KEE’ TO KINGDOM
Backup QB helps Vikes make Case as Supe contender
NO one could have seen this coming. Once an afterthought, always an afterthought, but Case Keenum never relented, never surrendered, never stopped believing, and now he laughs over the phone when I ask what kind of movie his NFL career might be.
“It’d probably be like a combination of Brad Pitt from like ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ and then maybe some ‘Troy’ in there, mixed in with like Will Ferrell with ‘Old School,’ and then maybe t he f ootball player would be like ‘Rudy’ or something,” Keenum said.
It takes an undersized gym rat to know one.
“I don’t want to compare my story to ‘Rudy,’ that’s a really cool story ... but it’s been all over the place a little bit,” Keenum said. “Coming out of high school, didn’t have many teams recruiting me. Told me if I was an inch or two taller, or this or that, then I could go anywhere I wanted to. But in the end, I had one college scholarship offer from the University of Houston, and I think that was the right choice. Coach [Kevin] Sumlin came in after Coach [Art] Briles left [after 2007], and brought in Dana Halvorsen and Kliff Kings- bury to run an offense that I was really suited to run.
“Coming out of college, I had a lot of people tell me I wouldn’t be able to do it, so ... wasn’t drafted but got a chance from Coach [Gary] Kubiak there with the Texans [in 2012], and you know, took advantage of the chances that I’ve had.”
Especially this chance in Minnesota. Sam Bradford couldn’t stay on the field, and Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t ready for his comeback from a devastating knee injury that cost him the 2016 season, so coach Mike Zimmer turned to Keenum to carry the 9-2 Vikings’ hopes and dreams all the way to Minneapolis and become the first team to host a Super Bowl.
And though Bridgewater is back healthy, he’ll continue to watch from the sidelines as long as Keenum builds on his NFC Offensive Player of the Month of November honors.
“It’s been a blast. I don’t know if I can put into words how much fun it’s been,” Keenum said.
He threw nine touchdown passes against Rice in 2001 in a 73-34 victory. He threw for these NCAA records — 19,217 yards and 155 touchdowns and 39 300-yard passing games and 1,546 completions.
“My style is getting the ball in the hands of somebody that can do a lot more special things with it than I can,” Keenum said. “And along those same lines, it’s protecting that ball.”
It began for him on the Texans practice squad in 2013 before he stepped in for an injured Matt Schaub, continued as caretaker quarterback last season for Jared Goff, and look at Keenum now — 14 TDs, 5 interceptions and a 66.1 completion percentage and 103 rushing yards with one TD.
“I always try to have passion. I always try to be in attack mode, and I always try to trust — trust my offensive line, trust my receivers, trust the play call, trust my preparation, all that stuff,” Keenum said.
His father, Steve Keenum, who coached McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, for 10 years and is now FCA area director, once suggested Case could have been a surgeon because he liked pressure.
“I don’t know about a surgeon,” Case said with a laugh. “I’d say that I put a lot of pressure on myself every time I do anything. I’m competitive by nature. I want to be the best, so whether I’m playing football, playing golf, playing pingpong, whatever it is, I want to be the best. I put pressure on myself to compete and perform at a high level.”
He stands 6-foot-1, hardly the prototypical NFL quarterback. He never l et any naysayer criticism cut him down to size. He didn’t let a torn right ACL early in his senior year in college in 2010 stop him either.
“I try to tune that out, honestly, I try not to listen to any of that stuff,” Keenum said. “I try to tune that out and tune in people that believe in me that are speaking the truth in my life. Honestly, you hear a little bit of it now and then. I ignore it ’cause I know it’s not true. I believe what my family and friends and coaches believe in. I believe what they tell me, and those are more important than the criticism you get.”
He is 29 years old and his moxie will appeal to someone if he tests the free-agent waters.
“I like to think quarterback play is a craft that different people have,” Keenum said. “I think there’s a lot of different ways to play quarterback. I mean, you see
it every Sunday from game to game. You see it on Saturdays from game to game. So I think there’s a lot of different skill sets, there’s a lot of different ways to get first downs, to get touchdowns and to win football games. So for me, I’ve worked on that craft my entire life. And it’s worked well.
“There’s been some times where it hasn’t worked well, but I’ve succeeded more than I haven’t. So I’m confident, and I’m confident in my preparation, I’m confident in what I’ve done, I’m confident in my teammates around me and the preparation that they’ve put in and the hard work they’ve put in and the talent that they have.”
Receiver Adam Thielen’s emergence opposite Stefon Diggs has been a revelation.
“He’s competitive as they come, too, man,” Keenum said. “He’s got a similar story — undrafted guy, and has worked his way up. Has just really, really, really perfected his craft as a wide receiver in this league. He understands body leverage. He understands position. He understands just different space and timing. He catches anything you throw near him. He’s a really good player.”
And a really good defense that has his back makes the Vikings a legitimate threat.
“They’re a tough defense with some good rushers, run-stoppers, and the back end is not too bad at all either,” Keenum said. “Going against them all spring has really made us a lot better all spring and training camp.”
Zimmer, a Bill Parcells disciple, has joined the Coach of the Year conversation.
“I love coaches that push you further than you think you can go because they believe in you,” Keenum said. “And you know that he believes in us. Sometimes it feels past your point of where you can go, but he’s got extreme belief in us as a team and as players individually. We all love him. We all love to play for him and all fight for him and all run through a brick wall for him. At least try.”
Keenum’s father has been at every college and NFL regular-season start. He’ll be in Atlanta on Sunday.
“He pours his heart and soul into it,” Steve Keenum said. “You never know what he’s gonna do. He’s kind of a Houdini sometimes, and it’s hard to see him.”
Case Keenum isn’t looking over his shoulder.
“I just wanted an opportunity,” he said. “And then I was gonna work my tail off, and if that opportunity came around, I was gonna be ready when my name was called.”