Fresno State Football: Mikey Keene Is Mountain West Wire’s 2023 Preseason Newcomer Of The Year
Following a successful two-year stint at UCF, our staff tabbed the Bulldogs quarterback as the conference’s top new arrival.
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The next great Fresno State QB?
Mountain West Wire’s 2023 preseason honors:
All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year
Fresno State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Tedford knows a thing or two about quarterbacks, having guided Marcus McMaryion and Jake Haener to conference championships in the last five years. That’s why you take notice when he selects an heir apparent like Mikey Keene out of the transfer portal and it’s why Keene is our choice as the Mountain West’s newcomer of the year.
A native of Chandler, Arizona, Keene committed to UCF out of high school and was pressed into action as a true freshman in the 2021 season when then-starter Dillon Gabriel suffered a broken clavicle. He held his own despite difficult circumstances, finishing with a 63.6% completion rate, 1,730 passing yards, and 17 touchdowns against a 2.2% interception rate, though he’d spend most of 2022 as a backup to John Rhys Plumlee.
Even that didn’t keep him from being productive when given opportunities, though, as he completed 60-of-83 attempts for 647 yards and six touchdowns with one interception in 2022. Nothing will be handed to him at Fresno State, of course, but if the Bulldogs end up on top of the Mountain West yet again, Keene figures to be a significant reason why.
Mikey Keene can make ALL the throws. The Fresno State QB is a player to watch this fall 👀pic.twitter.com/eRunYCSfRE
— College Football Network (@CFN365) April 25, 2023
Beautiful ball placement from Mikey Keene! pic.twitter.com/wiLh2dCIQI
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) November 5, 2022
Also received votes: Ayir Asante, WR, Wyoming; Davon Booth, RB, Utah State; Tyrecus Davis, CB, Wyoming; Sean Dollars, RB, Nevada; Dallin Holker, TE, Colorado State; Dylan Hopkins, QB, New Mexico; Kobe Johnson, RB, Colorado State; Brendon Lewis, QB, Nevada; Damien Moore, RB, Fresno State; Cian Slone, DE, Utah State; Harrison Waylee, RB, Wyoming; Tre Weed, DB, Nevada; Jackson Woodard, LB, UNLV
Previous preseason NotY honorees: 2022: Braxton Burmeister, San Diego State | 2021: Justin Rice, Utah State | 2020: Rico Bussey, Hawaii | 2019: Malik Henry, Nevada
