One of the stars of UCF's 2021 recruiting class is quarterback Mikey Keene, a back-to-back state champion in Arizona who had an undefeated run during his junior and senior seasons.
In September, Keene committed to UCF over Utah State and remained solid despite a late push from Iowa State.
Most recruiting this year was done virtually, but UCF quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle got an opportunity to scout Keene in-person this past January.
"I went out to Arizona to see (UCF commit) Parker (Navarro) in our last signing class and was able to make a little tour of the Phoenix area of quarterbacks," Halzle said. "I was able to see him work out a little bit. It was one of the fortunate things I got to do in this initial recruiting period last year. Really glad I got to do that."
Keene was a highly-successful two-year starter at Chandler, one of the top high school programs in the nation. He was perfect both seasons, 13-0 as a junior and 10-0 as a senior, winning back-to-back state championship games. As a junior, Keene completed 193 of 265 passes (.728) for 2,835 yards and 23 touchdowns with five interceptions. His senior stat line saw him completing 154 of 218 passes (.706) for 2,069 yards and 22 touchdowns with two interceptions.
"He's dynamic with the ball in his hands," Halzle said. "He's a big-time playmaker. Creative in the pocket. Creative out of the pocket. Has a really strong arm that I think people don't quite realize how strong he is. Dude can rip it all over the football field."
This will mark the second straight year UCF has signed a quarterback from the Phoenix area following last year's addition of Parker Navarro, who is from Tempe and played at Desert Vista High School.
In addition to being from the same area, Halzle said there are similarities in their playing styles.
"Both those guys, if you look at their highlight tapes from high school, they've got a similar skill set where you see guys that can run but they're not runners," Halzle said. "They like to run to throw the ball. They escape. They're really dynamic with the ball in their hands. They can put the ball all over the field, very accurate passers."
Keene is also an early high school graduate so he'll arrive on campus in January in time for winter workouts and spring practice.
"Mikey is a 4.6 GPA kid," Halzle said. "Really smart. I anticipate he'll come in here and won't have any problems picking things up."
Coming from Chandler, a high school program accustomed to winning at a high level, should help in his transition.
"I think it's beneficial," Halzle said. "One, he's been on big stages. Yeah, it was high school and not college but he's been playing in front of thousands of people. Big stages. Everything on the line every single week. Where winning was not just hoped for, it was expected at that Chandler program. That's obviously what's expected here where one loss can change your whole outlook, so he knows that coming in here and what's expected. He knows we expect to win. That's the kind of grooming he's had with Coach (Rick) Garretson out there in Chandler."
As for true freshman Parker Navarro, Halzle says these bowl practices have been important for his development.
"Missing spring ball and having a funky fall camp where we missed almost all of summer and he wasn't able to throw with the guys, so (bowl practice) has been big (for Navarro)," Halzle said. "It's like an early spring period. He's done really well. I think it's going to serve him well getting in it and getting back into the flow of how we call our offense, the speed we go at, where to take your eyes and all that stuff before we go back out to spring ball."
Here's more from Halzle's interview:
On the challenge of facing BYU's top 10 defense:
"BYU is big up front. They're a very physical football team. You can tell they want to come and smash your run game and then play over the top on the back end. They're a sound defense. They're not going to make mistakes. They're not going to do anything to cost themselves the game. They're going to be where they're supposed to be and force you to earn everything you get. It's going to be a great challenge for us, but we're absolutely looking forward to that challenge."
On BYU quarterback Zach Wilson:
"I have seen him when we had our crossover tape with Houston earlier in the season. The kid is a good player. He can spin it all over the field. He's got a good active arm. Good athlete. Everything you hear about is a good representation of who he is."
On what he'll remember about this COVID season:
"It's been different. That's probably the best word. Getting COVID tested three times a week. You're preparing for an opponent, but you don't really know you have it until after the Friday test. You don't know if you'll have everybody available until after the Friday test. There's been a lot of uncertainty in the air, but we never used it as an excuse. Every single week we're going to prepare to play on Saturday like we're supposed to."
On Dillon Gabriel's preparation for the bowl game:
"Dillon has been preparing very well. Obviously we've got the opponent a few days earlier without having a game before. He's already been in there, nonstop in my office. Every time I open my door he's in there watching tape. He'll be well prepared. He always prepares himself at a high level."
On center Matt Lee being named All-AAC First Team and his relationship with Gabriel:
"Dillon and Matt's relationship was good last year and it's great now. They're really good friends off the field. They're always together. Matt has been a great addition to our team. He's a big-time player. He's got a bright future ahead of himself. He's going to be an anchor on that o-line for a long time."
