Going to sleep is a challenge for Keanu Hill . It's when he shuts everything down for the day that his mind takes off and it often includes him catching the football over the middle with a linebacker trying to chase him down.
"Every night. I always dream about matchups," Hill said. When asked if during those dreams the linebacker ever catches him, he answers with a confident Texas smile, "Never. Never."
Hill has 73 career receptions for 1,212 yards and 11 touchdowns, but none of those catches and not a single yard or touchdown has come from the tight end position where he will line up on Aug. 31 against Southern Illinois.
"It feels very natural to me," Hill said. "I feel after this offseason of training and film study and going over the run plays with Coach (TJ) Woods, I feel like I was born to play this position."
Hill's offensive coordinator concurs.
"He looks like he's been playing tight end his whole career. He's a natural," said Aaron Roderick. "We probably should have made that move earlier. He has been a good player for us, but he's such a good fit there."
Tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride is the architect of the transition. He coached through a similar scenario with the Bears in Chicago. He likes what he sees from Hill.
"He has the physical tools. You need to have that to extend, but he has the 'want to,'" said Gilbride. "He has the willingness to put himself into challenging situations and fail, and then come back and do it again and get a little better and then fail and come back to do it again and get a little better, so he continues to progress. It's his mentality that lets me believe he can do it."
Hill is 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds. He and his colleagues in the tight ends room must replace Isaac Rex who finished his Cougar career with 1,385 receiving yards and the most touchdowns (24) for a tight end in program history .
The move from receiver to tight end has also turned Hill into a run blocker.
"It's coming along great," Hill said. "It's way different from blocking as a receiver. It's more technical and you have to be more sound down in the trenches. I just have to be ready to go and have my hands ready."
Roderick's offense averaged just 3.5 yards per carry last season. Rejuvenating the running game was a point of emphasis in spring practice with the new additions of Woods (offensive line coach and running game coordinator) and Gilbride and it will remain that way throughout fall camp. Hill's physicality fits in perfectly on the offensive line.
"He is such a good blocker, which is probably the thing that surprised all of us is how natural he has been at blocking as a tight end," Roderick said. "We always knew he was tough but we can do everything with our run game with him at tight end than we did with any other tight end we've had here in the past. And everybody knows he's a playmaker. He makes plays in the passing game."
Hill's father, Lloyd, made enough plays at receiver at Texas Tech to earn the First Team All-American a coveted place in the Red Raiders Hall of Fame. The idea of his son switching from receiver to tight end took time to digest.
"At first he wasn't on board with it," Keanu Hill said. "But after talking with some friends, he came around and said, 'I think this can work for you in the future.'"
Hill is still hoping for a future in the NFL and that is part of the reason he decided to return to BYU for his final year of eligibility after graduating in May.
"As a kid, I always saw myself playing in the NFL so, I think this is Plan A for me," he said. "I want to see it to the end."
Gilbride spent more than a decade coaching in the NFL with the Bears, Panthers and Giants. He likes how his tight ends are progressing but admits there is a lot of work to do between now and Aug. 31. Having Hill on board, however, gives him hope.
"(He) has a versatility that you are always searching for," Gilbride said. "We are fortunate to have him on our offense in a lot of different areas. It's just another piece, but it's a significant piece for a guy who has played a lot of football here at BYU."
Following the promptings from his mother (Hannah), Hill enrolled in acting classes this fall at BYU. However, his first theatrical appearance of the new school year will remain on the familiar stage of LaVell Edwards Stadium. It is there, in front of a full house, that he will debut in his new role as a tight end — a part Hill has come to believe he was born to play.
BYU running back Deion Smith (20) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Keanu Hill (1) against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts "Y's Guys" at ysguys.com and is the author of the children's book "C is for Cougar," available at deseretbook.com .
