One thing about former quarterbacks. In their minds, they are always quarterbacks, even when they switch their positions.

Such is the case with senior Tulsa wide receiver Keenen Johnson, who has done a good job of making the transition from being a high school quarterback to starting receiver for the Golden Hurricane.

“In high school, you couldn’t have told me I wouldn’t be a college D-1 quarterback,” said the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder from Alto, Texas (population 1,225 -- halfway between Dallas and Houston). “But, things didn’t work out that way, obviously, so I just had to learn how to play receiver.”

Johnson has now embraced being a receiver, drawing his inspiration from pro football receivers like Antonio Brown and Braxton Miller who also used to play quarterback. He even did some research and found out about perhaps the greatest quarterback to receiver switch of all time - former TU and NFL great Drew Pearson.

“I read up on Drew Pearson, too,” Johnson said of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor member, one of the greatest clutch receivers in NFL history, who was a starting quarterback at TU as a sophomore before making the switch. “Before I researched him I didn’t know he used to be a quarterback.”

Still having some quarterback left in him, Johnson finally got to fulfill his dream of completing passes at the D-1 level last season, throwing for 31 yards while completing two of three passes on trick plays last season. Although he has a ways to go to match Pearson’s numbers since making the switch, as he had career NFL passing numbers of five for seven for 191 yards and three touchdowns.

“I loved it. I wish I could throw more passes, really,” Johnson said.

At Alto High School, Johnson was a run-first quarterback who also had good passing skills, throwing for 11 touchdowns and 849 yards, while rushing for 2,669 yards and 38 touchdowns and a 12.3 average as a senior, leading his team to an 11-1 record. He also caught a 55-yard touchdown pass that year, as well as recording three tackles for losses among 42 tackles, while breaking up eight passes and forcing three fumbles.

Recruited as a pure athlete, it was clear to the TU coaches once they got him to Tulsa that he was going to be a receiver. While they were planning on redshirting Johnson, they activated him in game six at Houston, and he made an immediate impact for a Golden Hurricane team that finished 10-3.

It was an amazing beginning as a receiver for Johnson, who caught eight passes for 94 yards against the Cougars in front of many family members in attendance, and finished the season with 30 catches for 305 yards and a touchdown.

“That was probably my most memorable game since I’ve been here,” Johnson said. “It was nerve-wracking because I really didn’t know too much of what I was doing. I knew the plays, but as far as training and developing myself as a receiver, I hadn’t gotten that training and development up until then.

“Just to step up and play like I did, even though the focus was on Josh (Atkinson) and Keevan (Lucas) and the other guys, just to really come and be an added piece in the offense made me feel good.”

Johnson followed that strong debut as a sophomore with 44 catches for 539 yards and a touchdown, and had 34 catches for 438 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 2018. Those numbers would likely have been considerably better had Tulsa’s quarterbacks have not been so inexperienced the last two years.

The quarterback competition this spring and fall between returning starter Seth Boomer and Baylor transfer Zach Smith has been intense, with Johnson being impressed with both, calling them both “great locker room guys.” But Johnson knows the quarterbacks and receivers such as himself and Keylon Stokes have to rise to another level this season for the Golden Hurricane to avoid having a third consecutive losing season.

“I need to be more reliable and put up numbers to help my teammates,” Johnson explained. “That would be my main goal going into the season, because the receiver and the quarterbacks have been the weak spot on the team for the last two years, and that hasn’t been the case for a long time here.

“Usually the quarterbacks and receivers are on point here. I just want to get back to that and be a prolific receiver corps and quarterback corps like it once was here. Winning for us comes down to how the receivers and quarterbacks connect in the game.”

Johnson echoed some similar sentiments to what most quarterbacks turned receivers will say about the advantages of having played quarterback.

“Coming from quarterback to receiver, I felt a lot of the pain my receivers felt from my high school,” Johnson said. “Basically, just learning how to be patient with the quarterback, learning where he wants you to be at a specific time, how he wants the route run, being dependable for the quarterback , and building trust. Because if you do those things, you get the ball a lot more coming your way.”

Besides becoming a better receiver, Johnson, who has been interning in the TU football office in sports management, has matured as a leader as well.

“I feel like I’ve improved at being a better teammate from when I first got here,” Johnson described. “After my sophomore year, I felt like I had to be more vocal, to lead and direct younger players in the right direction, because young players are looking up to you. You have to change your mentality, your approach to practice and workouts."