NFL QB Case Keenum on the Houston Texans culture, his improbable NFL career and keeping God first

Case Keenum it's great to see you brother welcome back to sports Spectrum thanks Jason good to be back yeah it's been a little while um a lot has changed since I think we last had you on um the first being that you are now and I think we've talked a little bit about this maybe but you're a dad to two little ones right I am that's crazy now how old are the little ones they're not maybe so little anymore well yeah that's what happens with kids they they grow fast uh yeah Kyler and Cadence uh little boy little girl he's four uh and as as she will constantly remind me uh her birthday's coming up when she's two about to be three okay and that's the the cougar paaw U of AG where I went to school high school or college University Houston Cougars so this is number three in our house okay uh but yeah she's about to be three and she's she's running things uh they usually do and it's it's awesome U Kimberly and I are so blessed you know obviously you know a lot of our story and how that uh uh came about in God's plan for our life but man it's as it is unfolding um God so much better I can that's what I was going to ask because I mean the last time you were on I think we had you and your wife on many years ago and we talked through this process of of infertility and trying to have children and I loved how you guys were trusting in the Lord as you were going and as you were walking through trying to have kids now you can look back and see a four-year-old and an almost three-year-old and and say God is good uh but do you kind of find yourself I I do this with my daughter and she's 19 almost 20 I don't know if I can put that on all my fingers now uh that she's going to be almost 20 years old but I still look at her because we went through four years of infertility as well my wife and I with our daughter and I look at her and I still say wow God like what a miracle that this kid is even around and that I get to be her dad do you find yourself doing that every so often just looking at your kids oh there's no doubt um looking at them and then like I uh this morning you know I was I was like writing her a little note in my Bible and um just the her little face looking up at me you know and just those those moments that uh as dads we can talk about and maybe even shared moments like that with some of our friends and and you know younger teammates that don't have kids and try to explain to them the feelings that you feel um you can't explain this the joy and the happiness and the the emotions of U you know what what that makes you feel and the the the proud dad you know I used to make fun of my dad like his mustache you know just quivering you know like you know his little eyes watering like and that's me now you know watching a silly commercial or something and right these These Feelings well up in you man it's uh uh it's incredible um I love love being a dad love being a parent um Kim and I are so excited um you know this is obviously going into your 13 NFL and it's been a a crazy career uh who knows what the the future uh brings there you know yeah uh hopefully another year or you know more with the Texans but who knows I mean we're right now uh focused on being great uh husband and wife great couple but uh great parents and and disciplemakers in in our own home uh which you know as you know we're all called to so I'm I'm excited for that part of this life uh that's uh staring us right in the face uh as I wake up or sometimes sleeping in bed uh uh staring us right in the face uh figure figuratively and literally yes uh I'm loving it though no that's great um you're talking about this journey that you've been on during year 13 Houston Houston St Louis Los Angeles Minnesota Denver Washington Cleveland for 2 years Buffalo Houston in 2023 when you just hear that going back in fact you and I were talking about this when we walked over here for this Taping that you and I met you were still in college and you came to ESPN and did a car wash and Tony dunie was there and that was before you had even finished your your fifth year I think and you ended up playing six years at University of Houston before it was cool to play six years now apparently it's completely fine 789 in college you might have stayed till you were 30 uh if it was today's age am money come on here we go but now you're in your 13 thinking about this journey that you've been on all those what comes to mind when you hear that yeah it's it's it's crazy to list off and I I I have told people you know the Houston St Louis uh St Louis La Minnesota Denver Washington Cleveland Buffalo you know and you can I spit it out so fast and for you to mention coach dunie at the car wash he he was a part of a book that I was blessed enough to be able to write about that story you know he wrote the forward for it um and it's just it's so cool to see not just the places you've been and the teams you gotten to play for and the you know the incredible victories that you had and Minnesota Miracles and you know all these things that happen on the field but off the field and the people like coach dunie uh that you get to meet and and be a part of of life with and learn from and iron sharpen iron sharpen each other up and you know coaches that I've uh gotten to play for other players that I've gotten to uh you know live life with not only great memories on the field but their families as well and um cry and laugh