Jake Heaps Story

[byucougar1]

There is a nice story in the 7/18/10 Sun. edition of the Deseret News regarding Jake Heaps. It is entitled "Born to play: BYU freshman Jake Heaps has always displayed passion for playing QB".

http:///www.deseretnews.com/article/700049091/Born-to-play-BYU-freshmen-Jake-Heaps-has-alway-displayed-passion-for-playing-QB.html

[Lawboy]

Great article, especially in light on the whole "lockergate" stuff that went around recently. If he is the best for the job, I expect to see him start. If not, I expect him to sit.

I do think BYU fans need to lighten up on the expectations with him though. Not every highly touted QB pans out, and the last top recruit at QB sure didn't. Time will tell, but until then, some people need to stop getting carried away and crowning him with that Heisman. It's as bad as Beano Cook with about every Notre Dame player, but with Ron Powlus, in particular. And we all know how that worked out.

[bball]

Heaps will start on September 6th, he'll do well, he'll have a very good freshman season, he will not go on a mission. He saw what a mission did to Olsen (according to some), and BYU will get three years from him before he goes pro. -- just my guess on things.

[Cougs_Rule]

Jake gets as much or more positive press from his coaches and the press as he does anyone else. It is a cool article. It also seems to add a bit more context to the Elite 11 camp.

Ok, Lawboy. At the risk of sounding contentious, can we stop with the whole "deflate your expectations" diatribes? Are you talking to CC readers and posters, your neighbors (who probably arent reading) or random BYU fans. Maybe you are hedging against your own muted expectations or setting yourself up to be a sage. "Hope for the best, expect the worst, and be surprised with the outcomes"--We get it.

[BYULV]

I agree that Heaps is not likely mission bound. Not only has he pretty much said he is not going, but his family moved to Orem to follow his career. I doubt they do that if there were a good chance he goes on a mission in a year.

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[byucougar1]

After reading the article, some of supporting statements (see below) led me to believe that Heaps will not only start but have immediate impact.

1. At age 8, his mom Kelly after watching Jake throw the football, expressed her maternal instincts and said, "I think Jake is supposed to be a quarterback."..."No, really, ...this kid is supposed to be a quarterback." Maybe his confidence is typical of Helaman's stripling warriors (Alma 56:47-48 "were taught not to doubt by their mothers...")

2. Since the fifth grade he traveled with his family, making three-hour trips to work out with renowned quarterbacks coach Greg Barton. Jake attended Barton's academy about 25 weekends a year to learn the quarterback craft. Barton has tutored Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Jason White and three current NFL starters (Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Orton). Barton stated, "Quarterbacks need to take everything in, like a sponge. They have to have that gym rat mentality. They have to have that to be a really great quarterback. Jake had all that...The guy's really got a passion for being a quarterback."

With his developed skill set he led Skyline High School in Sammamish to three consecutive state titles and finished with a 40-2 record as a starter.

3. Brandon Huffman, regional director of Scout.com in Seattle, stated, ""He's one of the most polished quarterbacks that I've seen come out of high school over the last five to seven years...When we name a guy No. 1 at a position, especially at quarterback, we don't just expect them to start in college, but to thrive and be an All-American candidate relatively quickly in their career."

"I told the Sporting News in late February that he's a candidate to be the (national) freshman of the year because he's that ready to come in, take over and lead that offense. He'll throw for a ton of yards in that (BYU) offense."

Hmmm - sounds like he is ready to be the starter to me.

[SpiffCoug]

The Brandon Huffman quotes should be taken with a relative grain of salt. He is not paid by any football organization to be a scout. What is his football background? Why should his opinion be anymore valid than any of ours? And he works for Scout.com and gives an opinion that he agrees with Scout.com's analysis?! Shocking!

I put more stock in the Greg Barton quotes which are very positive than the Huffman quotes which are basically saying that his opinion is quite right.

Although, the Heaps paid Barton a lot of money over a lot of years to teach Jake QB skills, so he better have good things to say!

[vancouvercougar]

With his developed skill set he led Skyline High School in Sammamish to three consecutive state titles and finished with a 40-2 record as a starter.

I'd love for Jake to be 40-2 as a starter at BYU.

[Mars]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7000 ... ng-QB.html

" Heaps has a fiery, competitive side, too. Skyline faced O'Dea High in the state championship game when Heaps was a sophomore. Trailing 28-7 midway through the third quarter, Skyline's hopes were dim. But not to Heaps, who shrugged off an early interception. On the sideline, he was challenging and motivating his teammates. "We're still in this!" he yelled. "We can do it!" Heaps helped guide Skyline to a huge comeback that resulted in a 42-35 victory. The Spartans outscored O'Dea 35-7 in the final quarter-and-a-half of the game. "Every throw he made was spot-on," remembers Taylor. "That was when we knew we had a special kid."

Never mind that the game was almost too much for his mom. "The drama thing? Welcome to Jake's world. That's just how it goes," Kelly Heaps says, laughing. "It was just that gutty, gritty, don't-give-up attitude." "


This is something Max Hall simply could simply never do, unfortunately, which makes me even MORE excited about Jake's prospects at BYU. Hall was a great QB, but spot the other team 13 points and he'd fold up like a lawnchair.

[jonnylingo]

With his developed skill set he led Skyline High School in Sammamish to three consecutive state titles and finished with a 40-2 record as a starter.

I'd love for Jake to be 40-2 as a starter at BYU.

I will only be happy with 42-0