Case Keenum: Houston Texans Wise to Sign College Football's Most Prolific Passer

The Houston Texans have come to an agreement on a contract with Houston's Case Keenum, the most prolific passer in NCAA history, according to the Houston Chronicle on Saturday.

Keenum played five seasons at the University Houston because of a ligament tear in his knee which granted him a sixth year of eligibility. He racked up 19,217 passing yards and 155 touchdowns from 2007 to 2011, which leads the NCAA all-time, and will now take his big arm right next door to the Houston Texans as a potential backup to Matt Schaub and T.J. Yates.

Keenum surpassed 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in three of his five seasons of playing with the Cougars, and demonstrated superb command of Houston's pass-oriented offense.

Regardless of whether Keenum sees any playing time on Sundays though, the move is a wise one from one of the NFL's brightest up-and-coming franchises. 

The Texans are a team on the rise without question. Gary Kubiak's club went 10-6 a year ago, winning the AFC South Division before claiming the young franchise's first ever playoff win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Houston came within a touchdown of potentially advancing to the AFC Championship Game last January.

The Texans have a promising future that will include one of the greatest quarterbacks in the state's history. Keenum is from Abilene, Texas.

Case Keenum's reaction to signing with his hometown team via Houston Chronicle:

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“I wanted to come to the Texans for a long time now, I’m really glad it happened. I truly believe it’s a first-class championship franchise and look forward to being part of a whole lot of championships in the years to come. At that point, I was just hoping that nobody would draft me and that I would be able to do something with the Texans afterward." 

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Though losing two quarterbacks during the course of one season is unlikely, Kubiak and the Texans saw just how possible it is, and how important a dependable backup is last season when veteran starter Matt Schaub went down leaving rookie T.J. Yates in charge of the offense for much of the regular season and the playoffs.

The Houston Texans have stockpiled a trio of bright signal callers that now includes the most dominant statistical passer in the history of college football, and just think, it didn't even cost them a 2012 draft pick.

It doesn't get much smarter than that.

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