and you know get hurt and just have so many great memories um yeah it's it's it's incredible I mean I wasn't supposed to have one in a you know Season undrafted undrafted uh the odds are stacked against scholarship offer um you know from a smaller school out in West Texas abing Wy uh you know son of a coach's kid and you know to see see where God has brought us uh what he's brought us through um like you talked about the infertility the injuries the you know life that that happens for all of us is I mean it's incredible it's so cool to to look back on it's also pretty interesting the sort of career Arc that your your journey has taken you on because and I've talked to a few people I remember talking to uh Luke maccau I remember talking to Dan orlovski and you know when you come into the league your goal is you know you might start with I just want to make the team but eventually you're a quarterback and you're prideful just like every other quarterback I've ever met and you want to play and you want to start and you take that journey to eventually becoming a starter Min Minnesota and Denver in those years and even Washington and the last four five years it's kind of been this different Arc of Mentor veteran backup guy that can come in and give you a couple games that's sort of the the the perspective maybe from a fan or from a world worldly look at it you know an analyst or whatever but for you how have you embraced the last four or five seasons in this what I would say is nor more of a maybe a mentor role in your mid to late 30s as you enter into your career yeah it's uh it's wild how fast that transition sometimes goes like I I remember you know being a rookie and you know getting invited to Pao and um you know just just trying to trying to make it you know trying to I mean you know you you just you brought into this whole brand new huge world with these names that you know you've been watching you know the Mannings the breezes the bradies you know all these people that you know and then there you get to meet some of the actual people that uh that now you're going to be working with right and then all of a sudden you turn around and you're the oldest person in your room you're the oldest quarterback on your team oh then you're the oldest guy on on the offense and like okay now now you're the oldest guy on the team like and all these questions that uh you remember having and asking and like all a sudden you're getting asked these same things um and yeah so it's it has been an Incredible Journey on the field and then to to kind of transition into this time with Cleveland Buffalo now Houston and um you know guys like jar go and Baker and Josh and now CJ yeah to be a part of a room uh with those guys uh man it's just it's been so special um it's and it's it's totally different people uh totally different backgrounds um and just some really really sweet memories um you know good and bad you know but you can look back now on on some of those uh heartbreaks um you know and just just looking around who's around you and it's it's those guys that that we we created this Bond uh you know that we'll have forever um and it's it's it's been really special it's been really special for Kimberly my wife as well to to minister to these girls behind the scenes that uh you know these girls that are you know living a a strange life in a new city on a new team maybe uh you know the pressures that come with uh you know playing NFL quarterback specifically um you know with these girls too so it's it's been a a really sweet season um the last four or five years where uh you know us the performance on the field maybe has has you know taken a little bit of out of the magnifying glass of maybe when it was in Minnesota or Denver when I was starting um and and really really feeding into people and uh trying to minister people you know on a on a personal relationship type level uh you know and then and on the football field as well trying to help so um it's been fun I've I've truly felt like God has has prepared and built me exactly for for where I've been um and specifically now at the Texans I mean it's all the situations that we've been in uh in so many areas of our life have specifically prepared us uh for this exact moment where we are right now when you go back to signing with Houston in 2023 did you sign before they drafted CJ Strat was you signed before so you may have known or you may not have known that some semblance of a quarterback was coming in and they were bringing you in I'm guessing you knew this to compete to to be ready to play and also to be a mentor to whoever this young person was being was going to be when they when you found out it was CJ and when he walks into the room for the first time and you meet him what was your impressions then having gone through a full season and watched this guy perform the way he did yeah so I signed with Texans and I I knew they were bringing somebody in Davis Mills was there as well another young guy um uh so then yeah they they drafted CJ and I I had watched very little I mean I you know of of Ohio State maybe some of the bigger games uh that they played and some of the playoff situations but didn't know much about him uh as a quarterback or a person I think I may have seen an interview here or there uh but uh him coming in and you know I'm going to put football aside yeah the the person that he is I mean I just just blew me away you know I mean I think he was 21 when he got there um you know he's