D
Dcr36Forgive the following, I just wanted to share my two cents, but I think I went well beyond coinage. Sorry. ;)
I'm not privy to any inside information, so I could totally be wrong, but I don't think Heaps transferring is a foregone conclusion. I've been asking myself, though - if Heaps transfers, how do I feel about him? About the coaching staff? About BYU football in general?
1. How I'd feel about Heaps if he transfers
I don't believe there's anything inherently wrong with transferring. People transfer for different reasons.
If someone transfers for family reasons, for spiritual reasons, or because they feel like the environment at their original school was harmful on their well-being, I understand that and I think that's a justifiable move.
If someone looks at the depth chart and realizes, a la Garrett Gilbert and Tate Forcier, that they're likely never going to return to significant playing time, I get that too (even if Forcier had a bad attitude about it). No reason sitting on a bench for a team that doesn't want you.
Then there are the transfers that bother me. Obviously, if someone transfers as a means of getting around the rules (like Jeremiah Masoli), that bothers me. If Cam Newton really believed that Florida would never give him a second chance, I guess his transfer was justified, but leaving amid a cheating scandal strikes me as irresponsible. I guess, overall, the transfers that bother me are the ones where it represents a player shirking responsibility.
And this is why, when people say, "How can you be opposed to Jake transferring when we're in favor of taking in athletes from other colleges?" I think it's kind of a lame duck argument. Obviously, I'm going to be more deferential to players coming into BYU, but it seems like most of the time, these kids transfer (at least externally) for good reasons. If Uona Kavinga says that USC was a bad environment for him and that he hopes BYU will help him spiritually, I like that. If Riley Nelson wants to put "BYU QB" on his med school apps in hopes of getting into a better school, I like that too.
If Heaps chooses to transfer, I guess only he will know what his motivations are. He wouldn't be transferring or more playing time, or earlier playing time - it looks like, no matter where he is, 2013 and 2014 are his to lose. So it would have to be something else. Maybe he doesn't like Provo. Maybe this season's been tough on him and he feels he's embarrassed himself here beyond the point of redemption. Maybe he honestly feels that the coaching staff doesn't know how to maximize his talents, and maybe he's right. But there are a few things that would bother me if Heaps transferred.
First is his recruiting class. When Butch Paau was contemplating other schools a few weeks ago, a fair number of people were a little bothered that he would look elsewhere when he had essentially committed in tandem with a non-member friend. Heaps similarly did a lot to help us with our 2009 recruiting class. Ross Apo and Joshua Quezada both chose BYU in large part because of Heaps' recruiting assistance. I was super-happy he was doing it at the time. I still am.
I don't think Jake Heaps should feel tethered to BYU simply because he was the nexus that brought other athletes here. But if you persuaded other players to come here, you'd have to think twice before you abandon them, right? Especially when, for a lot of them, BYU might not be the most comfortable social or cultural fit. Heaps has struggled to assert himself as the leader of the team, but there's no doubt he holds a leadership sway with some members of the locker room. I don't think it's in good form to abandon those people, even if it's going to be a while before that leadership gets a chance to show on the field.
Second, if Heaps chooses to transfer on the basis of doubts concerning the coaching staff's abilities, I'd feel like he was making an awfully short-sighted decision. For those who repeatedly suggest that Bronco and Co. are letting Heaps down with their coaching, it really needs to be reiterated: since Bronco Mendenhall became coach at BYU, we have had no problem in cultivating and improving our starting quarterbacks. If you believe that Doman is letting down Heaps, you have to believe so on one of the following assumptions:
1) that Doman and Heaps are just a bad fit together. Whether it's attitude, the mental aspect, whatever, they're just not a good pair.
2. Doman and the offense has changed too much since 2005-2009. Either Anae did more than we thought to make our QBs look good, or Doman is swamped and is wearing too many hats.
I think most would agree that there's at least some truth to the latter part of #2. However (and this is I hope Heaps understands) - if Doman is struggling with his new responsibilities, I would imagine that many of these struggles are beginner's steps and he's only going to get better. If I were Heaps, I'd look at the following - Doman was a great QB coach, so he clearly can cultivate talent. He's still a little iffy as an OC, but there's no doubt he's gotten MUCH better even in the course of one season, which is a good sign for the future.
Heaps can sit on the bench and give Doman another year to acclimate to his new responsibilities. Let Nelson be his guinea pig. Then, in 2013, you take the reins under a significantly more experienced and wiser OC. Even with all the question marks surrounding Doman, I don't believe there will be many programs open to Heaps that look better than BYU in 2013 and 2014.
Finally, I would always wonder about Heaps' character. I want to say that without making any accusations. As I said earlier, there are plenty of legit reasons to transfer, and if Heaps transfers, only he'll know what those are. I would just look at the good circumstances that still lay ahead of him at BYU, and wonder what happened that caused him to sour on them. I'd wonder if he'd taken accountability for the shortcomings this first 1/2 of the season, or if he was content to place the blame on everybody else.
I believe that one of the strongest marks of character and leadership is the ability to take accountability for your mistakes even when there IS plenty of blame to be tossed around. Our O-line is always going to make mistakes, just like every other O-line in the country. Our WRs are going to blow routes. Our coaches are going to make bone-headed decisions. But a great QB would approach his job from an angle of "What can I personally do to make the offense better?" That's when you become legend material, the type of QB that makes your supporting cast look better than it actually is.
If Heaps left, I'd always wonder if he had that intangible ability. I'd wonder if he left as a pragmatic decision because he felt he could do better elsewhere, or if he just got fed up with his supporting cast and said "screw this, I'm outta here." That's not fair speculation on my part, but it would be a question Heaps would leave unanswered in his time at BYU.
