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Mikey Keene is glad to be back home.
Keene became a star quarterback at Chandler High under coach Rick Garretson, helping lead the Wolves to consecutive Open Division state championships in two undefeated seasons in 2019 and 2020. He was 23-0 as a starter and threw for 48 touchdowns before moving on to the University of Central Florida as a three-star recruit.
Then came a winding journey that eventually landed him about 13 miles from where he went to high school.
After taking over the job as a true freshman at UCF due to an injury to then-starter Dillon Gabriel, Keene made 10 starts for the Golden Knights. The following season, Keene was plagued by injuries and forced to redshirt after appearing in four games. In 2023, Keene transferred to Fresno State, where he had perhaps the best moment of his career.
Keene rolled into Tempe and helped lead Fresno State to a 29-0 win. Coach Kenny Dillingham, who was in his first season at ASU, has since referred to it as the most embarrassing loss of his career.
Following a season where he was named to the Mountain West Conference honorable mention team, Keene hopped in the transfer portal again in January 2025 and made the move to Michigan.
But then a shoulder injury in the spring caused him to miss all of last season. It was the first time Keene had dealt with a season-ending injury.
“Injuries suck,” Keene said. “Injuries are definitely part of the sport. I hadn't been a part of one before.”
When he put his name in the portal again, the choice was pretty easy. Arizona State. Keene called it a “full-circle” moment for himself.
“A lot of great football memories here,” Keene said. “Obviously, coaches from Chandler High School, the dynasty we were able to build. A lot of my time there, transitioning from coach (Shaun) Aguano to coach Garretson. Grateful for the opportunity I've been able to play there. Grateful to have grown up here.''
Aguano now is running backs coach at ASU.
“This is my home. I haven't lived anywhere else besides my college career, but 17 years in the same house,'' Keene continued. "My parents are still in that same house today. It's a super, super special experience to be able to be in your hometown, and I wear that with a lot of pride. Walking in this building every day, I'm grateful and humbled every single day to be a part of this program.”
Blue 32 Sports Grill was the first place Keene visited when returning to the area in January, a favorite from his high school days. He’s more relaxed being back in Arizona, and is approaching the season that way.
“I'm having no regrets, honestly,” Keene said. “This is my last go at things, I'm pretty sure, so having no regrets.”
Understanding the intricacies of the NCAA eligibility system is a tall task, but with Keene’s injury history, there is a theoretical chance he could be back for another season. He’s not looking at it that way, though.
“I want to look back in 2027 and say I did everything that I could. No matter how it shook out, I want to be as prepared as possible in every aspect of life, every aspect as a player, as a person. So just having no regrets, that's how I'm going to take every single day.”
The battle for the Sun Devils’ starting quarterback job in Tempe is still ongoing. Nobody has separated themselves yet.
The one area where Keene has an edge on the rest of the quarterback room is experience. With 2,233 career snaps, Keene has seen much more in-game action than Cutter Boley, Jake Fette and Cam Dyer.
“He’s got great command,” coach Kenny Dillingham said. “He’s a vet. He knows what’s going on.”
“Just the other day, you know, Mikey's not in on a rep, but he's over there taking a drop(back) and going through progressions. And then suddenly one of the quarterbacks sees it, and then they start taking a drop and go through progressions. Little things like that, they continue to stack. And that's why you want to stagger in your room and have some vets with young guys.”
Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo further detailed the impact that Keene is having on the rest of the room.
“You like it because you got an older guy in the room that a younger guy can look up to and say ‘OK, that's what it's supposed to look like at times.’ Mike has gotten like 1,000 reps,” Arroyo said. “He's in command in the huddle. He's in command when he calls a play that Jake can see and he can look at and go ‘OK, that's what it's supposed to look like in certain aspects.’ Cutter can look at that. Cam, the same thing. We like to have that experience in the room. When they can see someone else do it well, it just compounds. The experience compounds whether it is from watching it or hearing it.”
Fette, the talented freshman who has been turning heads since arriving on campus in January, said Keene has been helping him "understand football."
While all four of them are locked in a deep fight to be named the starter, there is no animosity within the room.
Some believe it will come down to either Boley or Keene as the starter for the first week of the season. With that comes a natural rivalry; it's inherently built in. Despite that, Keene is still leaving a lasting impact on those around him, even those competing with him.
“Dude, Mikey's an outstanding human being, outstanding football player,” Boley said. “It's an honor to be here in the room with him. To be able to get to know him and the relationship we built, we'll continue to talk for the rest of our lives. And I'm just happy I was able to go get to know him, and able to spend time with him every single day.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Full circle moment' for Arizona State QB, Chandler alum Mikey Keene
Continue reading...