all grown up now at 22 years old uh but uh think about us at 22 my gosh so young oh I don't want to think about me at 22 uh but man just just so mature yeah um and just just ready for whatever had got thrown at him this year and uh you know I knew a little bit of what would get thrown at him being in a situation of a a franchise quarterback and you know signing a new place coming in trying to trying to find your way and and be the leader that you know you're called to be um I didn't I was not doing that at 22 years old um you know I was still taking you know whatever uh you know college uh whatever course it was that year yes obviously it's stuck on but clearly you learned a lot exactly yeah as we can see about my 22-year-old self um but anyways uh yeah just just him as a person coming in and his background his family getting to know his mom M uh his sisters brothers man it's it's been really cool uh to to get to know him the person um because he is he is very wellb built uh to to you know lead a life of uh a high profile Christian athlete um that is Christian before an athlete and um yeah it's been it's been really fun to get to know him uh and not not just the football player him we've all seen him play and seen what he can do and I I could talk for you know 15 other podcasts about his his play and what he can do but right uh as a person uh it's been really special to get to know him did you guys connect pretty quickly spiritually I mean obviously you're head coach so you're coming in with a new head coach too this culture within the Houston Texans um and Deo Ryan who we've talked to on this show at the Super Bowl about Christ being the center of his life and I love watching him in press conferences postgame give glory to God which you don't see a whole lot from coaches sometimes you do yeah you see it more from the players but he is very intentional about his faith you of course and then to have CJ and obviously there's other guys too we talked to a few other players at the Super Bowl this year uh who played with the Texans about their Fai like you just saw a culture being built and I just wonder what that was like from a spiritual perspective seeing these leaders enter into this new locker room that you were walking into yeah I think uh you know walking back cuz like we talked about you know starting my career in Houston with Coach kubak yeah um you know obviously uh Bob McNair the the owner you know the founder of the of the Texans was still alive at that point um his son Cal and Hannah have taken over a lot of the operations but um you know the feeling walking back into that locker room and that building that organization 10 years later felt different I could tell there was some hurt um you know there there had been some Seasons uh some situations uh you know that had that had broken a lot of people uh you know a lot of the spirit in that in that community in that in that City of Houston um and then to to have demo come up his first team meeting and have a a PowerPoint slide with scripture on it uh and just his smile in the face uh which you know we've we've probably all seen and you know at times we may have gotten tired of it cuz it was just him smiling man and bringing Joy yeah uh and you know it was a joy and it was a peace that I don't a lot of people didn't understand but I think we know where that comes from and it was contagious um same with CJ you know and I think that uh you know having pillars like that uh to to build a team around um really to give hope to a to organization uh to a city uh which you know I think uh has turned into some faith and and even expectations of of what's to come oh yeah um you know spiritually doing it whether guys knew it or not um you know one of our Motts iron sharpens iron so um you know I I think it was it was very special uh to be a part of and to see just that feeling on Sundays just I mean my wife even would mention it too coming into games just on Sundays you're like this feels different than it used to to like week one to you know week 20 whatever it was in the playoffs divisional round against Cleveland or Wild Card round and it's like this this is how it should be here in Houston and Texas um and to have a spiritually grounded uh coach family oriented man like Deo um you know just be who he was wasn't anybody else and we you know you see that you know that I mean you can excuse me you can tell that that's who he is and that's who he's going to be um you know and the good times and bad you know it wasn't all roses and perfume this year and we we went through a little bit of it so yeah um yeah it was it was fun to be a part of and I I was happy to be along for the ride and you know to to encourage where I could to be a part and and that's kind of been my backup role um and I've I've Embrace that I've loved that um you know to help lead uh but to but to serve uh really serve and and get to watch uh uh you know the young man in my in my quarterback room uh succeed seed so um yeah I mean it was a it was an awesome year to see so I like I say in our room man um yeah uh there's there was a pro bowl made in the room that it wouldn't be it was but I was I was proud to to be a part of what he was able to do it was fun what was uh time with the Lord like for you and for the team you know with a new culture you know sometimes cultures might come in and you know not be so you know uh receptive to Bible studies and Chapel Services and things like that I know that's not the case in