LOGAN, Utah — Stew Morrill is the basketball coach at Utah State, and those who remember his time at Colorado State do so with warm memories of winning times. The CSU football team, at that time, also was in a peak winning period.
Today, the Rams take the field looking to make more progress toward getting back to consistent winning ways. That means beating a very formidable opponent in Utah State, and that means stopping a young and formidable quarterback, Chuckie Keeton.
In just four months, Keeton is already the toast of the town. He showed up on campus for summer school from Cypress Creek High in Houston.
By the time August was over, he had taken control of the job.
He made all of the preseason promise stand up in one very eye-opening, season-opening performance on one of the biggest stages in college football — at defending national champion Auburn.
He completed 21-of-30 passes for 213 yards and ran for 33 yards and two touchdowns. Had Utah State’s special teams not allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and an onside kick recovery late in the game, which resulted in Auburn’s game-winning drive, Keeton would most certainly have ended up directing a most improbable victory.
As a freshman.
“He believes that he can,” Utah State coach Gary Andersen said. “He doesn’t get fazed, no matter what the environment is, and has done a tremendous job. It’s pretty rare for a freshman in college football at any position to be able to walk in and do that, let alone quarterback.”
On the season, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Keeton is 31-of-45 for 379 yards and two touchdowns. He has run for 86 yards and three more scores.
Yes, he has the full attention of CSU coaches.
“What an impressive player for a freshman,” CSU defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said. “He’s extremely athletic, the most complete spread quarterback we’ve played. We’ve played two other spread teams, but he’s definitely the most complete. He’s the best runner and he’s the best passer. He really gets rid of the ball quickly. He’s very accurate. I can’t say enough about the guy.”
Colorado State faced another dual-threat quarterback in New Mexico’s Tarean Austin in the season opener.
Austin gained 105 yards on 25 carries, but that total evaporated in the wake of nine sacks that reduced his rushing total to 57 yards.
Still, Austin wasn’t as an effective a thrower as Keeton, CSU coach Steve Fairchild says.
“This guy is a true dual-threat quarterback,” Fairchild said. “He can hurt you throwing it, he can hurt you running it. And they do a nice job from a scheme standpoint. They’re fun to watch.”
CSU will try to mix things up defensively to confuse the freshman, but it comes with a word of warning.
“The biggest thing for us is, don’t confuse ourselves,” Kerr said. “Let’s go out and play smart and sound football.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
