"Heaps a victim of Unga’s saga, but shouldn’t be"

[BigCougsFan]

Something I haven't thought of, that does make sense.

Heaps took just over half of all quarterback snaps throughout spring ball, finishing 61-of-98 for 743 yards and seven touchdowns while Nelson completed 29-of-51 for 389 yards and five touchdowns. The coaches flipped tackle Matt Reynolds back and forth from right to left tackle to prepare him to protect Heaps’ blindside on the left or Nelson’s on the right.

Kinda obvious who will be the starter, in my opinion.

Mendenhall favors upperclassmen; it’s not really a secret. Heaps isn’t getting preferential treatment to foster growth; Heaps’ big-time talent is the only reason he’s still in the discussion. But because Unga left the program, Heaps absolutely must blow Nelson off the field in fall camp to keep Mendenhall from choosing experience over potential. Barring such a miraculous progression, Nelson will be the starter when Washington comes to town on Sept. 4

I honestly believe this could be switched the other way around. Nelson "absolutely must blow" Heaps "off the field in fall camp" to get the starting job.


http://cougarfan.com/article.asp?ArtID= ... /node/8620

[snoscythe]

First of all, this is a letter to the editor, so what this guy has to say has as much credence as anyone on this board.

Second, with Harvey out of the picture, Nelson HAD to take the lead in Summer drills.....Heaps and Lark simply don't know what to do in Summer drills. Heaps has never done them, and Lark is 3 years removed from his last go around with Summer drills.

Third, what's so bad about Nelson starting? Heaps gets a redshirt year to develop, mature, and grow and we start a HS Parade All-American quarterback who was rated nearly as high as Heaps coming out of high school. Granted, he didn't come out in a weak QB class like Heaps, so no rating service felt like they needed to bump him up to 5 stars so they had at least one 5 star quarterback. Nelson starting will not be the end of the world, and in my opinion, it would be the best thing for both the team and Heaps.

[gmj81]

What? I'm not quite sure I'm reading your tone right Sno. Are you talking about Nelson as being rated as "nearly as high as Heaps coming out of high school" or Lark? I'm confused. Riley was a Parade All-American just like Heaps but it's clear just by looking at their offers (regardless of how the scouting agencies ranked them) that Riley was nowhere even near as highly "rated" as Jake. Riley didn't even have an initial offer to USU as I recall and earned his scholie down the road as it opened up. Don't get me wrong, I like Riley and won't mind one bit if he starts but he just doesn't have the QB skills that Heaps has. You can get by on all athleticism or all smarts or all of just any one thing in high school but in college you have to have more than just one and in the pros even more so. Each level refines and weeds out the "lesser talent". Riley is a great player and makes things work his way but I think it's safe to say he doesn't exactly have NFL talent. Jake does.

And do you really think that Heaps got "bumped" up to five stars because his class was weak and the rating services felt they needed at least "one 5 star" QB? Surely, you've followed this kid enough to know that's not the case. He may not have out-of-this-world size or arm strength but he is more than adequate in each regard and no HS kid has ever dominated the camp and combine circuit like Heaps did. There were scouts who said that he was the most polished QB coming out of HS they had seen in their 10+ years of being in the business. Others have been higher touted because of a rocket arm or impressive stature but few have had the kind of presence and overall abilities of Jake. Let's not forget that ESPN dropped Jake because he spurned their All-American game having already committed to the Army All-American game. And Rivals only dropped him because Jake's lone less-than-top-QB performance was at the one combine of theirs he attended. If I remember correctly, that was the one where he forgot to bring his cleats and wore just his sneakers. And the cherry on top was committing to BYU, a non-BCS school. No, Jake deserved every ranking and praise he got and more so. Others might have a higher ceiling but how many ever actually reach their ceiling anyway?

[Mars]

Third, what's so bad about Nelson starting? Heaps gets a redshirt year to develop, mature, and grow and we start a HS Parade All-American quarterback who was rated nearly as high as Heaps coming out of high school. Granted, he didn't come out in a weak QB class like Heaps, so no rating service felt like they needed to bump him up to 5 stars so they had at least one 5 star quarterback. Nelson starting will not be the end of the world, and in my opinion, it would be the best thing for both the team and Heaps.

I hear that David Foote was ranked almost the same as Harvey Langi as a RB in high school, WR Matt Marshall is about as good as Kasen Williams, and that LBs Manti Te'o and Connell Hess were viewed by scouts to be on basically the same level.