I'm not privy to any inside information, so I could totally be wrong, but I don't think Heaps transferring is a foregone conclusion. I've been asking myself, though - if Heaps transfers, how do I feel about him? About the coaching staff? About BYU football in general?
1. How I'd feel about Heaps if he transfers
I don't believe there's anything inherently wrong with transferring. People transfer for different reasons.
If someone transfers for family reasons, for spiritual reasons, or because they feel like the environment at their original school was harmful on their well-being, I understand that and I think that's a justifiable move.
If someone looks at the depth chart and realizes, a la Garrett Gilbert and Tate Forcier, that they're likely never going to return to significant playing time, I get that too (even if Forcier had a bad attitude about it). No reason sitting on a bench for a team that doesn't want you.
Then there are the transfers that bother me. Obviously, if someone transfers as a means of getting around the rules (like Jeremiah Masoli), that bothers me. If Cam Newton really believed that Florida would never give him a second chance, I guess his transfer was justified, but leaving amid a cheating scandal strikes me as irresponsible. I guess, overall, the transfers that bother me are the ones where it represents a player shirking responsibility.
And this is why, when people say, "How can you be opposed to Jake transferring when we're in favor of taking in athletes from other colleges?" I think it's kind of a lame duck argument. Obviously, I'm going to be more deferential to players coming into BYU, but it seems like most of the time, these kids transfer (at least externally) for good reasons. If Uona Kavinga says that USC was a bad environment for him and that he hopes BYU will help him spiritually, I like that. If Riley Nelson wants to put "BYU QB" on his med school apps in hopes of getting into a better school, I like that too.
If Heaps chooses to transfer, I guess only he will know what his motivations are. He wouldn't be transferring or more playing time, or earlier playing time - it looks like, no matter where he is, 2013 and 2014 are his to lose. So it would have to be something else. Maybe he doesn't like Provo. Maybe this season's been tough on him and he feels he's embarrassed himself here beyond the point of redemption. Maybe he honestly feels that the coaching staff doesn't know how to maximize his talents, and maybe he's right. But there are a few things that would bother me if Heaps transferred.
First is his recruiting class. When Butch Paau was contemplating other schools a few weeks ago, a fair number of people were a little bothered that he would look elsewhere when he had essentially committed in tandem with a non-member friend. Heaps similarly did a lot to help us with our 2009 recruiting class. Ross Apo and Joshua Quezada both chose BYU in large part because of Heaps' recruiting assistance. I was super-happy he was doing it at the time. I still am.
I don't think Jake Heaps should feel tethered to BYU simply because he was the nexus that brought other athletes here. But if you persuaded other players to come here, you'd have to think twice before you abandon them, right? Especially when, for a lot of them, BYU might not be the most comfortable social or cultural fit. Heaps has struggled to assert himself as the leader of the team, but there's no doubt he holds a leadership sway with some members of the locker room. I don't think it's in good form to abandon those people, even if it's going to be a while before that leadership gets a chance to show on the field.
Second, if Heaps chooses to transfer on the basis of doubts concerning the coaching staff's abilities, I'd feel like he was making an awfully short-sighted decision. For those who repeatedly suggest that Bronco and Co. are letting Heaps down with their coaching, it really needs to be reiterated: since Bronco Mendenhall became coach at BYU, we have had no problem in cultivating and improving our starting quarterbacks. If you believe that Doman is letting down Heaps, you have to believe so on one of the following assumptions:
1) that Doman and Heaps are just a bad fit together. Whether it's attitude, the mental aspect, whatever, they're just not a good pair.
2. Doman and the offense has changed too much since 2005-2009. Either Anae did more than we thought to make our QBs look good, or Doman is swamped and is wearing too many hats.
I think most would agree that there's at least some truth to the latter part of #2. However (and this is I hope Heaps understands) - if Doman is struggling with his new responsibilities, I would imagine that many of these struggles are beginner's steps and he's only going to get better. If I were Heaps, I'd look at the following - Doman was a great QB coach, so he clearly can cultivate talent. He's still a little iffy as an OC, but there's no doubt he's gotten MUCH better even in the course of one season, which is a good sign for the future.
Heaps can sit on the bench and give Doman another year to acclimate to his new responsibilities. Let Nelson be his guinea pig. Then, in 2013, you take the reins under a significantly more experienced and wiser OC. Even with all the question marks surrounding Doman, I don't believe there will be many programs open to Heaps that look better than BYU in 2013 and 2014.
Finally, I would always wonder about Heaps' character. I want to say that without making any accusations. As I said earlier, there are plenty of legit reasons to transfer, and if Heaps transfers, only he'll know what those are. I would just look at the good circumstances that still lay ahead of him at BYU, and wonder what happened that caused him to sour on them. I'd wonder if he'd taken accountability for the shortcomings this first 1/2 of the season, or if he was content to place the blame on everybody else.
I believe that one of the strongest marks of character and leadership is the ability to take accountability for your mistakes even when there IS plenty of blame to be tossed around. Our O-line is always going to make mistakes, just like every other O-line in the country. Our WRs are going to blow routes. Our coaches are going to make bone-headed decisions. But a great QB would approach his job from an angle of "What can I personally do to make the offense better?" That's when you become legend material, the type of QB that makes your supporting cast look better than it actually is.
If Heaps left, I'd always wonder if he had that intangible ability. I'd wonder if he left as a pragmatic decision because he felt he could do better elsewhere, or if he just got fed up with his supporting cast and said "screw this, I'm outta here." That's not fair speculation on my part, but it would be a question Heaps would leave unanswered in his time at BYU.