R
rblack1. There has been alot of talk about starting Heaps instead of Nelson.
2. BYU has indicated that in spite of everything Nelson will start against Florida.
3. The continued starting of Nelson angers some cougar faithful.
Why does BYU continue to rely on Nelson instead of giving the ball to Heaps?
The answer is very simple. Heaps needs to earn the starting job based on his performance on the field. If Heaps is ever going to be the starter that we need/hope him to be, he must not be handed the position by default. Heaps has not done anything in game situations that earns the starting job. Apparently, it became apparent to the coaching staff during the Air Force game that this was not the game where we were going to have a Heaps coming out party. Alot of people feel that this was an unfair evaluation of where he was at. I trust the coaching staff.
If you read the comments Bronco Mendenhall has made regarding the starting position, he is looking for someone to step up and earn the position. My prediction is that Heaps will be given opportunities in the Florida State game to step up and emerge as the quarterback of the future. If he does not, then there are several possiblities from there.
1. Nelson will step up. In order for Nelson to step up, he needs to hold in the pocket for a few more seconds to allow the play to develop. He needs to demonstrate an ablity to connect consistently on the midrange passes. He needs to demonstate more ball security. I believe that these items are within his abilities. We haven't seen this from him yet.
2. Another of the Quarterbacks will replace either Nelson or Heaps in the starting rotation. This would be a major vote of unconfidence in the top two quarterbacks. This would indicate an abandoning of the Heaps quarterback of the future model and it is betting on Lark or Munns as the quarterback of the future. I think they are both capable quarterbacks. However, I don't see this happening unless things get really bad.
3. We are stuck with the two quarterback system. I think this is the worst case scenario.
In thinking about this and analyzing this, the best case scenario is for Heaps to put together a few touchdown drives and emerge as the future starting quarterback.
If this doesn't happen, we need #1 above to happen.
Bottom line we can't give Heaps the start until he demonstates to both himself and the team that he's the man that can lead this team to greatness. If he gets the start before that, it will create jealosy and it will ultimately impair his development as a long time starter. Nelson doesn't have the same baggage because he is a junior and there was not so much hype about his arrival. The unity of a football team is a fragile thing.
2. BYU has indicated that in spite of everything Nelson will start against Florida.
3. The continued starting of Nelson angers some cougar faithful.
Why does BYU continue to rely on Nelson instead of giving the ball to Heaps?
The answer is very simple. Heaps needs to earn the starting job based on his performance on the field. If Heaps is ever going to be the starter that we need/hope him to be, he must not be handed the position by default. Heaps has not done anything in game situations that earns the starting job. Apparently, it became apparent to the coaching staff during the Air Force game that this was not the game where we were going to have a Heaps coming out party. Alot of people feel that this was an unfair evaluation of where he was at. I trust the coaching staff.
If you read the comments Bronco Mendenhall has made regarding the starting position, he is looking for someone to step up and earn the position. My prediction is that Heaps will be given opportunities in the Florida State game to step up and emerge as the quarterback of the future. If he does not, then there are several possiblities from there.
1. Nelson will step up. In order for Nelson to step up, he needs to hold in the pocket for a few more seconds to allow the play to develop. He needs to demonstrate an ablity to connect consistently on the midrange passes. He needs to demonstate more ball security. I believe that these items are within his abilities. We haven't seen this from him yet.
2. Another of the Quarterbacks will replace either Nelson or Heaps in the starting rotation. This would be a major vote of unconfidence in the top two quarterbacks. This would indicate an abandoning of the Heaps quarterback of the future model and it is betting on Lark or Munns as the quarterback of the future. I think they are both capable quarterbacks. However, I don't see this happening unless things get really bad.
3. We are stuck with the two quarterback system. I think this is the worst case scenario.
In thinking about this and analyzing this, the best case scenario is for Heaps to put together a few touchdown drives and emerge as the future starting quarterback.
If this doesn't happen, we need #1 above to happen.
Bottom line we can't give Heaps the start until he demonstates to both himself and the team that he's the man that can lead this team to greatness. If he gets the start before that, it will create jealosy and it will ultimately impair his development as a long time starter. Nelson doesn't have the same baggage because he is a junior and there was not so much hype about his arrival. The unity of a football team is a fragile thing.

