“It feels great,” Keith said after donning his No. 99 for the first time during KU’s media day. “It’s been a long haul. I’m happy to be here.”

It’s been a difficult summer for Keith, a defensive end from Minnesota West Community College who needed two sessions of summer school and “about 16 hours” to be eligible for the 2004 season. He completed his summer classes last week in Minnesota, but he didn’t learn that he had met eligibility requirements until the grades were posted Wednesday.

“It was a big sigh of relief,” he said, “but there’s still a lot of work to get done.”

KU opened preseason camp Saturday, but Keith will practice with the Jayhawks for the first time today when they go through their first two-a-day workouts.

“These guys have been here for summer and spring ball,” Keith said of his new teammates. “They’ve been working real hard. Right now I’m at the bottom of the depth chart. I’m just trying to work my way up.”

He’ll also try to bulk up.

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Keith said he took early session summer school at Garden City Community College before returning to Worthington, Minn., for late session summer classes at Minnesota West. The 6-foot-5 lineman slipped to 220 pounds.

“He’s been grinding it out with academics,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He hasn’t spent a lot of time working out. He’ll have to catch up. He’s such an intense guy. … He’s in an environment now where get gets three square meals a day, he has a weight room to go to. He’ll put weight on very quickly. We’re confident of that.”

Keith weighed 235 pounds when he transferred from the University of Minnesota to Minnesota West, but he slipped to 225 last season. He hopes to start the season back at 235.

“I need to gain a lot more weight and get a lot stronger,” he said.

Keith had offers from other schools, including Houston and Troy State, but strength coach Chris Dawson – who previously worked at Minnesota – made the difference for KU.

“As soon as Kansas came in, I wanted to be with coach Dawson,” Keith said. “This program was on the rise, and I thought I could fit in.”

Mangino thought so, too.

Keith had 61 tackles – including 18 for losses and 11 sacks – one interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in nine games last season at MWCC.

Even more tantalizing, Keith had seven sacks in 2002 as a red-shirt freshman at Minnesota.

“We need to be better at pass rushing off the edge, and he can do that very well,” Mangino said. “He has some ground to make up here physically and mentally, but we won’t rush him. We are happy for him that he has gained eligibility.”

Keith said the University of Minnesota was “like a second home” but he soured on Minneapolis after teammate Brandon Hall was murdered the night of the 2002 season opener.

“It was hard for me to deal with,” he said. “I didn’t feel comfortable there after a while. It didn’t feel the same. I started feeling lonely. It didn’t feel like the right place for me at that time.”

Keith packed up after the Gophers’ trip to the Music City Bowl and skipped the spring semester.

“I just went home,” he said.

A UM graduate assistant landed an assistant coaching job at Minnesota West and lured Keith back to college last fall.

After catching up with his school work, Keith has a second chance at major college football. He thinks he found the right place this time.

“I just needed a family,” he said. “When I came here, I knew coach Dawson would push me to the limit, work me real hard and keep me focused. When I came on my visit the players were so close, I wanted to be part of it.”