Heaps may have the goods ...

[All-American]

Nelson seems more Lance Pendleton than Brandon Doman to me.

That was a chapter of my life I could have gone a long time without remembering and not been any worse off. Curse you for bringing it up.

[All-American]

Doman definitely made the most out of what he had. I have always thought Doman was an ideal QB to run the U of U's iteration of the spread offense. I think Nelson would be ideal in the same capacity. Good enough arm, great decision maker, true football player. I expect we will see Riley do a lot of read option to make the most of his arm and a lot of horizontal spreading out of the opposing defense. It is easy in college to hide an average arm.

I agree with you that I will be pleased with either Nelson, Heaps, Lark or Munns. They all seem to bring something a little different to the table.

I watched the BYU Utah 2001 game a week or two ago. It surprised me how much the BYU offense looked like the spread stuff that caught on a few years later. Too bad Crowton's teams had so much trouble putting it all together, because when it came to writing a good playbook, the guy clearly knew what he was doing.

[Donuthole]

That was a chapter of my life I could have gone a long time without remembering and not been any worse off. Curse you for bringing it up.

Lucky me, I was at BYU for the 03, 04, and 05 seasons. It could have been worse, though. If Mrs. Donut had been on schedule to graduate with me instead of a year later, I'd have been at BYU for the 02, 03, and 04 seasons.

[SoCalCoug]

Doman definitely made the most out of what he had. I have always thought Doman was an ideal QB to run the U of U's iteration of the spread offense. I think Nelson would be ideal in the same capacity. Good enough arm, great decision maker, true football player. I expect we will see Riley do a lot of read option to make the most of his arm and a lot of horizontal spreading out of the opposing defense. It is easy in college to hide an average arm.

Is everyone just ignoring Nelson's freshman year? I keep seeing talk of what a great decision maker he is, he's a gamer, he's a winner - but you've got to totally discount his Utah State season, where he was benched for ineffectiveness in his last start.

[MarkGrace]

The BYU quarterback battle has quickly boiled down once again to a choice between Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps.

The question is which one of these signal callers is best suited to take advantage of the talent the Cougars will put out the field this season. They vary vastly in their strengths and style of play.

Heaps is the prototypical pocket passer, while Nelson is a guy that relies on his feet as much as his arm.

In our previous segment, we mentioned that the Cougar offense will operate with more receivers on the field and fewer tight ends than in the past. So whose game is best suited to run that show?

Both Nelson and Heaps had solid performances Tuesday on the practice field. Nelson completed 4 of 6 passes; three of his completions were touchdowns. He also gained 48 yards on 6 carries.

For Riley, it was a good showing in what has thus far been a less than scintillating camp for the junior, who has looked uncomfortable in the pocket and has been inconsistent with his passes.

Heaps, meanwhile, connected on 10 of 11 passes with two touchdowns. Jake’s lone incomplete pass was intercepted by Brian Logan in the red zone.

My contention has been from early in the spring that Jake Heaps is the quarterback on the BYU roster that gives this team the best chance of success in 2010 and beyond. That opinion hasn’t changed in the weeks and months since.

It’s almost incomprehensible to think that BYU would start a true freshman at quarterback. And it’s understandable that the coaches are struggling to wrap their heads around that one.

Yet Heaps can make all the throws that you look for in a Division-1 quarterback, and he was the most college-ready QB in the country coming out of high school this year. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be bumps in the road. There will be. Maybe a lot of them.

But with the Cougars employing more three and even four wide receiver sets this year, it makes sense to go with someone that can consistently get the ball into the hands of those talented receivers, and do it in stride and on time.

Heaps is light-years ahead of any quarterback on the roster in that department. Jake can air it out deep and do so accurately. He has shown the ability to throw the ball on target to virtually any place on the field.

Jake is also a film junkie. He’s a student of the game. His grasp of the play book, his understanding of defenses and his overall QB IQ is well ahead of his years–and his peers.

Riley Nelson is a terrific athlete, but he has yet to prove that he has a Division-1 caliber arm. He can make things happen with his feet, but without having to respect his passing prowess or the threat of a deep ball, defenses will be able to limit or negate Nelson’s effectiveness.