Keene became a star quarterback at Chandler High under coach Rick Garretson, helping lead the Wolves to consecutive Open Division state championships in two undefeated seasons in 2019 and 2020. He was 23-0 as a starter and threw for 48 touchdowns before moving on to the University of Central Florida as a three-star recruit.
Then came a winding journey that eventually landed him about 13 miles from where he went to high school.
After taking over the job as a true freshman at UCF due to an injury to then-starter Dillon Gabriel, Keene made 10 starts for the Golden Knights. The following season, Keene was plagued by injuries and forced to redshirt after appearing in four games. In 2023, Keene transferred to Fresno State, where he had perhaps the best moment of his career.
Keene rolled into Tempe and helped lead Fresno State to a 29-0 win. Coach Kenny Dillingham, who was in his first season at ASU, has since referred to it as the most embarrassing loss of his career.
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Following a season where he was named to the Mountain West Conference honorable mention team, Keene hopped in the transfer portal again in January 2025 and made the move to Michigan.
But then a shoulder injury in the spring caused him to miss all of last season. It was the first time Keene had dealt with a season-ending injury.
“Injuries suck,” Keene said. “Injuries are definitely part of the sport. I hadn't been a part of one before.”
When he put his name in the portal again, the choice was pretty easy. Arizona State. Keene called it a “full-circle” moment for himself.
“A lot of great football memories here,” Keene said. “Obviously, coaches from Chandler High School, the dynasty we were able to build. A lot of my time there, transitioning from coach (Shaun) Aguano to coach Garretson. Grateful for the opportunity I've been able to play there. Grateful to have grown up here.''
Aguano now is running backs coach at ASU.
“This is my home. I haven't lived anywhere else besides my college career, but 17 years in the same house,'' Keene continued. "My parents are still in that same house today. It's a super, super special experience to be able to be in your hometown, and I wear that with a lot of pride. Walking in this building every day, I'm grateful and humbled every single day to be a part of this program.”
Blue 32 Sports Grill was the first place Keene visited when returning to the area in January, a favorite from his high school days. He’s more relaxed being back in Arizona, and is approaching the season that way.
“I'm having no regrets, honestly,” Keene said. “This is my last go at things, I'm pretty sure, so having no regrets.”
Understanding the intricacies of the NCAA eligibility system is a tall task, but with Keene’s injury history, there is a theoretical chance he could be back for another season. He’s not looking at it that way, though.
“I want to look back in 2027 and say I did everything that I could. No matter how it shook out, I want to be as prepared as possible in every aspect of life, every aspect as a player, as a person. So just having no regrets, that's how I'm going to take every single day.”
The battle for the Sun Devils’ starting quarterback job in Tempe is still ongoing. Nobody has separated themselves yet.
The one area where Keene has an edge on the rest of the quarterback room is experience. With 2,233 career snaps, Keene has seen much more in-game action than Cutter Boley, Jake Fette and Cam Dyer.
“He’s got great command,” coach Kenny Dillingham said. “He’s a vet. He knows what’s going on.”
“Just the other day, you know, Mikey's not in on a rep, but he's over there taking a drop(back) and going through progressions. And then suddenly one of the quarterbacks sees it, and then they start taking a drop and go through progressions. Little things like that, they continue to stack. And that's why you want to stagger in your room and have some vets with young guys.”
Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo further detailed the impact that Keene is having on the rest of the room.
“You like it because you got an older guy in the room that a younger guy can look up to and say ‘OK, that's what it's supposed to look like at times.’ Mike has gotten like 1,000 reps,” Arroyo said. “He's in command in the huddle. He's in command when he calls a play that Jake can see and he can look at and go ‘OK, that's what it's supposed to look like in certain aspects.’ Cutter can look at that. Cam, the same thing. We like to have that experience in the room. When they can see someone else do it well, it just compounds. The experience compounds whether it is from watching it or hearing it.”
Fette, the talented freshman who has been turning heads since arriving on campus in January, said Keene has been helping him "understand football."
While all four of them are locked in a deep fight to be named the starter, there is no animosity within the room.
Some believe it will come down to either Boley or Keene as the starter for the first week of the season. With that comes a natural rivalry; it's inherently built in. Despite that, Keene is still leaving a lasting impact on those around him, even those competing with him.
“Dude, Mikey's an outstanding human being, outstanding football player,” Boley said. “It's an honor to be here in the room with him. To be able to get to know him and the relationship we built, we'll continue to talk for the rest of our lives. And I'm just happy I was able to go get to know him, and able to spend time with him every single day.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Full circle moment' for Arizona State QB, Chandler alum Mikey Keene
Continue reading...
