University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Zachariah Keith – Returning from Injury to the Field
8/28/2026 2:23:00 PM | Football
By Tim Doherty, Special to SouthernMiss.com
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Next Saturday will mark the first time since 2022 that University of Southern Mississippi defensive end Zachariah Keith has lined up against an opposing football team.
The Douglasville, Ga., native suffered a neck injury during a preseason practice during his freshman year in 2023 at West Virginia University.
"Pretty much, it took two years to rehab and get back right," Keith said. "It was very hard. I came in (rated) as a four-star and I was expected to play and got everything stripped from me."
And more challenges were ahead.
While working his way back from the injury, Keith had returned home to Georgia where he eventually wound up on USM's radar.
"I was up at my high school training one day and a Southern Miss recruiter came through," Keith said. "He knew my head coach (Johnny T. White), and (White) told him, "Yeah, he's got this, this and that therapy going on.'
"At first, wasn't too sure about how everything would work out."
But it did. Keith was signed and arrived in Hattiesburg last fall.
He sat out the 2025 season, continuing to rehab and beginning a transformation that would see him add 40-plus pounds to his 6-feet, 6-inch frame.
"Last year for me was like getting acclimated for real, getting to where I could take hits without my neck hurting for real," Keith said. "Once I could do what I wanted to do, I got with (Southern Miss) strength and conditioning coach (Matt Shadeed) and over the whole winter, the whole summer, put on 45 pounds."
The process that took him from 240 pounds to 280 pounds started at the training table.
"There was just so much food," Keith said. "Then, after the first two weeks, I was up to like 265 (pounds), 270 (pounds), and everything just kind of started to stick."
And Keith turned the extra mass into more muscle.
"The majority went to my legs and my stomach," he said. "I (still) got a six-pack at 280 (pounds)."
But one more hurdle lay in wait.
In his return to the football practice field, Keith suffered a tear in a pectoral muscle, shutting down his spring 2026.
"Mentally, that shook me up real bad," Keith said. "I didn't know whether I'd be able to strike the same or anything. I'm glad it was a little, partial tear. It wasn't torn all the way off where I had to get surgery or anything. (But) I had to rehab the whole spring."
Keith got healthy, and when work began for the 2026 football season this summer, the 21-year-old, redshirt junior was ready to roll.
"Fall camp came, and I don't know, I've just played all out," he said. "At first, I was running with the threes, and mentally, I was just like, 'No way.' But I just kept working.
"I didn't get discouraged. I took to the coaching all the way and applied everything he wanted me to apply to my game."
Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel said he's been impressed watching Keith's progress.
"He started off just trying to figure it out," Steckel said. "He hadn't been playing or thought of as a contributor in a long time, so now, he's had the opportunity to get back.
"He can run. He can pass rush. He's physical. He's everything you want in a defensive lineman. It's been good to have him back, locked in and ready to go."
Southern Miss has not signed off on an official depth chart heading into Game Week work for the Sept. 5 season opener with Alcorn State.
But Keith said he has moved up, running with the ones Wednesday.
Come Saturday, Keith said the long way back will be worth it to play the game he loves again.
"I've dreamed about this ever since I was a little kid, and it got stripped away from me my freshman year," Keith said. "All I knew was to keep going, no matter what, even in the face of adversity.
"I've been through things that most adults will never have to go through in their lives. So, I've just kept my head down, kept going, and worked through the adversity."
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Next Saturday will mark the first time since 2022 that University of Southern Mississippi defensive end Zachariah Keith has lined up against an opposing football team.
The Douglasville, Ga., native suffered a neck injury during a preseason practice during his freshman year in 2023 at West Virginia University.
"Pretty much, it took two years to rehab and get back right," Keith said. "It was very hard. I came in (rated) as a four-star and I was expected to play and got everything stripped from me."
And more challenges were ahead.
While working his way back from the injury, Keith had returned home to Georgia where he eventually wound up on USM's radar.
"I was up at my high school training one day and a Southern Miss recruiter came through," Keith said. "He knew my head coach (Johnny T. White), and (White) told him, "Yeah, he's got this, this and that therapy going on.'
"At first, wasn't too sure about how everything would work out."
But it did. Keith was signed and arrived in Hattiesburg last fall.
He sat out the 2025 season, continuing to rehab and beginning a transformation that would see him add 40-plus pounds to his 6-feet, 6-inch frame.
"Last year for me was like getting acclimated for real, getting to where I could take hits without my neck hurting for real," Keith said. "Once I could do what I wanted to do, I got with (Southern Miss) strength and conditioning coach (Matt Shadeed) and over the whole winter, the whole summer, put on 45 pounds."
The process that took him from 240 pounds to 280 pounds started at the training table.
"There was just so much food," Keith said. "Then, after the first two weeks, I was up to like 265 (pounds), 270 (pounds), and everything just kind of started to stick."
And Keith turned the extra mass into more muscle.
"The majority went to my legs and my stomach," he said. "I (still) got a six-pack at 280 (pounds)."
But one more hurdle lay in wait.
In his return to the football practice field, Keith suffered a tear in a pectoral muscle, shutting down his spring 2026.
"Mentally, that shook me up real bad," Keith said. "I didn't know whether I'd be able to strike the same or anything. I'm glad it was a little, partial tear. It wasn't torn all the way off where I had to get surgery or anything. (But) I had to rehab the whole spring."
Keith got healthy, and when work began for the 2026 football season this summer, the 21-year-old, redshirt junior was ready to roll.
"Fall camp came, and I don't know, I've just played all out," he said. "At first, I was running with the threes, and mentally, I was just like, 'No way.' But I just kept working.
"I didn't get discouraged. I took to the coaching all the way and applied everything he wanted me to apply to my game."
Southern Miss defensive line coach Jerone Steckel said he's been impressed watching Keith's progress.
"He started off just trying to figure it out," Steckel said. "He hadn't been playing or thought of as a contributor in a long time, so now, he's had the opportunity to get back.
"He can run. He can pass rush. He's physical. He's everything you want in a defensive lineman. It's been good to have him back, locked in and ready to go."
Southern Miss has not signed off on an official depth chart heading into Game Week work for the Sept. 5 season opener with Alcorn State.
But Keith said he has moved up, running with the ones Wednesday.
Come Saturday, Keith said the long way back will be worth it to play the game he loves again.
"I've dreamed about this ever since I was a little kid, and it got stripped away from me my freshman year," Keith said. "All I knew was to keep going, no matter what, even in the face of adversity.
"I've been through things that most adults will never have to go through in their lives. So, I've just kept my head down, kept going, and worked through the adversity."
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