Where Do You Rank Wilson?

Where do you rank Zach Wilson as an all-time BYU QB? If he leaves for the NFL what will his legacy at BYU be? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching him and the team this season. But, I think 25 years from now we'll be saying that he had one great season against weak competition (not his fault) and while we have a top 25 ranking to show for it, no special bowl.



I don't think that he is hands-down better than any of these: Detmer, McMahon, Young, Bosco, Hall.



I think maybe he fits in somewhere with this next group: Wilson (Marc), Nielsen, Sarkisian, Beck, Carter, Walsh, Doman



What do you think? I guess the other debate is if Hall really belongs in the first or second group as well.

The stats were good. USC and Tennessee were signature wins. But I think he'll be remembered most being the quarterback during the up and down Sitake seasons and the Pandemic. His legacy, more than any other BYU quarterback, may depend on how he does as a pro. As of right now, I'd say better than Walsh and Doman but not better than any of the others you mentioned. Insofar as the second debate, I'd put Wilson in the first group and Hall in the second.

jadesroom wrote:

The stats were good. USC and Tennessee were signature wins. But I think he'll be remembered most being the quarterback during the up and down Sitake seasons and the Pandemic. His legacy, more than any other BYU quarterback, may depend on how he does as a pro. As of right now, I'd say better than Walsh and Doman but not better than any of the others you mentioned. Insofar as the second debate, I'd put Wilson in the first group and Hall in the second.

Fair enough! Although I do think I'd put him above Beck.

I'd say if you get top 5 in the Heisman, you are in the first group. The problem is he had one great season. Before this year, I would put him in the 3rd group.

It has been difficult to evaluate him in the light of other BYU QB's. We've really never had a QB that at the inception of fall camp, we weren't sure who our starting QB would be for certain, and then they super-excelled. Wilson wasn't a unknown commodity, but he simply had not led BYU to much success in his previous attempts--at least not enough to put him in the league of the upper echelon BYU QB.



I believe we were all affected by having heard such glowing reviews of Heaps a few years back, who supposedly had such great QB tangibles to make him great, but he failed to launch. Wilson didn't have the kinds of offers that Heaps had, but we had heard he had talent and we had watched him in blow us away in the 2018 Potato Bowl. We were set to finally have the exceptional BYU QB again and then he was average the next season when he played between injuries. He had the surgery and rehabilitation time, but our expectations were not way out there.



Then boom!. 2020 happens and he receives unbelievable accolades and has a super season. We hear so many watch him from outside the program--supposed experts, and we kept hearing how he had the talent to go to the NFL. There was very little of that type of talk before the season began. By the end of the season, suddenly he's being touted as a top 10 NFL pick.



I've always believed that a significant part of the success of our QB's has depended on the talent we've had in our receiving corp. You watch so many QB's in a college season throwing some really good passes and watching them be dropped. BYU went though a period where we didn't seem to have any standout receivers, and if any, usually only 1-2. This season we've seen both great passing and receiving. Incredible receiving. You have to have both or often a great QB can look average.



So, bottom line, It seems that Wilson has just as much talent as any of the great QB's that have ever graced our football team, but it just seems hard to determine his place.

I'm doing a REAL deep dive into some stats. I'll have them ready in the next few days. But 2020 was a top 3 passing season for the Cougars. Be on the lookout for my analysis.

EM_Puma wrote:

It has been difficult to evaluate him in the light of other BYU QB's. We've really never had a QB that at the inception of fall camp, we weren't sure who our starting QB would be for certain, and then they super-excelled. Wilson wasn't a unknown commodity, but he simply had not led BYU to much success in his previous attempts--at least not enough to put him in the league of the upper echelon BYU QB.

You must not remember the endless debates on whether or not Beck had "it" prior to his Senior Year.



I will go on record as being one of the few who did argue that Beck had "it" in spades.

hawkwing wrote:

It has been difficult to evaluate him in the light of other BYU QB's. We've really never had a QB that at the inception of fall camp, we weren't sure who our starting QB would be for certain, and then they super-excelled. Wilson wasn't a unknown commodity, but he simply had not led BYU to much success in his previous attempts--at least not enough to put him in the league of the upper echelon BYU QB.

You must not remember the endless debates on whether or not Beck had "it" prior to his Senior Year.



I will go on record as being one of the few who did argue that Beck had "it" in spades.

Yes, I remember the "it" debates.

Depends on whether you are an optimist or a realist..... :wink:

I think Wilson is in the 2nd group and there is no shame in that.



Before the season I'd guess there was probably 80% of the people on here screaming for Romney to start. Being in that 2nd group is a great accomplishment. Especially when a lot of fans didn't believe in him.

I would swap Hall and Beck but other than that, I think your list is pretty good.