Even with the nation’s top high school recruit on the way to Ann Arbor for the 2025 season (and already wearing maize and blue), Michigan football wanted an experienced quarterback on the team.
The Wolverines received just that on Sunday, when the program announced the signing of transfer quarterback Mikey Keene. Keene, who started four seasons at UCF (2021-22) and Fresno State (2023-24), has appeared in 39 games and completed 67.8% of his passes (793-1170) for 65 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
“Excited to get to work!,” Keene posted on social media. “Go Blue.”
In 2022, Keene’s stint at UCF coincided with another new face for the Wolverines: incoming offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey (who was hired earlier this month from North Carolina). That season, Keene completed 72.3% (60-for-83) of his throws for 647 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception in four games before missing the most of the season due to injury.
Not only did Michigan’s new offensive coordinator know the 5-foot-11, 200-pound signal caller, but so did the entire Michigan coaching staff, who faced him in the team’s Week 1 30-10 victory over Fresno State.
The game wasn’t as lopsided as the score indicates; it was 16-10 in the fourth quarter until Will Johnson’s 86-yard pick-six sealed the victory. Prior to that blunder, Keene kept the Bulldogs in the game in Ann Arbor by completing 22 of 36 (61.1%) passes for 235 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
“I think he’s a very talented kid that’s accurate on the run,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said Saturday. “We know he’s tough … because we hit him. I’m excited that he’s part of our squad now.”
Michigan had one of the worst passing offenses in the country in 2024, ranking 129th (133.6 yards per game) and next-to-last among Power Four teams.
Head coach Sherrone Moore is excited to have incoming freshman Bryce Underwood on the roster, but the five-star recruit will not be 18 until mid-August, when the Wolverines travel to face SEC opponent Oklahoma in Week 2. That’s a difficult order for someone who threw two interceptions against Novi Detroit Catholic Central in his last football game.
But now that Keene is firmly in the fold, Michigan has a pair of possibilities to look forward to in Moore’s sophomore season.
That is in contrast to 2024, when Michigan opened the year with numerous inexperienced quarterbacks, the most of whom have already moved on. Jack Tuttle resigned and is now a coach at Michigan, Jayden Denegal transferred to San Diego State, and Alex Orji (while he is present for bowl practices) has also entered the transfer portal.
Only senior Davis Warren, who has indicated that he plans to return in 2025, and true freshman Jadyn Davis figure to be holdovers. That is why Michigan has hired both Underwood and Keene, whom Martindale sarcastically compared to a current NFL quarterback.
“I call him a broke man’s Kyler Murray.”
