Jake vs web hits.

It seems to me that the pundits (read web media) are sold on reporting that Jake is/should be transferring despite any evidence to prove it. It is so annoying that these reporters would speculate and postulate with no real evidence or even a solid basis for even believing he would do so. I suspect it is only to increase the number of web hits on their article. It is sad that the media has gone from sensationalism to sell papers to fabrication to garner web hits-which to me is worse because it is so easier to "post" online as opposed to having it printed in a an actual newspaper. How about an article guys about how most teams have upperclassman at QB and in today's D-1 climate red shirting is commonplace (much more so than transferring).

As for Jake he has no solid reason to transfer but pretty solid ones to remain.

First, with a redshirt he will gain another year of age, experience, strength, and maturity. He also is setup nicely to take over his junior year for a departed senior with little experienced competition.

He loves BYU and has begun his family. What other school is more supportive to married students than BYU? (ans. none).

He is part of BYU independence and possibly will be the first qb to start at BYU if/when they join a BCS conf. (I think we can write off 2012 as a BCS conf school year).

He has very good playmakers around him that he is getting more and more familiar with and will be there when he would be the starter.

These are just a few of the reasons off the top of my head.

Personally I have no problem with him transferring. If he doesn't then good-he can be a great BYU QB, if he transfers then so be it. We seem to do just fine at QB when they transfer. Someone will step up and make the plays (see Ben Olsen).

But I sure would appreciate it if these dingbats would stop speculating on Jake as though he were a spoiled brat and needs to transfer because it is his only option. hey reporter guys, just go find a buddy that can set you up with an program to hit your link (if you don't know one let me know-I know a guy that can put you on page one of Google), and let Jake alone so he grow and learn without stupid questions (my bad there are no stupid questions, only stupid people).

It is interesting that Brandon Gurney is also saying that Heaps has/had off the field issues that "have contributed adversely to his growth at the position."



There were others who intimated as much previously. If this is indeed the case, I have some questions.

1) Are those issues resolved?

2) If they aren't, are/can they be resolved prior to next season, so that they do not continue to hinder his progress?

3) Can Jake learn to compartmentalize and find refuge from his problems on the field and in preparing for the game?

4) If these are that serious, then an RS might be his only option. If not, is there anything that can be done?

SpiffCoug wrote:

1) Are those issues resolved?

2) If they aren't, are/can they be resolved prior to next season, so that they do not continue to hinder his progress?

3) Can Jake learn to compartmentalize and find refuge from his problems on the field and in preparing for the game?

4) If these are that serious, then an RS might be his only option. If not, is there anything that can be done?

1) No, but improving

2) only if someone decides to go to med school, or gets so hurt cant play ever again for BYU

3) Yes

4) BM and BD are not dumb. They see what is happening with the team, and why a RS might be best. Certain issues are gone, respect gets earned, and fresh start happens in 2013.



Not putting it all on one guy. It is widespread team issue on the team this year--and last. Just so happened that went away last year after an injury. And resurfaced this year big time after the Utah game. With some cause for it to.

I have a pretty good source on this that disputes the claims that Heaps is going through or has gone through any issues that would have stunted his development. It's a good enough source that people hearing otherwise would need to convince me of how their source is better than than mine.



Unless those that are claiming he has are talking about his marriage, which is hardly a unique situation for a BYU football player.

SpiffCoug wrote:
It is interesting that Brandon Gurney is also saying that Heaps has/had off the field issues that "have contributed adversely to his growth at the position."



There were others who intimated as much previously. If this is indeed the case, I have some questions.

1) Are those issues resolved?

2) If they aren't, are/can they be resolved prior to next season, so that they do not continue to hinder his progress?

3) Can Jake learn to compartmentalize and find refuge from his problems on the field and in preparing for the game?

4) If these are that serious, then an RS might be his only option. If not, is there anything that can be done?

Who knows if that is true but i tend to believe because it resolves in my mind his downward spiral as well as how different he looked in the utah and utep games as compared to the ole miss and .... well the rest.

hawkwing wrote:
I have a pretty good source on this that disputes the claims that Heaps is going through or has gone through any issues that would have stunted his development. It's a good enough source that people hearing otherwise would need to convince me of how their source is better than than mine.



Unless those that are claiming he has are talking about his marriage, which is hardly a unique situation for a BYU football player.

My source could beat up your source. :P

hawkwing wrote:
I have a pretty good source on this that disputes the claims that Heaps is going through or has gone through any issues that would have stunted his development. It's a good enough source that people hearing otherwise would need to convince me of how their source is better than than mine.



Unless those that are claiming he has are talking about his marriage, which is hardly a unique situation for a BYU football player.

I know that he has gone and is still going through a ton of crap. Maybe our source is the same and he/she is just playing us :) Or maybe he's just a Riley guy. :)

Lawboy wrote:

1) Are those issues resolved?