As a true freshman at Utah State in 2006, Nelson quarterbacked the Aggies to an upset victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs in his first college start. However, WAC defenses were able to make adjustments and scheme for Riley and shut down the Aggies over the final six games.

The Aggies went 0-6 the rest of the way that year and averaged less than 12 points a game in the process. In Nelson’s defense, the cupboard was extremely bare offensively for USU, and at BYU he will be working with a huge upgrade in talent. The question is, can Nelson better maximize that talent around him than Jake Heaps?

The BYU Cougars are not going to change their DNA. They are who they are; they throw the football. A quarterback that demonstrates poise in the pocket and accuracy with his arm is at a premium. That’s the recipe for success in Provo.

Another thing to muse upon: What if Nelson were to win and hold the starting job? Does anyone think Jake Heaps will sit the pine in Provo cooling his heels for the next two years waiting for his chance as a junior? Ain’t gonna happen.

Inserting Jake Heaps’ talents into this offense, with the weapons the Cougars have, is the right move. One wonders how long this whole thing will go on. The time is soon at hand to get the young Heaps the reps he will need to be prepared for the season.

http://deepshadesofblue.com/byu-quar...Shades+of+Blue)

[Jacob]

Has any media member, player, or coach who has watched practices said anything that could be interpreted as riley being thew guy? I know that the media guys aren't really the best judges of these things, but seems like almost every one of them has now said that Jake will start against Washington.

[MarkGrace]

Has any media member, player, or coach who has watched practices said anything that could be interpreted as riley being thew guy? I know that the media guys aren't really the best judges of these things, but seems like almost every one of them has now said that Jake will start against Washington.

Not that I've seen. Nearly everyone that attended spring camp said Heaps was better. Nearly everyone at fall camp has said so far Heaps is better. There seem to have been days when Nelson has played him to a draw, but that's to be expected. Overall, I'm not sure where people get the "even" idea from. The BYU coaches keep saying that, but if I were in their position, that's what I'd be saying too for now.

[KillerDog]

What gets you to the conclusion that Riley is a great decision maker? Certainly not the "one read and run" decisions we saw from him in mop up time last year.

He sure was in HS.

[beefytee]

Overall, I'm not sure where people get the "even" idea from.

Their cumulative stats are pretty even. I assume that is where most people are getting the idea from.

[KillerDog]

Is everyone just ignoring Nelson's freshman year? I keep seeing talk of what a great decision maker he is, he's a gamer, he's a winner - but you've got to totally discount his Utah State season, where he was benched for ineffectiveness in his last start.

I don't think people are ignoring it completely, neither are they ignoring Heaps 6'1", 190 lb. frame or his game against Stout and Fua's team. I think most people, including me, see some positives in him as well as negatives but agree with the coaches that he is moving the ball effectively in practice and scoring.

[MarkGrace]

Their cumulative stats are pretty even. I assume that is where most people are getting the idea from.

Their cumulative stats from the first three days of the fall are pretty even (who knows what that means). But I don't recall them being that even from the spring. Overall, I don't see where this thing is that even.

[MarkGrace]

I don't think people are ignoring it completely, neither are they ignoring Heaps 6'1", 190 lb. frame or his game against Stout and Fua's team. I think most people, including me, see some positives in him as well as negatives but agree with the coaches that he is moving the ball effectively in practice and scoring.

He's 5'10" 170 lb. Jay Santos saw him.

[MarkGrace]

He sure was in HS.

And I agree that he was the best QB available for Logan HS.

[KillerDog]

Their cumulative stats from the first three days of the fall are pretty even (who knows what that means). But I don't recall them being that even from the spring. Overall, I don't see where this thing is that even.

I wonder if the coaches are looking at results of drives more than they are looking at stats. If I were a coach and I had two very different QBs competing for the starting job, I wouldn't look at completion percentage any more than I would look at yards per carry, I would look at how a player ran the offense and how often they scored with the offenses in like situations. I don't think it matters if Heaps completes 67% and Nelson 57% if Nelson's offense is scoring and Heaps offense is not. As a result, yesterday, by my measure, Nelson won.

[Blueintheface]

He's 5'10" 170 lb. Jay Santos saw him.

5' 6'' with lifts. His head is big though. He makes Zaza Pachulia look like a shrunken head.