Chandler HS coach: 'UCF will be in good hands' with Mikey Keene
Mikey Keene will be ready.
That's the word from his coach at Chander (Ariz.) High School, Rick Garretson, who prepped his former pupil for the possibility he could be called into action sooner than anticipated.
Keene, a true freshman who enrolled at UCF in January, has been elevated to starting quarterback in the wake of Dillon Gabriel's collarbone injury which occurred in the final play of UCF's 42-35 loss at Louisville. The Knights are in the midst of a bye week with a road game at Navy looming on Oct. 2.
"He and I talked about this before he left early in the winter," Garretson told UCFSports.com on Tuesday. "I told him, 'This is what's gonna happen. You're going to be the No. 2 quarterback and you're one snap away from being the No. 1 guy.' My son (Darell Garretson) experienced that when he was at Utah State. He was a Chandler quarterback as well. Got thrown in and did fine. I told Mikey to be ready. You've got to experience experience. Nobody starts off with experience. Mikey is in that frame of mind and skill level that he will be just fine. He just has to go out and play, lead and prove what he can do."
Keene was a highly-successful two-year starter at Chandler, one of the top high school programs in the nation. He led his team to a perfect record in both seasons, 13-0 as a junior and 10-0 as a senior, winning back-to-back state championship games.
As a junior, Keene completed 193 of 265 passes (.728) for 2,835 yards and 23 touchdowns with five interceptions. His senior stat line saw him completing 154 of 218 passes (.706) for 2,069 yards and 22 touchdowns with two interceptions.
"He's an incredible leader," Garretson said. "He understands his business. He understands his role. His leadership is off the charts. He's got a football mind. He's got a quick release. He knows how to get the ball down field... He's got skills of creativity. Throwing on the move. He can be a drop-back guy. Everybody gets concerned about his height. There's a couple guys in the NFL that are around 5-9, 5-10 and they're doing some pretty good things. The throwing lanes as a quarterback, Mikey understands that. He's an awesome kid. He's a really good quarterback. (UCF) will be in good hands for the rest of the season."
Speaking of his height or lack thereof, that could be the reason why Keene's recruitment at Chandler was mostly under the radar. He received mostly Group of Five offers, ultimately choosing UCF over Utah State last September.
"A lot of coaching staffs are into measureables," Garretson said. "You can be a 6-foot-5 quarterback that throws with a 5-foot-9 release and you're okay. He's always been that size. The guys who are undersized so to speak in the measureables part, they've been like that they're whole lives, so they know how to adapt and do their thing. It's a way of life. Every quarterback has all their different motivations. (Former Chandler quarterback) Bryce Perkins, who is with the Rams right now, he was always told, 'You're not a quarterback. You're just an athlete.' Mikey has always been not tall enough. It's motivation for quarterbacks."
Though being a starting college quarterback is a different type of spotlight, Keene is accustomed to playing on the big stage. Chandler, as a perennial top 10 high school program, has frequently been showcased nationally and played a game on ESPNU last season.
Keene was also following a long line of successful Chandler quarterbacks that have included Brett Hundley (UCLA, Indianapolis Colts), Darell Garretson (Utah State, Oregon State), Bryce Perkins (Virginia, Los Angeles Rams), Mason Moran (Oregon State) and Jacob Conover (BYU).
"There's pressure to come into Chandler and perform at the quarterback position," Garretson said. "He understands what that's like. Then when you come in and go undefeated for two years, win two Open Division championships and I think he was completing 80 percent of his passes at one point during his senior season. He's very accurate. He's got moxie. He's the type of guy that you enjoy having in your program. You know he's going to get things done in a leadership role and he has the skill set for the position."
Keene also had to deal with uncertainty not long after he arrived in Orlando as the coach that recruited him departed for Tennessee.
"Mikey is a mentally tough individual," Garretson said. "You think about it, he goes through a COVID season that was very difficult last year. He goes in as an early enrollee to go play for Coach (Josh) Heupel and Coach (Alex) Golesh. When he moved in, it was the first time he ever stepped foot on the campus. He never got to visit as a recruit. And in two weeks his coach is gone. That's a heavy hit. Coach (Gus) Malzahn lands the job of course. Mikey wasn't going anywhere. He accepted the challenge. That's the kind of young man he is."
Keene quickly adapted to Malzahn's system. Though depth chart declarations weren't made in the spring, there was a sense Keene would have an excellent opportunity to earn No. 2 status once the preseason rolled around. He did just that, setting the stage to make his collegiate debut during UCF's blowout win against Bethune-Cookman in week two. He completed 4-of-7 passes for 55 yards which included his first touchdown, a 30-yard strike to Kaedin Robinson.
Garretson said he frequently speaks with Keene and the two had an initial conversation late Saturday night, shortly after Keene received word he would be UCF's No. 1 quarterback heading into Navy.
"I think I was at the U of A (Arizona)-NAU game (on Saturday)," Garretson said. "I told him this is what you signed up for. This is why you are where you are. In today's world, a lot of times it doesn't come down to what people may expect, redshirting and taking your time. Same thing happens in the NFL with the draft. Mikey's mindset was to go in and compete and hopefully work to that No. 2 spot. Then at that spot, you have to be locked in. At any time, an ankle or a hit or anything in today's college football world, and you're the starter. Quarterback is a dangerous position. I don't think people understand that. You're vulnerable. You're left out there and don't know where people are coming from at times. He's a physically gifted kid. Like I said, his ability to throw strikes and everything else, he's an incredible leader."
Though his on-field experience at the college level may be limited, Garretson said Keene will be ready for whatever UCF asks of him. Malzahn has echoed that sentiment as well, saying Keene has already shown a knack for understanding protection calls and reading defenses.
"He's a really intelligent kid," Garretson said. "He was a 4.5 (GPA) student here. They're going to figure out what he's comfortable with. He'll learn it and execute it and be ready. It's good they have a bye week, so that gives him a little bit of time. I'm sure his teammates will rally around him.
"Playing the Naval Academy, that's an incredible way to start your career off. He's got a couple classmates from Chandler who play at Navy, Max Sandlin and Joshua Pena. It's kind of interesting, there's always Chandler kids playing each other all over college football. He'll be ready to go. He's excited. Like I said, anxious at the same time. We've always talked about preparing the best you can and being ready to go. Let the chips fall where they may when you take the exam and the exam is the Navy game."