Houston but what did that look like you know during the year last year when you think through you know weekly Bible studies Chapel Services whatever that might be yeah so Chapel was a was a staple um they did a great job of creating us a space uh for that um you know Robbie our our our chaplain is here um and I'm excited to uh get him plugged in with the chaplain Community Dylan Thompson as we both know our Player Development gu uh who is a stud on the relationship level with with different players on our team yes uh providing them for exactly what they need but uh the the the space felt very safe for us to to meet uh in Bible studies and and in Chapel and they do a great job Houston in general is just such a you know a huge Melting Pot of such so many incredible spiritual uh just Giants if you will um of of in their in of men in their faith that that are able to come in and share so uh we had great speakers and pastors around um that uh not only in Houston but as we travel too so we were fed uh in a lot of ways and it's it was it was a good good space uh for us to uh to grow on our faith this year case keenum's with us here on Sports Spectrum uh I want to ask you about praising God in the highs and the lows and I thought I saw something really neat from Houston in the loss to Baltimore the playoffs when CJ and I think coach Ryan's but definitely CJ they were being interviewed and there was postgame press conferences and microphones in people's faces and they still were able to give glory to God in the losses we were talking to a couple Chaplin here at this conference we're at and they said sometimes that's the hardest thing to do is to get guys to a point of maturity where they can still praise the Lord even when things aren't going right you've been doing this now a while how does that ring with you in terms of because you've had I'll go back to when you were with Minnesota you had the Minneapolis Miracle the next week not so good you know in the in the NFC Championship Game how has that been for you in continuing to remain steadfast in the Lord obviously you want to win every game but still understanding that favor with God is not predicated on wins or losses MH yeah I mean that's a that's a great question um and I would say it's something that is part of the renewing of my mind daily of of taking up my cross daily cuz this is I mean this is this is right at my alley and something that that I still uh continue to strive for because you want to get to a point where you're thankful for those things man it's it's a point where you're thankful that God is taking you to these places where you can rely on him and and have his strength show up where we're weak um which I I feel like is him showing off you know and it's like it's it's not about me like there's there's there's there's I've been put in so many situations I mean you talk about the Minnesota miracle and being there after the game being asked like is this the best moment of your life and I I have nothing in my mind that's like a legible clear thought after that game after that throw it's just the loudest moment you've ever seen the craziest fireworks this and that and like and it just pops in my head God gives me like no this is is like the third best moment you know marry my wife was second and then giv my life to Christ uh was first and um I just I I think that making sure that that you know like we've talked about this week not not celebrating so much and Living For The Creation but all these things that these gifts that we have it's it's pointing us to the to the Creator right CU yeah I mean the the very next week we go and we we lose the game I mean bad against the Eagles and Nick Foles and it was their appointed time I mean I think about the Demar Hamlin situation that I was part of in Buffalo we all know where we were when we're watching that game one of the most watched Monday Night Football games of all time Joe burough Josh Allen you know I I told Josh before the game I was like dude this is a this is a night this is going to be some offensive football like like I just feel like God's got something going on and I didn't realize it was God had something else going on big way and we all have moments you know that that we experien God in in that situation mine was that night with some teammates um in a basement of of a teammate's house we're all just wantan to be together because we don't know what's going on just like the entire world doesn't know what's going on and they're they're asking me what happens when you die wow you know some unsaved teammates or you know some guys that you know just don't know about Jesus and so just um making sure that you're available um and and open to to God using you in all those situations and I I say that to like not pump myself up because I'm you know I'm not a not a trained Pastor to you know but like God can use me to share my faith with my teammates in that moment just like he can use anyone in any any situation good or bad uh to to share his love that he loves us yeah no matter where you've been what you've done um and he loves us enough to take us out of those situations and um you know spend eternity with him so uh it was definitely a lot of those moments highs and lows uh you know to be able to to point people to Christ um you know and and to look back on them is is pretty special yeah I wasn't planning on going there but that the mar story I remember being at this conference a year ago and talking to lamb vand and boss