Keilen Dykes

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**Keilen Dykes**
National Football League debut
Arizona Cardinals — No. --
Defensive Tackle
Date of birth: September 6, 1984 (1984-09-06) (age 23)
Place of birth: Youngstown, Ohio
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Weight: 295 lb (134 kg)
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
College: West Virginia
Teams: Arizona Cardinals (2008 - present)
Current status: Active
Career highlights and awards

Keilen Dykes (born September 6, 1984 in Youngstown, Ohio) is an American football defensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played collegiately at West Virginia.

1 Early life
2 Collegiate career
3 Professional career
- 3.1 Pre-NFL Draft
- 3.2 NFL Draft
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Early life

As a senior in high school, Dykes earned all-Ohio, all-city, and all-NEO honors after recording 75 tackles and 9.5 sacks. He was also named the Youngstown Vindicator city defensive player of the year. Dykes had 18 sacks as a junior and was selected for the North-South and Big 33 Football Classic games.

[edit] Collegiate career

[edit] Freshman (2003)

Dykes did not see any playing time in 2003 after enrolling at West Virginia, and then was redshirted by Rich Rodriguez.

[edit] Red shirt Freshman (2004)

Dykes worked his way into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman. He recorded 37 tackles, six for a loss, and had two sacks on the season. Dykes had three tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a pass break-up against East Carolina and then recorded two tackles while starting against Central Florida. He also had four tackles, one for a loss, against James Madison and a sack with three tackles against Virginia Tech. Dykes started the UConn game and recorded four tackles, then had five tackles in the Syracuse win. He also had six tackles, two for a loss, and a sack against Rutgers. He suffered a back sprain in the Temple game, but bounced back with five tackles against Boston College.

[edit] Sophomore (2005)

In 2005, Dykes earned the starting role on the defensive line for all 13 games. He started the season off with three tackles against Syracuse and Wofford, followed by four tackles in the win against Maryland. He had three tackles, two for a loss, and a sack against East Carolina followed by four tackles, 2.5 for a loss, against Rutgers. He then had a pair of sacks in the UConn win, then two tackles against Cincinnati. He finished out the season with three tackles and a tackle for a loss against South Florida.

[edit] Junior (2006)

As a junior in 2006, Dykes led a strong Mountaineer rush defense with linebacker Boo McLee and safety Eric Wicks that played poorly on pass coverage during the second half of the season. Dykes had 32 tackles on the season, 5.5 tackles for a loss. Dykes also had 3 sacks on the season. The strong rush defense, led by Dykes' line, allowed just 93.3 rushing yards per game, but was not helped by a pass defense that let 243.3 passing yards get by per game with 17 passing touchdowns being scored on the defense. Dykes was named first-team all-Big East at the end of the season, along with Wicks and McLee.

[edit] Senior (2007)

Going into 2007, Dykes led a Mountaineers defense that is expected to improve dramatically with pass coverage, with the return of senior safety Wicks and sophomore star safety Quinton Andrews. Dykes and Wicks were both selected a preseason first-team all-Big East selections, while Dykes was selected as the #7 defensive tackle in the nation by Lindy's and Wicks was selected as the #7 safety. In the second game of the season against Marshall, Dykes recorded 2.5 tackles against Rimington candidate Doug Legursky. Against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, Dykes had an interception that he took 19 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time a defensive lineman had scored at West Virginia since 1981. The next two weeks, against Rutgers and Louisville, Dykes had three and four tackles, respectively. In the 28-23 victory over #22 Cincinnati, Dykes had only one tackle, but did force a fumble and recover the same fumble. In Dykes' final game as a Mountaineer, the 48-28 victory in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma, he recorded a tackle. Dykes finished the season with 23 tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a defensive touchdown.

Dykes was named first-team all-Big East for the second consecutive season following the final regular season game and awarded the John Russell Award and Captain Award by head coach Rich Rodriguez. At the end of his career, Dykes was leading the Mountaineer team with 44 starts.

On January 19, 2008, Dykes played in the 2008 East-West Shrine Game.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Pre-NFL Draft

After graduating West Virginia University, Keilen Dykes entered the 2008 NFL Draft. Scott Wright, of NFL Draft Countdown, projected Dykes as the 13th best defensive tackle in the class.^[1] On January 14, 2008, it was announced that Dykes had signed with Huntington, West Virginia agent Dave Rich, who also signed Marshall center Doug Legursky and Louisville receiver Harry Douglas.^[2]

Dykes was not invited to the 2008 NFL Combine however, and said of it, "I was shocked...I believe they made a mistake. But I'm not going to let it get me down. I still have my pro day." ^[3]

Wt	40 yd	20 ss	3-cone	Vert	BP	Broad Jump
Pre-draft measureables
306 lbs	5.08s	4.73	7.65	29	33	8'10"

(* represents NFL Combine)

After his Pro Day, on March 13, Keilen Dykes met with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 17, in Pittsburgh.^[4] In April, USA Today ranked Dykes the #15 defensive tackle in the class and projected him as a 5th to 6th round Draft selection. The report also expected Dykes to earn a roster spot as a rookie due to his versatility and projected his best fit to be in a 3-4 defensive scheme.^[5]

[edit] NFL Draft

Dykes went unselected in the 2008 NFL Draft. He later signed with the Arizona Cardinals.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Profile on MSNSportsNET