At the college level, Houston’s Case Keenum is a stat-stuffing superstar. After a ridiculous nine passing touchdowns against Rice last night, he’s the FBS career leader in the category.
His nine touchdowns last night is more than the entire Kent State football team this season. As a fan of rival Akron, this makes me giggle and giggle and giggle. What’s crazier about Keenum’s game, which also featured 534 yards passing, is that he did it in about three and a half quarters. (Read more stats wackiness here)
But as impressive as Keenum was last night, and throughout his career, he’s little more than a late-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Case Keenum’s game hard to replicate in NFL
The reasoning starts with the offense Keenum plays in. While it does take good timing and execution from the quarterback, Houston runs as true of a spread offense as you’ll find in college football. It is predicated on the short passing game and reading half the field. As we’ve seen with Texas Tech and Hawaii quarterbacks in the past, playing in that system often doesn’t translate to the NFL.
Analyzing Keenum’s game, he’s struggled at times when he’s asked to read the whole field. His reaction time isn’t quick enough to locate the open receiver, get rid of the ball fast and put it in a catchable location. Keenum’s release point is also dropped down slightly because he often has a three-quarters motion. For most quarterbacks, that’s not too big of an issue. But for the 6-foot-1 Keenum, that could be a problem at the next level. He’ll also struggled playing outside the numbers, a key to success for NFL quarterbacks. Keenum’s arm strength is average and his passes often float as well.
So while Keenum is certainly a superstar at the college level – and should at least be in the discussion for Heisman Trophy consideration – he has a skill set that may not translate to the NFL.
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