Case Keenum manufactured a dramatic overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans last season when starting quarterback C.J. Stroud was sidelined with a concussion, stepping in and stepping up at a pivotal December moment for the AFC South champion Texans.
Back with the Texans for his second season, the veteran quarterback and former University of Houston record-setting passer watched the growth of Stroud, a Pro Bowl selection and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. And Keenum is convinced that even greater things are ahead for a returning playoff squad.
Stroud joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to lead the league in passing yards per game and touchdown-to-interception ratio. And the Texans are coming off an 11-8 finish and a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns before losing in the AFC divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens.
Much is expected from Stroud and the Texans, a trending Super Bowl contender.
“I think he’s hungry,” Keenum said during his annual youth football camp at Ollin Athletics in Cypress. “There was obviously a lot of success, and guys are very proud of what we were able to do and what he was able to do. There’s still some meat on the bone. We still want to get after it. We want to finish with the confetti falling down and winning the last one and we weren’t there.
“We know the margin of victory in this league is so small. We won so many games last year by one score with a late drive sometimes. We have to be ready to make a play to make a difference to win those games that are even more important in January.”
In the 2017 season, Keenum was the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings when he connected with wide receiver Stefon Diggs for a game-winning touchdown in an NFC divisional round playoff game against the New Orleans Saints. Reunited with Diggs, his former Buffalo Bills and Vikings teammate, after a blockbuster trade, Keenum can’t wait to see what the four-time Pro Bowl selection will do this season working in tandem with Stroud and fellow wide receivers Nico Collins and Tank Dell. Keenum sees no decline in Diggs whatsoever.
“Yeah, it’s really cool to get back out there and see Stefon on the practice field and to watch him absolutely do some dirty things on some routes that I haven’t seen anybody be able to do,” Keenum said. “He’s a dynamic player and he hasn’t lost a step. If anything, he has gotten more savviness and can put some extra sauce on some routes when he needs to and win. He’s done a great job of continuing to build his craft and work his tools, his tool set, and I’m excited to see what he can do in the fall.”
Keenum is equally excited to see Dell make a leap in his second NFL season after shining as a rookie after being drafted in the third round out of Houston before breaking his fibula. Dell has made a complete recovery from the broken bone suffered against the Denver Broncos and from a gunshot flesh wound this offseason as an innocent bystander in a mass Florida shooting.
“First of all, just to watch Tank run routes, I have him saved in my phone and I just pull him up every now and then when I’m bored and want to watch great route running,” Keenum said. “To see him live and doing it in person for a second year and not worried about where he’s lined up and what the play is, he’s truly working his craft and he’s got some great guys to learn from in Stefon, Robert Woods, Nico and Noah Brown. It’s a really good receiver room and I’m excited to watch the guys compete.”
The Texans engineered a dramatic turnaround last season under coach DeMeco Ryans, who finished second to Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski for NFL Coach of the Year as he was edged out by one vote.
“I think it’s great,” Keenum said. “The culture he’s building is incredible. To see the turnaround in one year and really it’s the starting point in the foundation we laid this past season and in the spring. Now, you can see and sense it in the whole building. The excitement, the hope that has turned into expectation and just a way of doing things. We come in to win every day and nothing less than excellence is acceptable.”
Both offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson are back after interviewing for multiple jobs this offseason.
“Yeah, it’s exciting, man, to be back with the Texans,” Keenum said. “It’s home. To have a familiarity with the building and the new staff and system and players and quarterback room with those guys, it’s great. With the quarterbacks coach staying the same and Bobby calling the plays, I’m looking for some big things from the Texans this year.”
Working with a variety of skill levels and ages, Keenum thoroughly enjoyed his football camp.
“Yeah, it was fun,” he said after moving his camp to Ollin, a multi-purpose athletic training facility owned and operated by Dr. Minh Luu. “My guy Luu, his facility was perfect. We had a good group of kids. We had some good throwers and some good quarterbacks. It’s a really good time.
“Obviously, this camp is very special to me. I get a lot out of it. It’s not finances. I see myself in everyone of these kids. I was in camps growing up, looking up to the older athletes. wanting to be just like to them. To be a part of something like this and give back to the community and impart some knowledge is so important to me. It’s why I do what I do.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.
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