Keenan Garber returns home, ready to show off new talents as key Kansas State defender
It’s hard to imagine any college football player making a bigger transformation than Keenan Garber has during his time with the Kansas State Wildcats.
When Garber first arrived in Manhattan in 2019 out of Lawrence High, of all places, he was a speedy wide receiver who appeared to have bright days ahead of him catching touchdowns as a member of Chris Klieman’s offense. But that future never materialized.
Garber spent the vast majority of his first four years on campus watching from the sideline. His career offensive statistics: six catches for 82 yards and no touchdowns.
His lack of success on offense eventually led to a position change, which has paid major dividends. Garber volunteered to switch to defense and play cornerback late last season, and his football trajectory has been soaring ever since.
First, he surprisingly helped K-State win a Big 12 championship last year. Next, he became a key starter for the Wildcats who has made 20 tackles and has successfully defended five passes this season.
Most impressive of all, he seems to be getting better with each passing game. Garber was certainly at his best last week, when he made an interception and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown against Baylor. After four fruitless years on offense, he finally reached the end zone on defense.
Not even he saw that one coming.
“Definitely not,” Garber said. “I was just thinking about that in the locker room, I never would have thought it would be on defense, but I’m just glad to see how it played out. I saw the quarterback turn my way, I knew the pass was coming my way. I made a good read on it and then saw open field ahead of me.”
It is appropriate that Garber made a statement last week.
Now he gets to show off his new position and his new talents in front of old friends when he returns to his home town for a much-anticipated road game against rival Kansas. Will everyone recognize him?
“That will be interesting,” Garber said. “Some people don’t even know I switched positions.”
Garber has never played any meaningful college snaps in Lawrence or against the Jayhawks. He is excited for that to change.
As you might expect, this rivalry means a little extra to Garber. The 6-foot and 184-pound defensive back considered both KU and K-State before he committed to the Wildcats. He has never lost to the Jayhawks and he doesn’t want that to change.
K-State will take its chances if Garber continues to play the way he has in recent games. Garber is one of the faster players on the entire football roster. His speed gave him potential at wide receiver. It has helped him make big plays on defense.
“Keenan is crazy fast,” K-State safety Kobe Savage said. “I mean, he is lightning quick. He was able to display that to everybody in that Cover 2 coverage when the quarterback threw a hitch. It was amazing to see him capitalize on that and get a touchdown for us.”
“I didn’t think anybody was going to catch him,” K-State coach Chris Klieman added.
Garber always wanted things to work out for him at wide receiver. But he is thankful that K-State coaches were willing to let him try something else when he came to them and asked for playing time elsewhere.
After years of not making an impact on the field, he was ready to help the Wildcats in a more meaningful way, even if it meant learning how to defend passes after spending his whole life catching them.
Surprisingly, he was such a natural on defense that he ended up playing in last year’s Big 12 championship game after only spending only a few weeks at cornerback in practice.
“It’s a tough transition going from receiver to defensive back, but he’s a heck of an athlete so I knew that wasn’t going to be a problem for him,” K-State receiver Phillip Brooks said. “He’s worked on his game and he has been making plays all season. He deserves all the success that is coming his way.”
Turns out, his deep knowledge of route trees and offensive formations gave him an advantage on the other side of the field.
K-State quarterback Will Howard knew Garber found his ideal position when he started to give him fits during preseason camp. No defensive back on the team was better at anticipating his throws.
“That kid has such a knack for the ball,” K-State quarterback Will Howard said. “I still think he would make a really good receiver because he is such a good athlete. But I think in the back of his head he knows what the receiver is going to do because he has been a receiver.
“He is able to jump routes really well. That is something I have struggled with against him, because he is a ball-hawk. He likes to sit on routes sometimes and get the best of you.”
The last time Garber made a big play in his hometown, he was a high school receiver. Much has changed since then.
Garber has found a promising new home on the K-State defense.
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Keenan Garber returns home, ready to show off new talents as key Kansas State defender."