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Dcr36Today we all found out that Jake Heaps, our prized recruit, will longer be with us. He was a kid who made our dreams of undefeated seasons seem like definite possibilities. A kid who seemed so passionate about his commitment to BYU that he in turn became a recruiter, and helped us put together one of our greatest incoming classes. A kid who carried so much promise that we found ourselves on YouTube, salivating over grainy amateur footage of his high school games. A kid that managed to get BYU fans everywhere to flip to ESPNU to watch some meaningless Washington State high school football game. A kid who seemed like a easy lock to enter the Pantheon of Wilson, Jimmy Mac, Young, Boscoe, Detmer and Sark.
That kid is gone.
It was, to be frank, a pretty terrible day.
Blame was tossed around. Accusations were made. Characters were called into question.Thousands of vicious tweets were launched. Articles were published (and edited) (and edited again). Important study projects were pushed aside (that was probably just me).
But the day is now over. BYU will start its first day in the post-Heaps era.
I bring this up because, for the last two months, the specter of Jake Heaps and the potential he carried has hung over every snap BYU has played, even when he wasn't on the field. You couldn't address about BYU football and not talk about Jake Heaps. Think about it - could any other QB in the history of BYU start five games, be ranked in the bottom 10 starting quarterbacks in all of college football by every reasonable metric, and STILL elicit passionate arguments for continued playing time from half the fanbase?
And now, the question of "How would BYU be playing if Jake Heaps was their quarterback?" enters the realm of alternate history. Which is my point.
We've been a bitterly divided fanbase this year over many things - conference realignment, Doman's abilities as an offensive coordinator, Bronco's ability to coach early in the season, our AD's ability to negotiate, the real value of ESPN exposure - but perhaps nothing has been as divisive as Team Riley vs. Team Jake. And now Jake is gone.
I know a lot of Team Jake really doesn't like Riley. They think he's got a noodle arm. Makes bad decisions under pressure. He represents an abandonment of old school, air-it-out BYU defenses and signals a surrender to the dual-threat QB that most of college football has adopted. He plays with a reckless abandon that'll get himself injured bad. He carries an air of smug self-satisfaction that's worse than any prima donna vibe Jake had.He doesn't look like a BYU quarterback.
But now he is BYU's quarterback.
I don't expect those who see Riley as a team-dividing saboteur are ever going to like the kid. But my simple request is this - when BYU takes the field next year, with Riley under center, BYU fans should support BYU as their team and Riley like any other quarterback. Cheer him when he plays well. Mutter to your buddies when he sucks it up. Call for Lark if he sucks for half a season if you like! But please, please, PLEASE don't enter the realm of "what if Jake had stayed?" Watching this season under the shadow of our expectations for Jake have made it difficult. Watching the NEXT THREE YEARS wondering if Heaps would've punched our ticket to the BCS would be an exercise in completely sucking the enjoyment I get out of BYU football.
To sum it up (for those who didn't feel like reading a long, overly-grandoise plea) - I am a BYU fan. When Jake Heaps played for BYU, I cheered for him. Now he does not, and whatever he does elsewhere, or could have done as a Cougar, will bear no weight on how I feel about my team. I'm willing to give all future BYU teams the luxury of not being judged based on a dream that Jake left without fulfilling.
That kid is gone.
It was, to be frank, a pretty terrible day.
Blame was tossed around. Accusations were made. Characters were called into question.Thousands of vicious tweets were launched. Articles were published (and edited) (and edited again). Important study projects were pushed aside (that was probably just me).
But the day is now over. BYU will start its first day in the post-Heaps era.
I bring this up because, for the last two months, the specter of Jake Heaps and the potential he carried has hung over every snap BYU has played, even when he wasn't on the field. You couldn't address about BYU football and not talk about Jake Heaps. Think about it - could any other QB in the history of BYU start five games, be ranked in the bottom 10 starting quarterbacks in all of college football by every reasonable metric, and STILL elicit passionate arguments for continued playing time from half the fanbase?
And now, the question of "How would BYU be playing if Jake Heaps was their quarterback?" enters the realm of alternate history. Which is my point.
We've been a bitterly divided fanbase this year over many things - conference realignment, Doman's abilities as an offensive coordinator, Bronco's ability to coach early in the season, our AD's ability to negotiate, the real value of ESPN exposure - but perhaps nothing has been as divisive as Team Riley vs. Team Jake. And now Jake is gone.
I know a lot of Team Jake really doesn't like Riley. They think he's got a noodle arm. Makes bad decisions under pressure. He represents an abandonment of old school, air-it-out BYU defenses and signals a surrender to the dual-threat QB that most of college football has adopted. He plays with a reckless abandon that'll get himself injured bad. He carries an air of smug self-satisfaction that's worse than any prima donna vibe Jake had.He doesn't look like a BYU quarterback.
But now he is BYU's quarterback.
I don't expect those who see Riley as a team-dividing saboteur are ever going to like the kid. But my simple request is this - when BYU takes the field next year, with Riley under center, BYU fans should support BYU as their team and Riley like any other quarterback. Cheer him when he plays well. Mutter to your buddies when he sucks it up. Call for Lark if he sucks for half a season if you like! But please, please, PLEASE don't enter the realm of "what if Jake had stayed?" Watching this season under the shadow of our expectations for Jake have made it difficult. Watching the NEXT THREE YEARS wondering if Heaps would've punched our ticket to the BCS would be an exercise in completely sucking the enjoyment I get out of BYU football.
To sum it up (for those who didn't feel like reading a long, overly-grandoise plea) - I am a BYU fan. When Jake Heaps played for BYU, I cheered for him. Now he does not, and whatever he does elsewhere, or could have done as a Cougar, will bear no weight on how I feel about my team. I'm willing to give all future BYU teams the luxury of not being judged based on a dream that Jake left without fulfilling.