Junior safety on Buffalo's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 202 lb · Macedonia, OH · Walsh Jesuit
How he projects
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line.
Grades highest in speed and zone coverage.
The full scouting readRecruiting
S recruit
No. 2592 nationally · Signed with Buffalo
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior safety on Buffalo's 2026 roster.
John Keough
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. John Keough has played for two head coaches in three seasons at Buffalo. One game to point at: 10 tackles against Penn State — Week 3, 2026.
21 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Maurice Linguist → Pete Lembo. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 21-17vs UAlbany | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-33@ Florida International | 8 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 13-55@ Penn State | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Total | 21 | 12 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 21–17
vs UAlbany
Since week 2: +11 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (88th percentile). Strength: tackles (86th percentile). Concern: passes defended (28th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsTackle volume
21tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%1 TFL21 tackles · 1 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 9.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 7.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pete Lembo
Pass share
54.9%
113 pass / 93 run
Plays / game
68.7
3 games
Team sack rate
4.3%
117 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Devin Cockrell’s 2016 season.
Matches Devin on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Devin Vaught's junior season at Michigan State (2026).
Matches Devin on
Hoof Prints: Has been a standout on special teams... an Academic All-District selection... major is business administration. Sophomore (2025): Appeared in all 12 games, primarily on special teams... had 14 tackles on the season... had a season-best three tackles at Bowling Green (11/1)... named…
17 more on the roster · Buffalo team page