defensive lines. At the end of the day, everything starts up front.