Bronco acknowledges "separation" in QB race

Says Nelson and Heaps have established a slight (and he emphasized slight) separation from Lark in the race. Talked about Heaps getting to the endzone vs. Nelson's leadership and grit.



http://blogs.sltrib.com/byu/index.php?p=13510&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1



http://www.byucougars.com/uploads/graphics/football/2009/Quarterbacks_Spring_2010.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

Just looking @ the published numbers from Spring Football so far - you could see it. It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall during practice & really see what was going on. If Bronco see's it - the QB's themselves certainly sense it.



Good luck to all!!!!

Ddawg wrote:
Just looking @ the published numbers from Spring Football so far - you could see it. It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall during practice & really see what was going on. If Bronco see's it - the QB's themselves certainly sense it.



Good luck to all!!!!

You are your own worst critic. They definitely see it!

... and then there were two.

Personally, I think there is probably really only one. When one QB is getting into the endzone and regularly driving the team down the field, and the way you describe the other one is that he has grit and determination--I think the job goes to the one who actually gets the ball in the end zone. This was just another example of coach speak because Bronco cannot turn the leadership over to Heaps as a true freshman for summer workouts. He will be the starter for game one though. I have no inside sources--other than the scattered thoughts inside my brain and gleaning what I can from what are admittedly carefully chosen words by the coaches in the articles to date. In the end, it is going to be whoever performs best that wins the competition--exactly as it should be. To date, Heaps apparently has the better deep ball, moves the offense better down the field, and scores touchdowns. I think it's his job to lose.

Cougarfan87 wrote:
Personally, I think there is probably really only one. When one QB is getting into the endzone and regularly driving the team down the field, and the way you describe the other one is that he has grit and determination--I think the job goes to the one who actually gets the ball in the end zone.

Amen to that. You play the game to win, not to say you played with a great bunch of guys. I guarantee every other guy on the BYU roster wants the QB in that helps them win this Fall, and typically, getting the team in the endzone does that. It is not an underrated skill.



I also just want to point out that Heaps JUST GOT HERE. He has been in school for 3 months now, and he already has separated from Lark and is on equal footing with Nelson. Both those guys have had more time with this offense, more with the drills BYU runs in practice than Heaps. With another summer to run drills and work out with the guys, expect Heaps to separate even more. The fact Nelson does not have the edge at this point is what is most surprising. Barring injury, I think Heaps wins this job due to his overall talent.

Doman has said repeatedly that they are looking for someone who can lead the team to a championship, and that isn't necessarily the guy with the best numbers. He cites himself as an example--not the best quarterback BYU had in the stable statistically, but he led them to championships.

I saw on TBS that there have been 14 TD drives this spring. 11 have been engineered by Heaps, 2 by Nelson and 1 by Lark.



Doman may not have been the best QB or most talented at BYU, but one thing he was very effective at doing was getting the ball in the endzone.

i've heard a lot of talk (from another forum) that if Heaps starts this year he won't serve a mission and if he doesn't start, he will serve after this coming season.



has anyone heard anything about this or have any quotes from Heaps or coaches on the subject?

snoscythe wrote:
Doman has said repeatedly that they are looking for someone who can lead the team to a championship, and that isn't necessarily the guy with the best numbers. He cites himself as an example--not the best quarterback BYU had in the stable statistically, but he led them to championships.

Jay Drew also reports that Bronco shares the sentiment, and that the comments yesterday about Nelson and Heaps separating themselves from Lark came in response to a question as to whether Heaps alone was separating himself from Nelson and Lark--which indicates he really does have Nelson and Heaps on a par. Otherwise, a simple "yes" would have been a much simpler answer. Bronco also referenced the emergence of Harvey and the Olinemen as the real leadership of the team that I mentioned previously, which takes the urgency out of naming a starting QB in the spring.



http://blogs.sltrib.com/byu/index.php?p=13537&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Sno, you nailed it. Harvey and the Oline are the veterans on this team and the seniors. They are the leadership. It is up to them to bring the team together and to rally around the QB that emerges from the summer. The QB won't assume the mantel until he shows on the game field that he is a winner and can be trusted. Until then, this is Harvey's role.





