Talented and Unafraid: Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler Says Buccaneers Got a Steal in Zyon McCollum

Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Draft pick, Zyon McCollum (No. 22)

Originally committed to playing football for Utah, McCollum eventually decided to stay close to home where he and his twin brother Tristin (who signed with the Houston Texans) attended Ball High School in Galveston, Texas. 

If the school and city sound familiar, it's because that's where Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans hails from as well. 

And that, it turns out, was a big win for coach Keeler, who recently sat down with me for an exclusive conversation about the new cornerback in Tampa.

"Here's a guy who's very comfortable in his own skin...not afraid to be a leader. Really raised to do all the right things," Keeler said about McCollum. "Football aside, just one of the best human beings I've ever been around."

But there's a football advantage to that top-shelf person Sam Houston State is sending to the NFL. 

Keeler says McCollum's mentality has always been team-first. 

Need him on special teams? He'll be there. And he'll certainly be there to defend your opponent's best receiver, with ball skills that helped him become the first true freshman in the school's history to intercept three passes in a season since 1973.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Draft pick, Zyon McCollum

But he'll also be there to help get the team ready, even when you're facing the daunting task of two training camps in one calendar year and over 20 games in 10 months due to a COVID-19 pandemic that turned the college football world upside down for a time. 

"We just got done, win the National Championship, and we played in the Spring and then we come back for training camp...going into the fall season. So we did some things (like cutting down practice)...I knew the kids were burned out," Keeler recalls following the pandemic delayed 2020 that forced schools into an abnormally short turnaround before starting the next season. "I look out my window...and it's seven o'clock in the morning and he's out there with one of our wide receivers working on drills...I had to make a rule that you couldn't go on the field until 7:45...I just thought he was going to burn himself out. But that's just who he is."

The praise goes both ways I found when I reached out to McCollum for comment in preparation for this article. 

"Coach did an incredible job of developing leaders and building culture," McCollum told me. "He knew how good we were as players because of his eye for talent as well as his coaching staff, but to create a bond between everyone, it was necessary for us to build a culture and a family. That translates directly to our team chemistry on the field which ultimately breeds success. Once he shared this vision and taught everyone the tradition of how we do things, the players bought in and it was up to us as leaders to help guide those straying off the path back on it!"

Sam Houston State Bearkats head coach K.C. Keeler (center) celebrates with his players.

Keeler has a strong connection with the Buccaneers' coaching staff, and obviously a strong bond with their newest defensive back. Making him uniquely qualified to project where McCollum might best fit in Tampa Bay's defense. 

"With his length and his speed and his pure athleticism, he can play that boundary corner," Keeler said. "He can play safety, he can play nickel, I think it's really going to be an interesting challenge for the Bucs to figure out where is his skill set best going to be used...it's unusual when you get a guy who's that versatile, but I think that's why he was such a steal."

While everyone in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization is excited for what's to come in 2022 there's a constant post-Tom Brady cloud hanging over the team. 

What will become of the organization when Brady does step off the field for the last time will rest on the shoulders of young guys today, becoming the veterans of tomorrow. 

For Keeler, he says McCollum is the right kind of prospect to contribute now and will become the veteran the Bucs look to, to help shape their future.

Find the full conversation between coach Keeler and me exclusively on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!

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