BYU Quarterback Conundrum vs. San Jose State

So what will BYU do for a starting QB Saturday night against San Jose State?

Go back to the platoon system they started with last year. Re-insert Heaps as the starter, assuming he’s been humbled, learned from his mistakes, and hope he’ll come out firing. Or just go with Nelson because he’s obviously got the hot hand.

It’s anyone’s guess. We’ll probably see a mixture of the 2.

A few thoughts and observations on what might be going on:

Heaps was the golden boy – not the moment he arrived on campus – rather the moment he rolled into a Salt Lake City sports bar the summer before his senior year of high school to announce “He’d be taking his talents to Provo Beach.” Okay, so he did not exactly go Lebron but it was still kind of brash to do what he did. He seemed to also assume the role of primary recruiting coordinator at the time as he was able to bring Ross Apo along for the ride.

Somewhere in all this he probably got on the wrong side of a few teammates. How many other folks on the team, or in the history of the program for that matter, came to Provo with such fanfare? Probably not many. It almost seemed as if BYU was just going to be a place for Heaps to come spend 3 years, fine tune his skills, ideally win a ton of games and move on to the NFL. Though just perception, I think that has probably hurt him. For the record though, I still think he has an NFL arm, but as we’re all being reminded, just an arm does not a great quarterback make.

Now in fairness to Heaps, he did come to Provo early and enrolled and went through Spring Camp during what would have been his second semester of his senior year of high school. The guy seems to have put in the time. But what has transpired since then?

What kind of teammate is he? Is he one of the guys? Of course not all 100 guys on a college football team are best of friends. However, there is usually at least a mutual respect for anyone that is willing to put it on the line. I would think Heaps is certainly among that group. We know he took some heat though for not even attempting to tackle the Ole Miss player when he threw the pick 6 in that game. Is he not a “football player” or a “gamer?” We’ve heard those terms thrown around a lot this week, but in connection with Riley Nelson. These things matter in a team game.

I just wonder if the 23-25 year old returned missionary type guys on the team who are a little older and wiser, who have sacrificed their bodies for a scholarship for the past 4 or 5 years don’t relate more to Nelson. Nelson plays like an outlaw, appears to be well liked, eventually fought his way into a starting job after transferring from Utah State after his mission, came back from an injury, and let’s face it, is just a little older and more grizzled. Not to mention, he can make plays with his feet that Heaps can’t.

Regardless, the coaches are going to play whoever helps them keep their jobs. Winning is paramount. We all know that. Hopefully BYU can work something out to keep everybody happy. I still say Heaps is the most talented. He obviously has some work to do though. And was Nelson just a flash in the pan last week. We shall see.

What’s interesting is that whoever does start will presumably win and create a false sense of accomplishment over the next several games. Outside of TCU, talent-wise, BYU should run right over the remaining teams on their schedule. The schedule is that bad.

So, BYU is probably going to win some more ball games, hopefully produce some offensive fireworks, and most likely entertain us off the field with a quarterback controversy. We’ll see where it all leads.