On a hot August day, he provided ample shade as I stood in his massive shadow and I asked him about his teammates.

Keim, who made eight starts last season, is a legacy Cougar in more ways than one. Not only did his father Mike play offensive line at BYU (1987-90) but the younger Keim could be BYU’s next offensive tackle to be drafted into the NFL, following Brady Christensen (2021), Blake Freeland (2023) and Kingsley Suamataia (2024).

As a reminder, “20 Questions” is simply a way to help us (and you) understand a little bit more about the Cougars as they press forward to the start of the season. This feature probably won’t give you much insight into how many games BYU will win in 2024, but the transfer portal has made the roster kind of a revolving door. Get to know the guys on the team while you can, right?

Today, we’ll post Keim’s answers and then we’ll provide defensive tackle John Nelson an opportunity to respond.

Here we go.

Daily Herald: Who’s the biggest hitter on the team?

Brayden Keim: “I would have to chose someone on the offensive line. I’d have to give it to Weylin Lapuaho (Jr. OL). Weylin is always out for blood.”

DH: Who’s the fastest?

BK: “I mean, Parker Kingston (So. WR) is fast. I know Miles Davis (Jr. RB) is fast. Some of the younger guys, I see them moving around pretty well. I don’t know if they’re the fastest guys yet, so let’s just stick with Parker. Among the big guys, Bruce Mitchell (So. OL), he moved from d-line to o-line. He can really move and he’s an athletic guy.”

DH: Who’s the craziest? (The Justin Luettgerodt Award)

BK: (No hesitation) “Tyler Batty (Sr. DE). I mean, that guy is always yapping or talking. He’s always got something to say and he’s saying crazy stuff, but in a good way. Tyler is one of the craziest guys I know.”

DH: Who is the most talented in something other than football?

BK: “Connor Pay (Sr. OL) can shoot the basketball like Steph Curry. He’s really an impressive shooter.”

DH: Who’s the smartest? (The Matt Bauman Award)

BK: “Talan Alfrey (Jr. DB) is a really smart guy. I’ll give it to him.”

DH: Who’s the smoothest with the ladies?

BK: “Besides myself? That’s a given. I would have said Ben Bywater (a senior linebacker who announced last week an injury has ended his college football career). I don’t know if anyone has as much game as Ben.”

DH: Who THINKS he’s the smoothest with the ladies but really has no game?

BK: “I’ll say Connor Pay.”

DH: Who does the best coach impression?

BK: “I don’t know if anyone is mimicking (new offensive line coach) T.J. Woods yet, but I know some guys do some of our strength staff a little bit. Mason Fakahua (Sr. TE) does a good Coach Tanner ( Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning Tanner Maher). He yells a little bit.”

DH: Who talks the most trash?

BK: “I’m not a big trash talker myself, but Weylin Lapuaho definitely carries it for the both of us. He likes to talk.”

DH: Who’s the quietest?

BK: “A lot of the freshman are really quiet, but I’ll say L.J. Martin (So. RB). He’s not a super chatty guy. He’s super nice but not the most talkative.”

DH: Who’s the best dancer? (The Ben “Mongoose” Criddle Award)

BK: “It’s not one of the offensive linemen, that’s for sure. John Nelson (Sr. DT) actually likes to dance. Anytime anything is going on, Nelson love to run around and move so I’ll give it to him.”

DH: Who’s the worst dancer?

BK: “Maybe me.”

DH: Who’s the funniest?

BK: “I love it. I think Caleb Etienne (Sr. OL) is really funny, so let’s go with Caleb.”

DH: Who drives the ugliest car? (The JD Falslev Award)

BK: “Probably me. I’ve got a green truck with something hanging off the side of it. I haven’t upgraded in a while. So that might be on my bucket list soon.”

DH: Who’s the best video game player?

BK: “I don’t play video games at all. I think Weylin plays some games. And he’s pretty good, so Weylin.”

DH: Who’s the best dressed?

BK: “Trevin Oslter (So. OL) can fit up pretty well. Especially for a big guy. We’ve got to give a big guy some credit.”

DH: Who’s the best looking? (The Matt Berry Award)

BK: (Batty walked by during this question). “Not Tyler Batty, for sure. I’d say myself or Isaiah Bagnah (Sr. DE). I feel like I get asked about this a lot.”

DH: Who’s got the messiest locker? (The Bracken El-Bakri Award)

BK: “Probably David Latu (Jr. DT). David is a messy guy.”

DH: Who’s the best basketball player?

BK: “Honestly, a lot of the o-linemen are really good basketball players. We were playing at someone’s house not long ago and Connor is good. Trevin is good. I’m pretty good. Weylin is good. There are a lot of hoopers on the offensive line. If there was a 5-on-5 for position groups, I think the o-line wins that.”

DH: Who’s most likely to be a multi-millionaire in 20 years in something other than football? (The Taysom Hill Award)

BK: “I think it will be Kody Epps (Jr. WR). He’s already got a lot of business stuff figured out. He’s got a great personality, so Kody is the most likely.”