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BYU LB Bryan Kehl

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APRIL 27, 2008

BRYAN KEHL
Linebacker
Brigham Young University
6-2, 242
Salt Lake City, Utah
Brighton High School

OVERVIEW

You can tell that Nancy and Gary Kehl are Brigham Young fans, having spent the good part of their last fifteen year attending Cougar contests to see their sons play. Brandon was a defensive back on the 1997 roster and older brother, Ed, was a defensive end at BYU from 1993-98 in between serving on a church mission. But, scouts feel that their youngest, Brian, will be the son to take his game to the next level as an early round draft choice in the 2008 NFL Draft.

 Brian is a natural playmaker who showed marked improvement during his senior year. An intense off-season workout program saw him shed over fifteen pounds of bulk, helping increase his stamina and quickness on the field. With his instincts and athleticism, scouts feel that he could be a nice fit as a weak-side linebacker. With his field vision and quick reactionary skills, some teams are also looking at beefing him back up for a possible move to middle linebacker.

 "Kehl is just a flat-out player. He is one of those guys who is always around the football and is a ball hog and makes a lot of plays," head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I have talked to some people out there and they tell me one thing about this guy, he is not only an athlete but he has got a mind that is absolutely unreal and football is important to him."

 Kehl earned Salt Lake Tribune first-team All-State honors as a senior at Brighton High School. He added academic recognition with a 4.0 grade-point average that gained him a spot on the Academic All-State team.

 The three-year letter-winner led his team to an 11-1 record and a Region II championship as a senior, garnering team MVP accolades. He also earned second-team All-Region and Region II MVP honors and as a junior.

 Recruited by Utah, Oregon, Utah State, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Idaho State, Kehl enrolled at Brigham Young in 2002. He posted fourteen tackles (6 solos) in eleven games as a reserve right outside linebacker before embarking on a two-year church mission to Toronto, Canada.

 When he returned to the gridiron in 2005, he competed in eleven games as the key backup to Justin Lvettgrodt at right outside linebacker. He collected 30 tackles (15 solos) with a stop for a loss, as he also recovered and caused a fumble. He also blocked a punt that he recovered for an 11-yard advancement.

 Kehl earned All-Mountain West Conference honorable mention and Academic All-MWC honors as a junior. He took over weak-side outside linebacker duties, ranking third on the squad with 70 tackles (35 solos). He added three sacks with eight stops for losses and recovered a fumble. He also broke up six passes.

 A trimmer Kehl garnered All-Mountain West Conference first-team accolades as a senior. The team captain finished second on the squad with a career-high 91 tackles (52 solos), adding four sacks and 11.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, in addition to causing and recovering a fumble. He deflected four passes and had an interception in three-straight games, returning one for a touchdown.

  "Last year (2006) I didn't watch as much film as I could have, and I would have had a better year of more success had I done that," Kehl said. "One of the things I did to add to my game this year is a higher study of film - of myself, of my own mistakes and my own successes, and also of my opponents' so I can attack their weaknesses."

SCOUTING REPORT

Had broad shoulders, a developing frame with good upper body bulk, tight waist and good bubble, with long arms and soft, natural hands to cleanly field the ball... Shows excellent timing and leaping ability to compete for jump balls at its high point... Has very good weight room strength, but needs to find a way to translate it to the field (does not show a powerful hand punch or punish ball carriers as a tackler)...Runs with a normal stride and quickly accelerates in space...Shows good quickness, agility, and balance on the move...Very smart, productive and hard working athlete that leads by example and always has a high motor...Demonstrates good ability to learn and has good eyes for locating the ball when playing down the line (will lose sight some in zone coverage)...Shows good football instincts and puts in extra hours studying tapes...A team player who is very coachable...Works and trains hard and is a good leader both on and off the field...Plays alert and is instinctive, he is quick to recognize and react to the play, can adjust on the move and has the ability to quickly accelerate and get to the ball... Shows good desire and effort in both short and long pursuit, has the ability to accelerate and get to the ball...Has functional strength at the point of attack, demonstrating the ability to stack and control blocks and to quickly fill and take on blocks and control the point (his problems occur when he "short arms" and leaves his body exposed, as he then struggles vs. double teams)...Uses his hands and strength adequately to take on and shed blocks, but needs to be more consistent...Has quick hands and the ability to slip blocks and work through traffic...Shows the ability to engage and control tight ends and to keep separation in the short area passing game...Exhibits good tackling form, as he will hit and wrap up with proper technique to take the runner down (would be even more effective once he learns to use his weight room strength to punish)...Against the inside run he is decent at the point of attack when trying to control the lead blocker...Quick to fill and take on a block and control the point of attack...On the outside run, he can separate, disengage and work through traffic well, especially in space, as he works hard to get to the ball, showing a good motor and ability to sift through trash...Has the ability to widen with tight-end blocks and to quickly shed to make plays...Separates and disengages from blocks while in pursuit, working through traffic and in space to get to outside runs, as he has enough acceleration to close (will get a bit reckless and out-run plays at times)...Displays good effort on both long and short pursuit, as well as good acceleration to get to the ball...Not used often as a blitzer, but will attack the backfield and use a quick arm-over to defeat the block...Shows good urgency and effort when rushing the quarterback...Is more of a hit-&-wrap-up tackler that a physical one, but has the functional strength on contact to take down the ball carrier...Although not always smooth, he gets to his spots in pass drops/ coverage and shows awareness and the ability to quickly react and adjust with speed and quickness...Shows route and receiver awareness while in zone coverage and is able to extend and catch the ball with ease...Very capable gunner on special teams, doing a nice job of flying down field to break up the wedge.