I am also of the opinion that Nelson had the inside track to emerge as the starter during the spring and he's failed to do it. That means that Heaps really is making a strong bid to be a true frosh starter for BYU. It will be exciting to see how it plays out before they Blue Machine takes the field in Sept. I can hardly wait.

I agree that Bronco probably would have preferred to be able to redshirt Heaps, but there hasn't been the separation he would have expected from someone who had more experience in the system and had all last year as a back-up. If Heaps wins the job, will he be the first true freshman starter we have ever had? I can't remember any others in BYU history--unless someone got a start due to another QB's injury.

Also, and what no one has mentioned yet is, Heaps has had far more passing attempts than Nelson. Several of the reports show Heaps throwing 8, 9, 10, or 11 passes, and Nelson only one or two or three. The message is obvious, Heaps is our passing QB, and he's also going to be the starter, so get him prepared, give him the experience, the reps, and get him ready. Nelson will likely play and have a role, but Heaps will be the guy.

Here's something I posted elsewhere about Jake's potential jitters should he be named starter:



Jake's stats from his first game his soph. year:



Skyline Team Stats:

Passing - Skyline

# Athlete Name Cmp Att Yds Lng TD Int

9 Jake Heaps 7 16 112 60 1 0





They don't exactly blow you away by any stretch of the imagination but it at least appears he was able to keep from making any big mistakes. Now I don't want to say that the pressure of playing your first game in high school is anything compared to the pressure of playing your first game in D1 ball but it's still pressure none the less, especially for a sophomore player starting for a school that has seen and expects a large amount of recent success. Since that first game his sophomore year though, I think it's fair to say that Jake has been in more than a few 'pressure' situations and has performed well in virtually all of them. Whether it was in the state playoffs/championship games, performing in front of the biggest name college coaches in the country, competing against the best high school athletes in the country at camps and combines, Jake has shined at every level he's had a chance to. I imagine he'll have a few jitters his first time playing in LES or wherever he happens to start first. The coaches would probably do well to have a few scrimmages this fall in the stadium and pump in lots of crowd noise. But I don't anticipate the jitters will last long before Jake's natural competitiveness takes over and he just does his thing. He's been trained by the best over the last 6+ years of his life to do just that.





Here's his stats from his second game that year:



Passing - Skyline

# Athlete Name Cmp Att Yds Lng TD Int

9 Jake Heaps 19 38 288 32 4 0



Here's his stats from the third game that year:



Passing - Skyline

# Athlete Name Cmp Att Yds Lng TD Int

9 Jake Heaps 20 27 182 39 1 0





By the numbers, it appears Jake may have been a little nervous that first game, but once he got that one behind him, he never looked back. He only lost two games all three years he started. That is insane.



Oh and that game against Oaks Christian...was practically a D1 game. Tons of D1 athletes. Tons of hype. Tons of media coverage. And tons of folks in the stands, including 'famous folks'.

Exactly! That's the one thing that I have always respected about Bronco. So far, 3 Froshies are slated to start. It doesn't matter who you are, he has loyalty to the team. That was the worst watching LaVelle burn talent for 3 years on the bench because someone else was ahead on the depth chart.



If Riley wins the job we are hanging it up for the year. With that said, Riley won't win the job... unless he learns how to throw deep and accurate. And Anae is not near clever enough to come up with an entirely new running scheme for just this year. We only have a few run plays we ran the last 2 years

Every time I see this topic title, I keep expecting to read something along these lines:



"In an interview on Friday, BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall has acknowledged in regards to the quarterback race, BYU QBs are 'separate but equal...'"



I guess whenever I see the words separation and race in the same sentence, I have flashbacks to Plessy v. Ferguson.

Don't look now but Riley is picking it up. He is going to make a race of it. I still expect both of them to play this year. I just don't how much for each.