Illinois Football 2025 Scouting Report: Punter Keelan Crimmins

Illinois on SI is delivering scouting reports for each of the key players on the Illini football team's 2025 roster. We will add more as other contributors emerge during the season. Find our breakdowns of other Illinois players be searching in your favorite browser or clicking in our projected depth chart – coming soon.

Keelan Crimmins | Punter | Senior | No. 40

Hometown: Spotswood, AustraliaHeight: 6-foot-3Weight: 225 poundsTransfer schools: Purdue, Mississippi StatePreseason honors: Athlon Preseason All-Big Ten Fourth Team, Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Ten Fourth Team

Scouting report

Crimmins, 24, is a sturdily built, athletic punter who played Australian rules football and cricket back home in Australia. Too much has already gone wrong if a team's punter is forced to make a play on a ball carrier, but Crimmins is game and capable as a last line of defense.Crimmins previously favored an Aussie-style rollout, but he says he'll be changing that after working on a more traditional American football punting approach in the offseason. He has one of the strongest legs in the Big Ten (and perhaps the country) but also has the touch to place the ball in strategic battles for field position.

Experience

Crimmins played his first season of college football at Mississippi State in 2023, signing with the Bulldogs as the No. 7-ranked punter in his class (and No. 3 from the renowned Prokick Australia). He had a solid debut in Starkville then transferred to Purdue, where the Boilermakers kept him very busy in 2024.Crimmins led the Big Ten in total punts last year, averaging 44.9 yards per attempt – good for the 13th-best mark in the nation and third in the conference.

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