Bright spots were hard to find in the Utes' opening loss to Utah State last weekend, But if you could only single out one, it would have to be the play of receiver Terence Keehan.
Keehan produced career-high numbers with eight catches for 127 yards. He made a terrific grab on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Mike Fouts and was the receipient of a 44-yard pass play that put the Utes in range for a late field goal try that failed.The 25-year-old Cottonwood High graduate is one of the more unlikely stars of this year's Ute squad.
He is a native of New Zealand, who moved to Utah when he was 12 (his late father, Brendan, was a star softball pitcher for Larry Miller's team). After an undistinguished high school career, Keehan went to Snow College, where he lasted three days before getting hurt. He went on an LDS mission and after returning, walked on to the U. team in 1992.
After a redshirt season, he saw some action in '93 as a defensive back. In '94 he briefly transferred to Augustana College, but didn't lose a year of eligibility. he earned a scholarship in 1995 and caught 16 passes, including key grabs in the wins over Air Force and BYU.
This year, some thought Keehan might get lost in the shuffle at receiver, the Utes' deepest position, but he emerged from fall drills as one of the top three along with Kevin Dyson and Rocky Henry, the leading receivers a year ago.
Keehan is known for running smart routes and for his great hands. He says he has "quick speed," which allows him to get open. Although he's not a burner, he was above-average speed. So what happened Saturday at Logan when he was pulled down from behind by an Aggie defender? "I just ran out of gas," he said. "I was tired and that guy had a good angle on me."
As for this week, Keehan says everyone is eager to get out and prove Utah is a better team than showed Saturday night. He expects the Utes to open up their offense more also this week.
STRONG FOLK: The strongest player on the Ute squad this year is center Chad Folk, who broke all of the strength records set by all-Amerian Luther Ellis.
The 6-foot, 278-pounder has records of 570 in the bench and 740 in the squat. He is one of six players who can bench more than 500 pounds. The others are offensive linemen Todd Jackson and Barry Sims, defensive tackle Fisi Moleni, linebacker Armand Boglin and tight end Richard Seals.
Pound for pound, one of the strongest players on the team is quarterback Mike Fouts.
QUOTEFILE: "Age-wise I'm like a BYU guy," said the 25-year-old Keehan who is the third oldest on the team and a full seven years older than fellow wide receiver Boo Bendiger.
UTE NOTES: Sophomore Robert Love, who beat out Brandon Dart for the starting strong safety job, led the Utes in tackles against Utah State with 13. Linebacker Chris Godfrey was second with 11, followed by Dart and Jason Hooks with 10 apiece. Nate Kia and Chad Kauhaahaa each had a quarterback sack . . . Calbert Beck, a starter all of last season but out all of fall camp with a hamstring injury, has been upgraded to questionable for this week. But he won't likely play for another couple of weeks until he gets back in shape . . . Receivers Rocky Henry and Daniel Jones also have been out with hamstring injuries, but are listed as probable for this week . . . Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala and Juan Johnson each had 49 yards rushing last week, while Omar Bacon didn't get any carries.