He smiled when someone recalled Dec. 4, when Mike Riley was named Bo Pelini's successor as Husker head coach. Keels and his roommate, Alonzo Moore, were in class when they were informed of the news. Said Moore, "Who is this Riley?"
Keels had a different reaction.
"I was going crazy around the stadium, man," he said. "I looked it up and made sure it was the right coach Riley … I was real excited."
As Oregon State's head coach, Riley tried to recruit Keels out of Highland (Kansas) Community College. Keels told Moore, "You're going to love him, bro, you're going to love him.' And for the most part, everybody does love him. He's a good dude. Bo also was a good dude."
With Riley, "You have to go out of your way not to like him," Keels said.