Myers steps in
It has happened again. Utah State’s football team will play a backup quarterback due to injury.
Since the 2011 season, Chuckie Keeton’s freshman season, USU has only had one season where they didn’t play multiple quarterbacks.
In 2012, Keeton stayed healthy for the entire season. Utah State lost two games by a total of five points, and the Aggies dominated a bowl game to post an 11-2 record.
This year is proving to be a repeat of the past four. Keeton sprained the MCL in his right knee on Sept. 19 while playing Washington, the third game of the season. The Utah State team that has so often used the phrase “next man up,” is forced to do so yet again.
“Chuckie will be out probably four to six weeks,” said head coach Matt Wells in a press conference on Sept. 22. “He’s got a sprained MCL, but we’ll move forward. I hate it, and I hate it for him.”
In his final season at USU, Keeton already has 8,233 career yards of total offense and ranks No. 2 in school history. Keeton’s 60 touchdowns put him in a tie with Jose Fuentes, who played from 1998-2002, for No. 1 in Utah State history. All the records come while only playing in 29 full games out of a possible 57 games.
Kent Myers will replace Keeton in the Aggies’ offense starting in the homecoming game on Saturday.
“It doesn’t change our offense very much,” said Devonte Robinson, a senior wide receiver who has played with both quarterbacks. “We just rally around him, and it’s the next man up. It’s all part of being on the team. It’s next man up, that’s what we preach.”
Myers, a sophomore, started out last season as the No. 4 quarterback on the depth chart. He ended the 2014 campaign with a 5-1 record as a starter and led Utah State to a bowl victory.
“He’s a tremendous competitor,” Wells said. “He loves to play, and is a great teammate. He’s a selfless individual, and I think you saw that with his willingness to move to receiver during spring camp. He’s a really good player, and our team will rally around him. We’ve got to play better around him. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Kent.”
The Aggies are ranked No. 127 — dead last — in the FBS with 877 total yards of offense this season and next to last with just over 14 points per game. Myers will be relied upon to turn things around.
“No, we’re not going to start calling things different,” Wells said. “You just may emphasize some things a whole lot more, and you may de-emphasize some things. That’s all we’re trying to do, is find out who we really are at this point.”
This season Myers will be running an offense much different from last year. The offensive coordinator is different. Two of the wide receivers are gone, and two running backs are gone.
“The offense I’m sure will be a little different,” said LaJuan Hunt, USU’s starting running back. “We’ll do some things the same but change to adapt to his playing style. Luckily, he’s a lot like Chuckie.”
Hunt played in every game in 2014 and made four starts alongside Myers.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Hunt said of Myers. “He’s athletic, and his playing style is similar to Chuckie’s. Last season, we saw that he was talented, but he had a raw talent. This season, with a year of experience under his belt, he’ll be better.”
It remains unclear who will be the starting quarterback when Keeton returns.
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor