Utah State University Athletics

Chuckie Keeton, one of the most recognizable names in Aggie football history, is in his third season as the running backs coach at his alma mater. In all, Keeton has seven years of collegiate coaching experience working with quarterbacks, tight ends and wide receivers.

During the 2022 campaign, Keeton helped Utah State to six wins and its 10th bowl game in the past 12 seasons, including its second in as many years as it appeared in the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl. USU also tied for second-place in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West with a 5-3 mark. Keeton also coached Calvin Tyler Jr. to second-team all-MW honors as Tyler became just the 11th player in school history to rush for 2,000 career yards and the first player since 2018 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Tyler also played in the 2023 Hula Bowl.

Under Keeton, Utah State rushed for over 2,000 yards during the 2022 campaign with 14 touchdowns as it averaged 159.3 yards per game. USU finished the season with six 100-yard rushing games.

In 2021, Utah State had its best season in school history as it tied the school record with 11 wins (11-3), won its first-ever Mountain West Championship with a 46-13 road win at No. 19 San Diego State, posted a 24-13 win against Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl and finished the season ranked 24th in the nation in both polls.Keeton coached Calvin Tyler Jr. to second-team all-Mountain West honors. Tyler also became just the 11th player in school history to rush for 2,000 career yards and the first player since 2018 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Tyler also played in the 2023 Hula Bowl.

Utah State’s offense set six school records during the 2021 campaign, including 41 touchdown passes, 4,248 passing yards and three receivers with 10-plus touchdown receptions. USU’s offense also tied a pair of school records with 13 100-yard receiving games and five passing touchdowns in a single game.

Additionally, Utah State’s offense produced over 600 yards of total offense twice, and over 400 passing yards three times, all of which rank among the top-16 performances in school history.

Utah State finished the 2021 season ranked 15th in the nation in passing offense (303.4 ypg), 23rd in total offense (445.6 ypg), and 33rd in scoring offense (32.6 ppg). USU was also the only team in the nation with at least 10 touchdown receptions by three players.

Under Keeton, Utah State’s running backs rushed for over 2,000 yards with 13 touchdowns as it averaged 143.1 yards per game. USU finished the season with five 100-yard rushing games.

Prior to Utah State, Keeton spent two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant at Texas Tech (2019-2020). He also spent one year as an offensive graduate assistant at USU (2018), and two more years at Oregon State as an offensive quality control assistant (2016) and offensive graduate assistant (2017).

During the 2018 season at Utah State, Keeton helped the Aggies to a school-record-tying 11 wins and a 52-13 victory against North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl. USU finished the season with an 11-2 record, including a 7-1 mark in the Mountain West, and was ranked 22nd in the final Associated Press poll. That season, USU set 36 school records and tied six others.

Keeton enjoyed a record-setting career at Utah State, which spanned a total of five seasons from 2011-15. He finished his illustrious career with more than 10 school records, including ranking first with 62 career touchdown passes.

Keeton also helped the Aggies to a school-record run of five-straight bowl game appearances from 2011-15, including a school-best three-straight bowl wins from 2012-14. USU also won the 2012 Western Athletic Conference title, its first outright league championship since 1936, with Keeton at quarterback.

As a sophomore in 2012, Keeton set then-single-season school records for touchdown passes (27), passing yards (3,373), total offensive yards (3,992), completions (275) and completion percentage (.676). One year later, he completed 69.4 percent of his passes to break his own completion percentage mark.

Keeton earned first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors in 2012 after helping lead the Aggies to a conference championship. Utah State capped its season with a 41-15 win against Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to finish the year with a school-record 11 wins. USU was ranked 16th in the final Associated Press poll, 17th in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll and 22nd in the final BCS standings.

A season-ending knee injury suffered against BYU cut short Keeton’s junior season. Through the first five games, though, he ranked second in the nation with 17 touchdown passes, 11th in completion percentage (71.0), 18th in total offense (317.2 yards per game), 22nd in passing efficiency (161.6) and 25th in passing yards per game (272.4).

After graduating from Utah State in the fall of 2015 with a business administration degree, Keeton, who was a member of the 2014 AFCA All-State Good Works Team, attended an NFL rookie minicamp with the Houston Texans.

CHUCKIE KEETON FILE
Coaching History                                                                                                                           
2021-               Utah State – Running Backs
2019-20           Texas Tech – Offensive Graduate Assistant
2018                Utah State – Offensive Graduate Assistant
2017                Oregon State – Offensive Graduate Assistant
2016                Oregon State – Offensive Quality Control Assistant
 
Bowl Games (3)                                                                                                         
Utah State (3): 2022 SERVPRO First Responder; 2021 LA Bowl; 2018 New Mexico Bowl

Conference Championships (1)                                                                                                         
Utah State (1): Mountain West, 2021
 
Playing Experience                                                                                       
2011-15           Utah State – Quarterback
 
Education                                                                                                                                         
2015                Utah State – Business Administration (B.S.)