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LOGAN — One day after National Signing Day, Utah State football added a key member of next season for one more year.
Aggie quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who entered his senior season last year as the team’s starter and a dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidate, was granted a medical redshirt by the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA on Friday, according to a school announcement.
Keeton, who has not used a redshirt during his four seasons at Utah State, held the starting job since early in his freshman year. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback from Houston re-injured his knee Sept. 13 against Wake Forest, the Aggies’ third game of the year.
The injury stemmed from Keeton’s torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament suffered against BYU on Oct. 4, 2013. Keeton played two and a half games as a senior in 2014, throwing for 426 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. The senior ranks first in school history with a .654 completion percentage, second all-time with 58 touchdown passes, and third with 7,621 yards of total offense.
The addition of Keeton gives Utah State, which finished 10-4 in 2014, three returning quarterbacks who have started and won a bowl game for the Aggies in their career. Junior-to-be Darell Garretson beat Northern Illinois in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl, and sophomore-to-be Kent Myers started the Aggies’ win over UTEP in the 2014 New Mexico Bowl. Wide receiver Ronald Butler also took a few snaps at quarterback behind Myers in 2014.
Welp it's official. 1 more year. Definitely have to make the most of it #AggieNation 🙌🙌🙌 — Chuckie Keeton (@ustate16) February 7, 2015
Utah State could also return freshman quarterback DJ Nelson, Oregon transfer Damion Hobbs and redshirt freshman Jordan Brown from the 2014 roster. The Aggies signed two-star quarterback Cade Smith from Salem, Oregon, but head coach Matt Wells said Monday that Smith would grayshirt this fall and enroll at Utah State in January.
The Aggies will look to build on their third-straight bowl win when they open spring camp March 16, followed by the annual spring game April 11 at 2 p.m.
