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Interview with Sam Houston head coach KC Keeler: Bearkats look to build on last season’s surge

Theo

Last year, Sam Houston got off to a rocky start in its first season in Conference USA. Yet even after losing the first eight games, head coach KC Keeler saw plenty of positives.

“We were 0-8, and I remember coming home for dinner and my wife said, ‘You look good,’” Keeler said in an interview with HERO Sports.

Despite the defeat, he did well and that was because even with such discouraging results, Keeler felt his team showed great determination.

“They were 0-8, and I walked out of the weight room, and those guys were tearing it up and they were doing the same thing in practice,” Keeler said. “I give a lot of credit to our culture.”

Sam Houston won an FCS championship in 2020 and then moved to FBS after the 2021 season.

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In 2022, the Bearkats were a team in limbo, unable to compete for an FCS or FBS title. They played nine games as an independent (with a 5-4 record) before joining Conference USA last year.

Another reason Keeler was encouraged despite an 0-8 start was that the Bearkats were legitimately in seven of those first eight games. Only a 38-7 loss at Houston in the third game of the season was not competitive.

None of the other games were lost by more than two touchdowns and four of them were lost by one touchdown or less, including a 21-16 loss to Conference USA champion Liberty, who finished 13-1 and earned a berth in the New Year’s Six Bowl.

Against Liberty, the Bearkats began their final attack on their own 1-yard line with 3:36 left and down five yards. Sam Houston eventually got a first down on Liberty’s 3-yard line but gave up the ball on an incomplete fourth down with seven seconds remaining.

The previous week, Sam Houston had lost 35-28 in overtime to Jacksonville State. The victorious Gamecocks needed a 28-yard scoring pass and a two-point conversion with 13 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Jacksonville State finished 9-4.

Despite these demoralizing defeats, the Bearkats continued to fight.

“It was one of my proudest seasons,” Keeler said.

That’s saying something since Keeler has a career record of 262-109-1 and won national championships at Delaware in 2002 and Sam Houston.

Sam Houston’s strong end to the season

The Bearkats finished last season winning three of four games, and even that loss was a 28-23 defeat at Western Kentucky.

So if anyone believes the momentum of a 3-1 record at the end of the season can carry over into this year, it’s Keeler.

“We are happy with this season,” he said. “We have an experienced squad coming back and we have only lost one starter to the (transfer) portal.”

With a veteran group, Sam Houston likely finds itself in the same position it was a year ago, where the Bearkats could be involved in several thriller games.

“We think we can play any team in the conference,” he said. “It’s about staying healthy.”

And also a question of winning the close matches.

Sam Houston’s outlook

The key, as with all teams, is the quarterback. Keeler isn’t ready to name a starter, but he figures he has no shortage of candidates. Among them are last year’s backup Grant Gunnel, Central Michigan transfer Jase Bauer and junior college transfer Hunter Watson, who led Iowa Western to the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association championship.

“We think we have three quarterbacks that can win in Conference USA,” Keeler said.

As for Keeler, 64, he still has the same enthusiasm after 30 years as a coach, which began with a nine-year stint at Division III Rowan University before spending 11 years at Delaware and the last 10 at Sam Houston.

Last year he signed a four-year contract extension.

“I still enjoy it and I work for good people, and I’m fortunate to have a great administration that guides us,” he said. “I enjoy it every day.”

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