SALT LAKE CITY — Chuckie Keeton may not win the Heisman Trophy this season, but he has an excellent chance to become the 10th quarterback in state history to collect enough votes to finish in the Top 10.

First there was Lee Grosscup and then there was Gary Sheide. If these names don’t sound familiar, then it’s even less likely common knowledge that a University of Utah quarterback was actually the first in state history to finish in the Top 10 in Heisman voting. After Grosscup placed 10th in 1957, Sheide was the next quarterback within the state to earn the recognition, which came in 1974. And a long list of BYU signal-callers followed suit by finishing the season as one of the 10 most outstanding players in the country, including the state’s only Heisman trophy winner, Ty Detmer.

Chuckie Keeton could be next on that list. He has already become a household name thanks to a stellar sophomore campaign that has carried over into his junior year. Last season Keeton beat Utah, led Utah State to a victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and a No. 16 ranking. He even has a site and hashtag devoted to his Heisman candidacy.

In order to determine the likelihood of Keeton’s name appearing on the ballot for college football’s most prestigious award this December, it is important to identify how he stacks up against the latest Beehive State quarterback to accomplish the feat. It helps that it just so happens to be Alex Smith, who was also a dual-threat quarterback. Though they played in different systems and their college careers are separated by nearly a decade, they stack up similarly.

For example, Smith’s Utah bio listed him at 6-foot-4-inches, 212 pounds, while Keeton’s physical attributes put him at 6-foot-2-inches, 200 pounds. Smith reportedly ran a 4.70 40-time at the NFL draft combine. Keeton’s latest 40-time was clocked at 4.67.

Related:

Keeton inspires Heisman praise from fans on Twitter

Playing against the school he originally committed to, USU quarterback Chuckie Keeton completed 32 of 40 passes Saturday for 360 yards and five touchdowns.

Despite the fact that Smith played his freshman season under Ron McBride, who was fired following the season, Utah went with Lance Rice as the starter in 2002 before he was benched and gave way to Brett Ratliff. So ultimately McBride robbed us of an additional year of comparison, but the table below indicates how the game-changing quarterbacks’ numbers stack up during their sophomore and junior campaigns.

Many Ute fans would scoff at the mere idea that Keeton even compares to the Utah legend-turned-NFL-starter. Keeton doesn’t have a Fiesta Bowl win, a Mountain West Championship or even a win in Lavell Edwards stadium. As significant as those accomplishments are, they are some of only a few factors that distinguish Smith as the better collegiate quarterback.

Keeton put up much gaudier numbers during his sophomore season than Smith did. In all fairness, Keeton threw 100 more passes than Smith and was relied upon much more heavily within the Aggie offense under Gary Andersen than Smith was in his first year as a starter.

Smith also ran Urban Meyer’s spread offense and was not always counted on to win games for the Utes during his sophomore campaign. Why Smith didn’t start his freshman season under McBride is somewhat of a mystery, but the fact that Smith only started two years also comes into play. During his junior season, Smith finished fourth in Heisman voting, totaling 635 votes. That landed him behind Heisman winner Matt Leinart, runner-up Adrian Peterson and Jason White. Smith led the Utes to an undefeated season that year after dismantling Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl.

If Keeton hopes to become the first quarterback in Utah State’s history to finish in the Top 10 of Heisman voting, the Aggies will likely need to win the remainder of their games, which would mean that USU would also win the inaugural MWC championship game — not currently figured into his projected totals — and its bowl game. If the Aggies are to run the table, Keeton could get another shot against Utah, since the Las Vegas Bowl pits the MWC champion against the fifth-best Pac-12 team.

Keeton’s Heisman candidacy would still be a long shot even with such results, unlikely to springboard him in the minds of the voters above the likes of Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota and Tajh Boyd — just a few dual-threat quarterbacks who will surely be considered as frontrunners if their teams are to finish near or atop their respective conferences. However, if he is able to rack up his projected totals and lead the Aggies to their second-ever 11-plus win season, it is hard to imagine that his unique blend of a high football IQ and superb athleticism would go unnoticed by the Heisman electorate. Kyle Spencer is a ksl.com intern. He is studying journalism at Utah Valley University and is the sports editor of the UVU Review. You can follow him on twitter @kyledspencer.

Related topics