2) If they aren't, are/can they be resolved prior to next season, so that they do not continue to hinder his progress?

3) Can Jake learn to compartmentalize and find refuge from his problems on the field and in preparing for the game?

4) If these are that serious, then an RS might be his only option. If not, is there anything that can be done?

1) No, but improving

2) only if someone decides to go to med school, or gets so hurt cant play ever again for BYU

3) Yes

4) BM and BD are not dumb. They see what is happening with the team, and why a RS might be best. Certain issues are gone, respect gets earned, and fresh start happens in 2013.



Not putting it all on one guy. It is widespread team issue on the team this year--and last. Just so happened that went away last year after an injury. And resurfaced this year big time after the Utah game. With some cause for it to.

I'm sorry, I just don't buy that Riley Nelson is in any way responsible for Jake Heaps problems. Jake Heaps has not performed well. He has looked marginally better since his stint on the bench, however, bottom line, Riley Nelson is performing well above expectations and Heaps is performing well below expectations. If Nelson gets injured and can't play, I predict that Heaps, without benifit of a full redshirt year will not play in 2013. He will be replaced, sometime in 2012 by Lark or Munns. The best bet for Heaps to play and have a significant inpact is to have 1 year as a redshirt and to then play his Junior and Senior year. I

imuakahuku wrote:
It seems to me that the pundits (read web media) are sold on reporting that Jake is/should be transferring despite any evidence to prove it. It is so annoying that these reporters would speculate and postulate with no real evidence or even a solid basis for even believing he would do so. I suspect it is only to increase the number of web hits on their article. It is sad that the media has gone from sensationalism to sell papers to fabrication to garner web hits-which to me is worse because it is so easier to "post" online as opposed to having it printed in a an actual newspaper. How about an article guys about how most teams have upperclassman at QB and in today's D-1 climate red shirting is commonplace (much more so than transferring).

As for Jake he has no solid reason to transfer but pretty solid ones to remain.

First, with a redshirt he will gain another year of age, experience, strength, and maturity. He also is setup nicely to take over his junior year for a departed senior with little experienced competition.

He loves BYU and has begun his family. What other school is more supportive to married students than BYU? (ans. none).

He is part of BYU independence and possibly will be the first qb to start at BYU if/when they join a BCS conf. (I think we can write off 2012 as a BCS conf school year).

He has very good playmakers around him that he is getting more and more familiar with and will be there when he would be the starter.

These are just a few of the reasons off the top of my head.

Personally I have no problem with him transferring. If he doesn't then good-he can be a great BYU QB, if he transfers then so be it. We seem to do just fine at QB when they transfer. Someone will step up and make the plays (see Ben Olsen).

But I sure would appreciate it if these dingbats would stop speculating on Jake as though he were a spoiled brat and needs to transfer because it is his only option. hey reporter guys, just go find a buddy that can set you up with an program to hit your link (if you don't know one let me know-I know a guy that can put you on page one of Google), and let Jake alone so he grow and learn without stupid questions (my bad there are no stupid questions, only stupid people).

I agree. As usual, I find that I can put a ditto on about anything you say.

rblack wrote:

I'm sorry, I just don't buy that Riley Nelson is in any way responsible for Jake Heaps problems. Jake Heaps has not performed well. He has looked marginally better since his stint on the bench, however, bottom line, Riley Nelson is performing well above expectations and Heaps is performing well below expectations. If Nelson gets injured and can't play, I predict that Heaps, without benifit of a full redshirt year will not play in 2013. He will be replaced, sometime in 2012 by Lark or Munns. The best bet for Heaps to play and have a significant inpact is to have 1 year as a redshirt and to then play his Junior and Senior year. I

I did not say anyone personally. I specifically said that it is a team issue. But it is tied to the cult of personality, and team culture. Remove that, and the dynamic changes. No one is personally acting like Snidely Whiplash. But stuff happens. Teams are unique things. Divided locker rooms happen.

I just read the David Locke piece on KSL, and it really pissed me off. He offers no evidence that Jake is looking to transfer, and spends the entire time basically making the case that he should transfer.



I want Riley to be the starter this year and next, I really hope Jake sticks around. Jake is young. He just needs time for the game to slow down for him. Don't look at starting and then losing the job as an insult, look at starting as an underclassman at a major football school as a compliment. He has played pretty well for how young he is, and I believe he will continue to get better. I just don't think he is ready yet.



But I doubt transferring is the solution. He has no shot at playing, let alone starting in 2012 if he transfers. And in 2013-2014, he is still probably better off at BYU where he knows the system and the coaches believe in him. This will eventually be his team, but it just isn't now.

