Hickman Coach Thinks Minnesota Got A Steal In Alex Keith

Keith led Hickman to a 5-6 mark this season as they advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2004. They lost to Francis Howell 31-0 in the playoffs a week after the Kewpies upset fourth-ranked Jefferson City 16-14. Keith had a 46-yard touchdown on a fumble recovery just 1:10 into the game.

Keith was a Class 6 second-team defensive lineman as a junior as he helped lead Hickman to a 6-4 record. He led the Kewpies in total tackles (75), sacks (7½), quarterback hurries (eight) and blocked kicks (four) and also forced three fumbles as a junior.

Keith also received scholarship offers from Missouri State and Northern Iowa.

GopherHole.com caught up with Kewpies head coach Arnel Monroe to learn more about his star’s decision.

GH: What was the main reason that Alex committed to Minnesota?

AK: I think it was their due diligence in coming down and seeing him play and contacting the schools. Making sure that they stayed in contact with me. They really did some due diligence. Coach Kill’s record at every level speaks for itself. He has been a winner at every level that he has been at. Minnesota is a team with the recent win over Illinois. They are a team that has some youth and is looking to change some things around. He just went through that. We revitalized our program here and got back into the playoffs after seven years, so that is what he is ready to do.

GH: Were you surprised at all that he committed so quickly or did you just think that this is the place for him?

AK: He labored over it. I’m not surprised at all. He really liked his unofficial visit there. I mean really liked it. He liked the staff and that is part of what goes along with it. They did a great job of making he and his parents feel at home up there. They did a great job of making his parents feel like that this was a good place to be.

GH: Are you a little bit surprised that he didn’t get more recruiting looks from other schools?

AK: I think a couple of things happened here. We haven’t been to the state playoffs in seven years. He was a good football player last year on a team that came close, but he was 210 pounds. People wanted to sit back and see what he was going to do. We changed some things around in our program here and Alex really committed himself to the weight room and committed himself to being an offensive weapon. I think that people were waiting around to see. The BCS schools all play “pick first.” The schools that were looking at him as a junior may show some interest early and they felt that they did good enough by showing interest, but the University of Minnesota actively recruited this young man and did a hell of as job doing it. They made him feel welcome and I think that was the difference. A lot of people when I called and talked about him, knew about him and had tape, but never responded back, so I’m not surprised at all that he committed.

GH: What do you see as his strengths as a player?

AK: Alex is an explosive, explosive kid. Last year, he blocked five punts. He had five touchdowns this year playing wide receiver. He is an athlete. He is a complete athlete. That is his strength. He can do just about anything that they will ask him to do.

GH: Where did he play for you this season on offense?

AK: We split our X receiver and he can play as a wide receiver or as a tight end. We split him both ways.

GH: He played defensive end this season. Will he convert to linebacker in college?

AK: I don’t know. I don’t know what they will do. Alex’s first cousin (Brandon Keith from Northern Iowa) is the right tackle for the Arizona Cardinals. Alex puts on 30 pounds in four months under our new weight program and we are in no means as specialized as a BCS school will be in far as his athletic training, so the sky is the limit for what that kid can do. He could be 260, 265 easy and I mean a swell 260, 265 by December of next year if he gets after it. He has the bone structure. He’ll still be explosive. He picked up 30 pounds and he still runs a 4.57, 4.6 flat (40-yard dash).

GH: What does Alex need to continue to working to improve himself as a player?

AK: He just started to find the weight room. His upper body strength has increased. He went from benching 210, 215 in March to 275 yesterday. We are going to have to continue to work on his upper body strength, while doing it the right way and keeping his explosiveness. We are going to have to keep working his pass rush moves, so that he is just not a speed rusher and adds that to his repertoire. He is going to have to continue to be a run stopper. He has kicked it up another level. He played against a tackle who is going to Tulane and another tackle who is going to Kansas this year in games. He learned some things about his strengths and weaknesses there, so he will continue to be a student of the game and continue to be a slave to the weight room. He is going to have to be to continue to be successful.

GH: How about him as a kid in your dealings with him?

AK: He is a great kid. He is funny-loving. He doesn’t have an enemy. He doesn’t know an enemy. He is sensitive. He is just a great young man and a great young man to be around. He will do anything you ask him to do. He is charitable. He is just a good kid. He is a great kid.

GH: Have the Gophers coaches talk to you or Alex about possibly playing next year or redshirting?

AK: The possibility is there if he continues to gain muscle and weight and strength. Alex is lifting now and when we get on the Minnesota program, hopefully that will exponentiate. We will see where he is at when he reports and see what happens then. I know that he is hungry and he wants to play next year. We’ll see how he commits himself in the weight room.

GH: Is he going to play any other sports this year for Hickman? I know that he used to play basketball.