Tennessee makes the cut for four-star defensive tackle Tim Keenan

Tennessee has emerged as a player for another big defensive tackle prospect. Tim Keenan, a four-star prospect out of Birmingham, Alabama, named the Volunteers to his top ten this weekend. Oregon, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and UAB made up the rest of his top ten.

Keenan checks in at 6-1, 340 pounds. He’s the 327th ranked player in the 247Sports Composite Rankings — the tenth ranked player in the state of Alabama.

Tennessee hopped in the mix with Keenan back in April of 2019, sending out an offer to the nose tackle prospect. He visited Knoxville twice after that, coming in for the Tennessee-Georgia matchup last fall.

Defensive tackle is a position of need for the Vols, who will see Darel Middleton, Savion Williams, LaTrell Bumphus, Matthew Butler, Aubrey Solomon and Ja’Quain Blakely exit the program after this season. Tennessee currently sits with two commitments at the position, but could certainly use one more. Four-star KaTron Evans and three-star Isaac Washington make up Tennessee’s current 2021 group.

Keenan is a true nose tackle, capable of anchoring the middle of the trenches. He’s probably a little limited due to his lack of length, but he’ll be brought in to play a very specific role at the next level.