Days like this I wish I did twitter, because I would drop a Twitter bomb on ScottyG. What a total a-hole. Just stirring the pot to stir the pot. His show is done to me now. He posted this:



ScottyGKFAN Robert Anae needs a job - is tight with Leach who took Wash St. job. Could Jake Heaps be reunited with Anae at Washington State?



Apparently he does not know that Heaps and Anae did not get along too well. Jack-A.

I think this sort of criticism and speculation is just what Jake needs to toughen him up. Last thing he needs is to be overly protected and babied. The last time I watched football defensive ends don't gently lay down opposing quarterbacks out of fear that they might stunt their development or disrupt their fragile psyche. If Jake can't handle what a bunch clowns are saying on the Internet, how is he ever going to be able to keep his head in a game that is as demanding as football? Besides does anyone really believe that was is written here on the Internet even remotely affect actual players? That's certainly attaching a lot of self-importance to oneself. Jake should be ridiculed and bashed as much as possible so he gains a little confidence and toughness.

Just as Locke has made some jumps in his column, many people here are making leaps, just in the other direction. The one thing that Locke points out, that no one has countered, and it happens to be his best point, is that the relationship between player and team and player and coach(es) may just be too fractured to repair.



If that's the case, him leaving for anywhere else is better for him and for the program. Also, it's not too big of a stretch to think that someone in his situation might be looking to transfer.



One of the confusing things to me is there are people that point out that he has to sit out next year if he transfers and that is a deterrent to transferring, yet in the very same post they say he should red shirt next year and stay. If he's not playing next year, what does it matter where he is? So he knows the system more here. So, learning a new system next year would be harder? Also, the coaching staff here may not want him.

stuckinbig10country wrote:
Just as Locke has made some jumps in his column, many people here are making leaps, just in the other direction. The one thing that Locke points out, that no one has countered, and it happens to be his best point, is that the relationship between player and team and player and coach(es) may just be too fractured to repair.



If that's the case, him leaving for anywhere else is better for him and for the program. Also, it's not too big of a stretch to think that someone in his situation might be looking to transfer.



One of the confusing things to me is there are people that point out that he has to sit out next year if he transfers and that is a deterrent to transferring, yet in the very same post they say he should red shirt next year and stay. If he's not playing next year, what does it matter where he is? So he knows the system more here. So, learning a new system next year would be harder? Also, the coaching staff here may not want him.

Where does this "coaches and Heaps are at odds" come from? Everything I have read from coaches and from Heaps indicate that they are on very good terms. He even has a once a week with Bronco in Bronco's office to see how he is doing in all aspects and to help where he may need help. And I have yet to read anywhere that there is a problem between Heaps and Doman but I have read quotes from both that they say the relationship is fine.

imuakahuku wrote:

Just as Locke has made some jumps in his column, many people here are making leaps, just in the other direction. The one thing that Locke points out, that no one has countered, and it happens to be his best point, is that the relationship between player and team and player and coach(es) may just be too fractured to repair.



If that's the case, him leaving for anywhere else is better for him and for the program. Also, it's not too big of a stretch to think that someone in his situation might be looking to transfer.



One of the confusing things to me is there are people that point out that he has to sit out next year if he transfers and that is a deterrent to transferring, yet in the very same post they say he should red shirt next year and stay. If he's not playing next year, what does it matter where he is? So he knows the system more here. So, learning a new system next year would be harder? Also, the coaching staff here may not want him.

Where does this "coaches and Heaps are at odds" come from? Everything I have read from coaches and from Heaps indicate that they are on very good terms. He even has a once a week with Bronco in Bronco's office to see how he is doing in all aspects and to help where he may need help. And I have yet to read anywhere that there is a problem between Heaps and Doman but I have read quotes from both that they say the relationship is fine.

On top of that, I don't think the other angle, "Heaps vs. players," is going to be nearly as big of a factor in 2013 as it is in 2011.



I don't put a lot of stock in locker room gossip, but almost every thread and rumor on the topic suggests that it's upperclassmen vs. lowerclassmen. If that's the case, Heaps looks to have a lot more allies than enemies in a year or two.

If Jake came to all of the voluntary workouts over the Summer, and if Jake was winning games and performing above average, none of this "intrigue" and "sabotage" would even be an issue. It was in Jake's realm of control to make it go away (if it ever really did exist), and Jake muffed it.

Lawboy wrote:

1) Are those issues resolved?

2) If they aren't, are/can they be resolved prior to next season, so that they do not continue to hinder his progress?

3) Can Jake learn to compartmentalize and find refuge from his problems on the field and in preparing for the game?

4) If these are that serious, then an RS might be his only option. If not, is there anything that can be done?

1) No, but improving

2) only if someone decides to go to med school, or gets so hurt cant play ever again for BYU

3) Yes

4) BM and BD are not dumb. They see what is happening with the team, and why a RS might be best. Certain issues are gone, respect gets earned, and fresh start happens in 2013.



