Keeton's Return Brings Dilemma Over Starting Spot

Chuckie Keeton recently announced that he will be returning for a 5th year with the Utah State Aggies. With his struggles during his senior year, however, the question is whether he is guaranteed the starting spot upon his return.

Utah State and Chuckie Keeton recently announced the return of The Chuckie to the Aggie roster for the 2015 season. This is both exciting and frustrating. After his injury this past year, I mentioned how I felt he should not seek another year of eligibility; he had been significantly injured three of his four years as a starter and his play this past season was not only sub-par for him, but was simply disappointing for any D1 quarterback. Don't get me wrong, his poor play was in no way an indicator of his fighting spirit, his excellent work ethic and strong character; he simply had a hard time coming back from that 2013 injury.

Now he is confirmed to be coming back, and I'm confronted by mixed emotions all over again. In spite of his rough play recently, this is Chuckie we're talking about: the most dynamic, exciting quarterback in the state since Brian Johnson. His epic sophomore campaign, in which he led the Aggies to their first solely owned conference title since 1979 and their first bowl win since 1993 (and only their second bowl win ever), forever earned him the love and admiration of the Aggie faithful. So the pressing question at this point is this: what does his return mean for the Aggies' lineup this coming year?

If this were years past, the answer would be easy. Depth has been a key fault of Utah State football for decades, and if this were any year before 2011, the answer would be to start Keeton without a second thought. This is 2015, however, and USU has such a ridiculous amount of depth at the quarterback position that it's almost embarrassing to admit to; Coach Wells must feel kind of like a millionaire hanging around less well-endowed friends when talking to most of the other MWC coaches... "What's that? You're having hard time coming up with a suitable quarterback...? Oh yeah, man, that's rough... Oh yeah, I know what you're going through, times are hard. I only went through six quarterbacks last year myself, and all of them did amazing, and I won my bowl game while using a mashed up offense with a wild cat QB who did surprisingly well himself. Yeah, yeah, that was after our fourth string QB- he's fantastic, by the way, yeah, just killing it- wasn't sure if he'd be able to come back from an injury either."*

I mean, seriously, Wells has three quarterbacks coming back next year who all have significant starting and playing experience, and have all done exceptionally well: Chuckie Keeton, of course, carries the flag for Aggie football; Darell Garretson, who has filled in well the past couple years after Keeton's injuries; and Kent Myers, who stepped in last year as a fourth string QB and exceeded all expectations. I decided, as I prepared to make my highly influential** recommendation to Coach Wells and the rest of the Aggie staff, to pull up some stats from each of the three in question.

A few different things jump out right away. First, Chuckie stunk last year. He threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns, and had his lowest completion percentage... ever. That being said, looking at his career, he's easily the best of the three in terms of scoring-to-error ratio. Really, though, all three have the weapons to throw the ball, and will do a fine job. Just using an eyeball test, Garretson has the best arm of the three, and is more of a pure pocket passer; his ability to throw the deep ball is the best of the group, and adds a threat that has to be accounted for by opposing defenses. Chuckie and Myers are both better scramblers, and add the threat of lost containment, which can be equally as dangerous.

If we were looking purely at the career accomplishments of each of these talented young men, the choice would be clear: Keeton has a proven track record, greater experience, and leadership. Unfortunately, we do have to factor in the past year, which doesn't paint a pretty picture for the two time Heisman preseason hopeful. My personal opinion at this point is that Keeton has, and rightfully so, the inside track to the starting job. But it's not a guaranteed thing. Both Garretson and Myers are up-and-coming stars, and Garretson in particular will be hungry to get the starting role due to his limited time left to him at the school (Garretson only has two years remaining, whereas Myers has three). The beautiful thing for Aggie fans is this: regardless of who gets the starting job, it's going to be a good thing.