This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Chuckie Keeton is the face of a revived football program. Utah State's quarterback beat Utah, won a conference championship and produced a school-record 11 victories in his sophomore season. He's an exemplary teammate, a good person in the community and a great storyteller in interviews.
So why do I find myself wanting more from him?
Regardless of what happens in his second attempt of a senior year, Keeton will be well-remembered in Logan. He's certain to graduate in December as USU's all-time winningest quarterback, topping Tony Adams' 22 victories of the early 1970s.
Yet for all he has achieved for the Aggies, while having his past two seasons end early because of knee injuries, Keeton will leave something undone unless he delivers a significant win as a fifth-year player in 2015 — specifically, beating Utah, Washington, Boise State or BYU. His first big opportunity comes Friday against Utah, which brings me to a key point. Having declared USU's 2012 upset of Utah the Aggies' biggest win in 30 years, I really can't come back and say he has not done enough.
But that's how this stuff works, right? That victory, made possible by Keeton's scramble to the 1-yard line in overtime, came more than three years ago. Otherwise, the Aggies' success during the four-plus seasons of Keeton's career has created a kind of Myth of Chuckie. That sounds harsh, but think about it: Since he took the field as a freshman at Auburn in the 2011 opener, Keeton is 20-11 as a starting quarterback. USU's four fill-in starters, amid his injuries, are a combined 18-6 in that period.
The series of comebacks in November 2011, sending the Aggies to their first bowl game in 14 years? Adam Kennedy's doing.
The drive to a division title in USU's first Mountain West season of 2013? Darell Garretson's responsibility.
The Aggies' first win over BYU in Provo in 36 years, last October? Garretson again.
The strong finish of 2014, with a New Mexico Bowl victory? Kent Myers' work.
And even Keeton's 11-2 season of 2012 includes a disclaimer, coming in the final year of a weakened Western Athletic Conference against the likes of Idaho, New Mexico State and Texas State.
All of this makes Keeton the USU equivalent of BYU basketball star Tyler Haws, who scored eight of his school-record 2,723 points in an NCAA Tournament victory. Like Keeton, Haws produced a wonderful college career and did everything he could to win important games, but shouldn't he have more to show for it?
No doubt, a crazy sequence of events has kept Keeton from delivering some signature wins. If the Aggies merely had recovered onside kicks, they would have beaten defending national champion Auburn in 2011 and probably would have knocked off Utah in 2013. Keeton would have beaten BYU in Provo before Garretson did, except USU transfer Riley Nelson led an unlikely comeback that ended with a deflected pass for a touchdown in 2011. If not for missed field goals in the fourth quarter at Wisconsin and BYU in 2012, USU may have gone unbeaten and played in the Orange Bowl.
Those stories make a point that took me only about 50 college football seasons to learn: Quarterbacking is not an isolated act. In his previous visit to Rice-Eccles Stadium, for example, Keeton hardly could have done more. He passed and ran for 399 yards against Utah, completing 31 of 40 attempts in a 30-26 loss.
Conversely, the other 10 offensive players have something to do with a quarterback's struggles, as was the case last week when Keeton passed for 110 yards in a 12-9 win over Southern Utah. As of mid-June, the Aggies expected to have JoJo Natson, Hunter Sharp and Brandon Swindall as their top three receivers. None of them played against SUU. Natson was dismissed from the team, Sharp was suspended for two games and Swindall was injured, possibly to return Friday. The other receivers couldn't get open and USU's offensive line, with one starter suspended, played poorly.
As for Keeton, coach Matt Wells said, "There are things he could have done better."
That's my view of Keeton, as of September 2015. His No. 1 goal as a senior is winning a Mountain West championship, which probably would require beating Boise State in Logan in October, following big games at Utah this week and at Washington next week. USU's regular season ends against BYU in Logan.
The way the Aggies' season is unfolding, a victory in one of those four games would be a nice achievement, a capstone for Chuckie Keeton. Then again, once that happened, I'd probably demand one more big win from him.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
USU revival
Records for Utah State starting quarterbacks from 2011-15:
Chuckie Keeton 20-11
Darell Garretson 8-3
Kent Myers 5-1
Adam Kennedy 4-1
Craig Harrison 1-1 —
20-game winners
Starting quarterbacks who have won 20-plus games for Utah's FBS schools:
Max Hall, BYU 32
Ty Detmer, BYU 29
Brian Johnson, Utah 26
Jim McMahon, BYU 26
Robbie Bosco, BYU 24
Tony Adams, USU 22
Marc Wilson, BYU 22
John Beck, BYU 22
Steve Sarkisian, BYU 21
Alex Smith, Utah 21
Kevin Feterik, BYU 21
Chuckie Keeton, USU 20
Steve Young, BYU 20