Not putting it all on one guy. It is widespread team issue on the team this year--and last. Just so happened that went away last year after an injury. And resurfaced this year big time after the Utah game. With some cause for it to.

I understand that personal issues can effect one's performance in any field of work, and that it can really bite when you feel like you don't have the unanimous support of your teammates.



But this is what frustrates me most when people start making excuses for Heaps. He got thrown to the wolves his freshman year, he plays for a coach that hates high-ranked untested non-RMs, he has a backup QB who plays locker-room Iago to his Othello, his QB coach is wearing too many hats, his OC is too fresh and untested, the O-line sucks, he didn't have a running game to support him at the beginning of the season, his marriage is affecting his play, the WRs aren't going all-out for him, the lack of fan support undermines his confidence, his teammates are wrongly alienating him for false perceptions regarding his character, and so forth.



I agree with some of those (not all), but sometimes it feels like we need to provide Heaps with a hyperbaric-chamber environment where he doesn't have to deal with any adversity in order for him to be an effective quarterback. No QB is ever going to play under completely ideal conditions. Being able to deal with adversity and leadership issues is part of a BYU QB's job.



I have 100% sympathy for Heaps' early-season struggles in regards to how he was adversely effected by bad play-calling and no run support. If his "mental struggles" are because he feels like some members of the team don't like him, well, I don't have as much sympathy for that.

stuckinbig10country wrote:
Just as Locke has made some jumps in his column, many people here are making leaps, just in the other direction. The one thing that Locke points out, that no one has countered, and it happens to be his best point, is that the relationship between player and team and player and coach(es) may just be too fractured to repair.



If that's the case, him leaving for anywhere else is better for him and for the program. Also, it's not too big of a stretch to think that someone in his situation might be looking to transfer.



One of the confusing things to me is there are people that point out that he has to sit out next year if he transfers and that is a deterrent to transferring, yet in the very same post they say he should red shirt next year and stay. If he's not playing next year, what does it matter where he is? So he knows the system more here. So, learning a new system next year would be harder? Also, the coaching staff here may not want him.

The coaches here have made it clear that they want Jake here (to a fault, if you ask me). Otherwise, Lark would be getting all the reps Heaps has been getting. The players have made it clear that they support Jake as the #2 QB on this team and have for two years. They know Riley is better. They see it and live it and anyone who is not blind sees it. But when Riley went down in 2010 - the team was right behind Jake as the starter.



This year - they supported Jake going into the season, but when they saw his poor play under pressure return - they started to lose confidence in Jake, themselves, and the team. When RIley came in vs USU and rallied the team, the team rallied behind him. Fast forward. RIley gets injured - the team doesn't skip a beat and supports Jake as the best guy for the job - since Riley cannot play. The team will rally around Riley at Hawaii - but if he is unable to perform and Jake has to come in - they will be right there for Jake. That is all that is going on. Nobody on this team is sandbagging or willing to lose games or undermine their own careers to get at Jake Heaps.



I reported as the 2010 season started that Jake and some other highly touted newcomers had alienated experience players by coming in like they were "all that" and ready to show everyone else "how it is done". If they actually had been good enough to show anybody anything - that would have worked out. But when they did not deliver - they did not overcome it. That informtion came from two players that I have never heard criticized on this board. One has been praised - enormously. That is the reality. They were not swayed by RIley Nelson politics. That had nothing to do with it. They saw Jake as a pompous, entitled kid who did not work as hard as others and who had his own little click of supposed super stars. THey absolutely would not, and have not, tried to undermin Jake. Might have chuckled a little bit at someof the things he has said publicly and were not surprised by his lack off grit. But they see him as the clear #2.



This problem is not difficult to fix. Jake just needs to play with fire and make plays any time he goes in and the team will have confidence and rally behind him whenever he goes in.



He can still lift the boats - even the leaky boats if he plays well and is accountable when he does not.

Some excellent points gentleman. After the Oregon State game I was about 90% sure Jake was transferring. I still think he will, but I'm down to about 60 to 65% that he does, but not to Utah. The only reason I think it happens is the fit just isn't right, and I don't think it ever really can be.



I really see Jake as a newer version of John Walsh. Both have had decent, but not outstanding, records as starters. Both were never really liked by the fanbase. Both had some tension with the coaches (Walsh probably more than Heaps). The only major difference I see is Walsh was unquestionably the best QB on the team during his time there (see Fresno State game his soph year; didn't start game due to injury, came in and threw for 500 yards in just over a half after two other QBs couldn't get the job done).



And just like when Walsh left, there will be a hole left in the QB stable. When Walsh left, Edwards found Sark. Will Bronco and Co be able to find someone to fill the gap?