LOL. BYU didn't even offer Nelson a scholarship. He signed with UTAH STATE.

[snoscythe]

Third, what's so bad about Nelson starting? Heaps gets a redshirt year to develop, mature, and grow and we start a HS Parade All-American quarterback who was rated nearly as high as Heaps coming out of high school. Granted, he didn't come out in a weak QB class like Heaps, so no rating service felt like they needed to bump him up to 5 stars so they had at least one 5 star quarterback. Nelson starting will not be the end of the world, and in my opinion, it would be the best thing for both the team and Heaps.

I hear that David Foote was ranked almost the same as Harvey Langi as a RB in high school, WR Matt Marshall is about as good as Kasen Williams, and that LBs Manti Te'o and Connell Hess were viewed by scouts to be on basically the same level.

LOL. BYU didn't even offer Nelson a scholarship. He signed with UTAH STATE.

Go back and look at the ratings. Nelson's raw scores are very comparable to Heaps. Is Nelson's Parade All-American statue worth less than Heaps'?

Why Nelson wasn't offered by BYU and why he went to USU had nothing to do with talent--it had everything to do with him being a die-hard Aggie and with his dad being the team doctor. Both of those things changed on the mission, and I didn't see BYU exactly running away from him when he showed interest two years later.

[SpiffCoug]

It also had a lot to do with the fact that Riley really didn't tear it up until his senior year and by that time James Lark was already committed. Lark had been coming to BYU camps and was well known to BYU coaches. He also had very successful sophomore and junior campaigns. BYU may have had a bit of buyers remorse when it came to Nelson at the time, but it's all water under the bridge now.

I still think coaches are going to try and redshirt Heaps. I personally think it's best for both Jake and BYU in the long run.

If I were a coach, I need to either see compelling reasons why Riley Nelson can't get the job done OR compelling reasons why only Jake Heaps can get the job done. In the absence of evidenct towards either question, I'm taking a longer term veiw when it comes to Heaps' development.

[Mars]

Go back and look at the ratings. Nelson's raw scores are very comparable to Heaps. Is Nelson's Parade All-American statue worth less than Heaps'?

Is Jamarcus Russell any less a #1 NFL pick than others taken that high? Uh... YES!

It would be crazy to not start the best QB, and that has been Heaps since day #1. But hey, if you want reward worse players with starting positions just because they are upperclassmen, that's your opinion, and you're certainly not alone in it. Personally, I've always found that approach to be nuts, as well as destructive to recruiting and team morale.

[snoscythe]

Go back and look at the ratings. Nelson's raw scores are very comparable to Heaps. Is Nelson's Parade All-American statue worth less than Heaps'?

Is Jamarcus Russell any less a #1 NFL pick than others taken that high? Uh... YES!

It would be crazy to not start the best QB, and that has been Heaps since day #1. But hey, if you want reward worse players with starting positions just because they are upperclassmen, that's your opinion, and you're certainly not alone in it. Personally, I've always found that approach to be nuts, as well as destructive to recruiting and team morale.

Jamarcus Russell was a winner at college, and he wowed the press at his first Spring Training before his second season while the Kiffin expressed doubt at starting such a young player because of the risk of hampering development, but bowed to the owner's pressure and proved a prophet. I like your parallel.

Again, though, you ignore the fact that once you filter the 7-on-7 stats out from Spring camp, Nelson had the better Spring camp. Since we will be playing 11-on-11 ball when UW shows up, I'll take the QB who not only has more experience, but who has performed better in 11-on-11 situations.

[Mars]

Again, you ignore the fact that once you filter the 7-on-7 stats out from Spring camp, Nelson had the better Spring camp.

Yes, if you take away the fact that Heaps had twice the yards and TDs as Nelson, as well as a stronger arm and better throwing mechanic, Nelson had a better camp. That makes sense. I won't ignore those facts in making my opinion though.

Of course, we've all hashed this all out before. It doesn't seem like many have changed their opinion. Which is what makes this upcoming Fall so exciting!

[Ddawg]

Nelson starting will not be the end of the world, and in my opinion, it would be the best thing for both the team and Heaps.

Bingo!!! I am in complete alignment w/ your sentiments. Experience - during a game - especially the 1st game of the season against a hungry UW team will be critical. The first Qtr. will be a blur & not making critical mistakes are as important - maybe more so - than making great plays. Rule #1 - do no harm. Don't hurt your team w/ bad decisions. I can see Bronco leaning towards Riley - unless Jake catches fire this summer - which is possible.