Nancy and Gary Kehl have spent the good part of the last 15 years 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 NFL Draft pick.

Brian is a natural playmaker who showed marked improvement during his senior year. An intense offseason workout program saw him shed more than 15 pounds of bulk, helping increase his stamina and quickness on the field. With his instincts and athleticism, scouts feel 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," BYU 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 and Idaho State, Kehl enrolled at Brigham Young in 2002. He posted 14 tackles (6 solos) in 11 games as a reserve right outside linebacker before embarking on a two-year church mission to Toronto.

When he returned to the gridiron in 2005, he competed in 11 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 ½ stops behind the line of scrimmage, in addition to causing and recovering a fumble. He deflected four passes and had an interception in three consecutive 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."

Positives: Had broad shoulders, a developing frame with good upper body bulk, tight waist, 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 ballcarriers 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 who 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 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 (will 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 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-and-wrap-up tackler than a physical one, but has the functional strength on contact to take down the ballcarrier … 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.

Negatives: Has an even proportioned upper body, but looks lean in his thighs, calves and ankles … Needs to add strength, as he struggles when trying to shoot the gaps when meeting double-team activity, as he does not have the power to split … At times, he looks awkward in pass coverage, as he gets too narrow with his base and crosses his feet some, resulting in him not looking fluid in his pass drop … Needs to open his hips quicker when playing vs. the pass, as he takes false steps in transition and appears to have some hip tightness that makes him a bit inconsistent when trying to redirect … Will over-pursue the play at times and struggles with his body control to adjust to the cut back action … Gets a bit reckless in his play and caught out of position, needing to do a better job of eyeing the backfield action and recognizing blocking schemes … Marginal space tackler, as he can be fooled by double moves and redirection of the running back to the cut-back lanes … Not used much on the blitz and lacks the pass rush moves needed to impact the backfield and pressuring the pocket coming off the edge … Has to keep his hands more active, as he exposes his body on the move and blockers have had good success washing him out when they get a piece of his jersey … Needs to show more aggression when taking on lead blockers … Not really a punishing tackler, but has the functional strength and wrap-up skills to get the ballcarrier down.

Compares To: ANTWAN BARNES-Baltimore … Like Barnes, Kehl is slowly developing his ball recognition skills. He is an efficient tackler who closes with good urgency on plays in front of him, but is not a physical tackler who will generate pop on contact. He is better playing in off coverage than vs. the man, as he struggles with change of direction and is not smooth or fluid in his pass drops. He plays better at the lighter weight he showed in 2007, but must improve his overall strength. He will never be one to get great success as a blitzer, but when playing on the move he will generate good run containment.

No injuries reported.

Campus: 4.56 in the 40-yard dash … 1.54 10-yard dash … 2.62 20-yard dash … 360-pound bench press … Bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times … 475-pound squat … 352-pound power clean … 35-inch vertical jump … 10'2" broad jump … 4.18 20-yard shuttle … 6.54 three-cone drill … 32 ½-inch arm length … 9 ½-inch hands … Right-handed … 29/32 Wonderlic score.

Agility Tests

Combine: 4.67 in the 40-yard dash … 1.55 10-yard dash … 2.65 20-yard dash … 4.23 20-yard shuttle … 11.76 60-yard shuttle … 6.88 three-cone drill … 34-inch vertical jump … 9'11" broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 26 times.

Attended Brighton (Salt Lake City) High School, playing football for head coach Tom Cushing … Earned Salt Lake Tribune first-team All-State honors as a senior … 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 … Earned second-team All-Region and Region II MVP honors and as a junior.

Mechanical Engineering major … Brother, Ed, was a defensive end at Brigham Young (1993-98) … Brother, Brandon, was a defensive back on Brigham Young's 1997 roster … Son of Nancy and Garl Kehl … Born 6/16/84 in Salt Lake City, Utah.