oh yeah about the whole story Len is the chaplain with the Buffalo Bills and obviously the boss but I mean when when do people turn to spiritual figures the most it's in times like that like we need we need the chaplain to come in and pray we need the chaplain to come in and you know be a piece if you will be a calming Point within the midst of a of a crazy storm but you find yourself in a basement with players just questioning where they might go and what's what is that moment like um I don't know if I've ever been in a situation like that I have certainly talked to non-believers about my faith and and told them about what I believe and showed them what the Bible says but it's in those real moments when you're brother your teammate might not make it and there were moments I remember even texting you like we're just praying bro there's nothing else we can do but pray and I and I really looking back thought God had placed people like yourself and Len and even your coach coach mcdermit and others in that facility to be prepared for a moment like that where Faith could be you know put to the test if you will and lived out but for you what kind of stands out when you think about being in that moment because that's a pretty powerful moment to be put in it was and I and I like what you said there cuz that I've never been on a team like the Buffalo Bills um that Community itself uh you know Western New York Orchard Park the bills Mafia the bills Mafia man um it's very unique and the team itself like just regionally like where it's located there's not a lot going on so we all hung out together at people's house like yes I mean Tuesday night bible study you know like what else we going to do you snowing again it's snowing again yeah let's find someplace warm to go hang out and eat wings um but just the the that that whole thing and the way Shawn has built that culture up of just close-knit tight family uh faith-based organization um you know I think it was uniquely prepared and not in a coincidental way to to handle a situation like that and then the next week and you even saw some of the interviews afterwards and what Josh said and yeah you know the the kickoff return and um you know just just things about sports that uh you know make it romantic and like you know there's somebody's writing this you know there's no way that this just happens type moments um but like the the community being there already in place of guys loving on each other wives loving on each other um families just connecting and and growing stronger together uh and pointing people to Christ because I mean we we all saw what happened on you know all the all the networks got got prayer you know which was I mean Dan Orosi was praying ONN it was amazing yes like he never see that so cool um and and uh man God was so honored in that moment and you know so incredible that he answered so many prayers with a you know Demar who was my locker mate you know being you know at practice you know two weeks later and you're like let's go you know so um very special um yeah I mean it was uh it was awesome it's pretty cool I love hearing like your journey to all these different cities and yet God was like you said placing you in those places is uh for a particular purpose and reason even Buffalo was one year you were there and uh you'll probably talk about that season forever you know the good and the bad um and the same with the time times you spend in Houston in Washington and Denver or Minnesota or wherever it might be um last question for you uh and thank you again always for the time but when you think about Christ in your life and you can go as deep or as as wide as you want on this one um who's Jesus to to Case Keenum today yeah um man he's some I go to every day um you know a best friend a savior like truly um I tell people I don't know where I'd be uh without my wife but man like uh he was the one that introduced me to her you know at a very young age and thank God that that he did that he ordained this this meeting with her yeah um you know because it's it's the most important thing in my life um and uh you know it's it's it's like any relationship um you know in in in our lives where I I have to work on it you know and and this is me preaching to myself right now of like just you know this this this constant thing of of continuing to uh to run after him in in all areas of my life and that's that's a um you know a a part of just me bowing down to him in each of these these areas of my life and chasing after him um you know because CU it all all the other things that I get distracted with tend to fall in line uh when I'm doing that so uh the rock uh that that my house is built on uh in my house has expanded which is is very special um and that's not a coincidence um you know there's been parts of my life that I built on the sand and they've uh been removed and uh you know there's still parts where I'm building and still working on on embedding that in the in the the Bedrock that is that is Jesus Christ but uh yeah uh and that's as deep and as wide as I can get I think in in 30 seconds but that's well said appreciate that question yeah yeah he is Case Keenum uh thanks for joining us man always great to connect with you and see you again and look forward to hopefully having another conversation soon no doubt thanks Jas appreciate you man hey thanks for watching sports Spectrum here on YouTube you can click our next video or you can check out our website sportspectrum tocom