Keith comes full-circle, re-commits to GT over Tennessee, MSU, others
No Marco Coleman, no problem for Georgia Tech in the recruitment of Douglas County (Ga.) defensive end Zachariah Keith.
While on his official visit to the school, the one time commit made his decision public on Saturday afternoon.
Keith chose GT over other offers from Tennessee, Michigan State, UCF, and several others.
He becomes the fourth commitment for Geoff Collins and the rest of the staff, and the third from the state of Georgia.
"This is where I need to be, where I want to be," said Keith about his decision to re-up with GT. "I can't really put it into words, I am just really excited honestly.
I felt like I was at home when I got back on campus. Coach Kenyatta Watson was still at Florida State when I visited down there, and I really wasn't feeling it there at FSU, I did not like it there at all. When I found out he was coming to GT, I was really enthusiastic about it, and was talking to my mom and praying about my decision."
Keith explained the reasoning behind his decision to open things back up earlier this year.
"The uncertainty around the program when Marco left, I felt like I needed to open things up," explained Keith. "He and I kept in contact for about the first month once he got to Michigan State, and then the contact started to fall off. I already knew what my move was before that point; to be back committed to Georgia Tech."
Following the departure of Coleman, and with Watson still at Florida State at the time, defensive line coach Larry Knight stepped up and became Keith's primary recruiter.
"Coach Knight is a real cool dude. Real young, so he can relate to all of us. Knows the game well."
An unofficial secondary recruiter was a former teammate and close friend Joshua Robinson, now on the team.
"He was my host. He went to HS together, he graduated two years before. He loves it here in the city. He was telling me about what the vibe is like now around the program and everything, and how I would fit into that."
The ability to get on the field was clearly a factor for Keith, who also had something to say about his new (old) rival school.
"Seeing true freshmen such as Josh, as well as Noah Collins among the others play early on motivated me a lot. With them playing the best guys no matter what class they are, I've got the chance to blow up once I get to GT. There were some other schools like UGA that wanted me to camp to try to earn an offer, but those places don't play freshmen and I see that."
Up next for Keith, with his re-commitment to the school now official and his OV wrapped up, is elevating himself into the role of recruiter, putting his recruiting hat on.
"I spent some time with Adonijah (Green) this weekend," Said Keith. "He said that he has to talk to his parents, but I'm hoping we get him. I am going to stay on him."