At the close of last season, the Michigan football team introduced offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey with the intent to revamp its offense. Prior to joining the Wolverines’ staff, Lindsey occupied the same position at North Carolina, where his offense averaged over 400 yards and 30 points per game in his first of two seasons.
At the same time, Michigan was on the hunt for a quarterback. The Wolverines needed someone with knowledge and experience, someone to complement the addition of the young and inexperienced No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood.
Luckily for Michigan, Lindsey already had someone in mind: Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene.
While this year will be both Lindsey and Keene’s first introduction to Ann Arbor, it’s certainly not their first introduction to each other. Before the Tar Heels, Lindsey spent the 2022 season with Central Florida as the Knights offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and it was there that he collided with Keene. The pair spent a season together before Lindsey departed for UNC and Keene went west to the Bulldogs.
“Having a previous relationship with Mikey, knowing how he was wired, I just thought he was the perfect fit for what we were looking for,” Lindsey said. “We needed a guy that could come in that had a lot of experience.”
At Fresno State, Keene threw for 5,868 yards and 42 touchdowns with a 68.7% completion rate over two seasons, despite turnover concerns. He even made the trek to face the Wolverines last season, totaling 235 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
His skill set and years of experience weren’t the only things that made Keene an attractive option for Michigan — it was his character too.
“It was important to get a guy that was experienced, a guy that wanted to be here and a guy that embraced coming here,” Lindsey said. “He’s highly competitive himself.”
That competitive nature is exactly what Keene will need to prepare for the season. While he brings a wealth of experience to the field, he’s one of four players vying for the position — the most notable being Underwood, a five-star recruit.
In his senior year of high school, Underwood threw for 2,509 yards with 32 touchdowns and a 71.8% completion rate. The year before that, Underwood was named the Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year, throwing for 3,329 yards and 44 touchdowns.
All the buzz surrounding Underwood may be intimidating to some, but not Keene, a veteran quarterback who’s seen it all. As he prepares for the upcoming season, Keene’s unique edge is his experience, and he’s more than ready to channel that into Michigan.
“What I do know about Mikey is he’ll know exactly where to go with the ball,” Chip said. “He’ll get the protections right. He’ll execute at a high level. He’s never flinched in the moment, so to speak, when the moment’s a big moment.”
As Michigan heads into its first week of spring practice, the quarterback situation is far from decided. But working in tandem with Underwood’s youth, Keene’s expertise could be something the Wolverines depend on.
