The Heaps Reclamation Project

[MartyFunkhouser]

That will make her an easy target next year on the hill.

Nah, the Ute fans will target the family member of a player that is actually good. Bear spray is a precious commodity and we don't waste it on the family members of bad players.

[jay santos]

At this point I would be shocked if Heaps ended up an All-American by the time he is a senior. I could see him being a very good QB, but certainly not an All-American.

I think this is where most Cougar fans have evolved to.

Hsaru sees him as a sure future All-American with some growing pains. Most of the fan base used to be there. Most of us have moved to the point where we are skeptical this will ever happen. That is why we're fine with benching Heaps with the possible downside being he never recovers. I'm not ready to toss him out on his ears. But I'm fine with putting him on the bench, and if he earns his way back that's fine. If it takes him two years to earn his way back that's what it is. If he transfers or he never earns his way back too, that's a bummer but at this point i'm fine with that too.

[Hsaru]

I think this is where most Cougar fans have evolved to.

Hsaru sees him as a sure future All-American with some growing pains. Most of the fan base used to be there. Most of us have moved to the point where we are skeptical this will ever happen. That is why we're fine with benching Heaps with the possible downside being he never recovers. I'm not ready to toss him out on his ears. But I'm fine with putting him on the bench, and if he earns his way back that's fine. If it takes him two years to earn his way back that's what it is. If he transfers or he never earns his way back too, that's a bummer but at this point i'm fine with that too.

I don't see him as a sure future All-American, but when the prevailing sentiment on here and CB is that he should sit for the next 2 years, I feel like people are overreacting a bit.

[Pelado]

I don't see him as a sure future All-American, but when the prevailing sentiment on here and CB is that he should sit for the next 2 years, I feel like people are overreacting a bit.

I think he should sit for a couple games, not a couple years.

[jay santos]

I don't see him as a sure future All-American, but when the prevailing sentiment on here and CB is that he should sit for the next 2 years, I feel like people are overreacting a bit.

You don't see him as a future All-American yet you're freaking out about benching him after a year and a half of starting with the worst pass rating in BYU history through that time period?

[Shaka]

'Napper this is speculation but it's based on what I've heard about last spring and summer. I think whether or not Jake shat on his opportunity is an in between deal. Jake looked awesome against inferior competition last year. This gave him a false sense of his ability that when you combine with his entitlement issues........

Jake had some things to work on after last season. He was making the pre-snap reads, calling decent audibles, but not working through post-snap progressions like he should. This wasn't apparent to everyone because going against the competition he was facing it was possible to throw to the primary and get success.

Jakes other glaring weakness was his inability to throw a touch pass. With the exception of a couple of nice fade passes Jake has one throw working for him. That throw is medium range and the ball is thrown at high velocity on a rope at the target. He hit a few of these last game and they were great. However he struggles mightily on short and medium throws that require less heat but more precision. These throws do not work if he winds up and throws a fastball. Nelson is beating him at these throws right now because he throws them with less (but adequate) velocity so that if they aren't pinpoint the receiver can adjust. Plus, with the exception of the JJ throw at the end, he tends to throw them where the defender can't get them. This is illustrated by the out routes he threw against USU. They tended to be thrown out in front of the receiver but catchable. Also lets not forget a couple of catchable Nelson balls were dropped. I'm looking at you Kariya.

In this sense Jake has squandered his opportunity. These things could/should have been corrected over the offseason but the were not. Jake rested on his laurels figuring that he had kicked ass and this season would be a breeze just like it has been at every other point in his life. I'd wager this lack of commitment over the summer combined with the primadonna/entitlement issues has translated into him not being too popular with the team.

I have no idea what has prompted Jake to become such a pansy in the pocket. This along with the issues I've illustrated above are killing him.

On 1280 today Gordon and his cohort both advocated for Heaps to keep the job so he could work through his problems on the field. Unfortunately they think the whole thing is in his head and if Bronco just talks him off the cliff all will be well. I call BS on this. There are real live mechanical and mental issues that need to be addressed with Jake. If they aren't he will NEVER be a good BYU quarterback. Perfecting touch throws does not happen in a game, it happens in practice. Same with being able to read a defense and check down while the ball is live. Practice, Practice, and more Practice.

As for the pro style vs spread debate that has cropped up it's a load of hogwash. The spread is all about spreading out the defense and then making them pick their poison as far as what they are going to defend. Once the defense makes its decision the quarterback has to deliver very accurate timing based throw. Oftentimes these throws are short and require high degrees of accuracy and touch. I have severe doubts about whether Jake could deliver a catchable, accurate quick slant to a slot receiver at this time as he can't hit a simple out with any regularity.

I'm advocating Jake sit because he needs to get this crap worked out in practice before he applies it in a game. He also needs to earn back the respect of his teammates. Sitting him and using Nelson as a place holder accomplishes these goals. If the prevailing opinions are correct Riley will either suck or get hurt so a hopefully humble Jake will get another shot this season. If Nelson somehow defies the odds and kills it then we get to find out what kind of man Jake is. If Jake starts threatening to transfer he isn't the type of player we need and we should cut him loose. He can enjoy being backup at Washington State. (It's a BCS school!) On the other hand if he works hard, impresses everyone in the offseason with his work ethic and improvement on basic skills, he will get the opportunity to become the QB we all hope he can be.

I doubt Jake is going to start. We know form his post game comments Doman wants to go with Riley. I do not think it's going to be a difficult sell to get Bronco to go along with Doman. If I'm wrong then go Jake. I hope he defies the odds and kills it. However we will not really know if he's getting better until he plays TCU and Hawaii.

[Shaka]

I don't see him as a sure future All-American, but when the prevailing sentiment on here and CB is that he should sit for the next 2 years, I feel like people are overreacting a bit.

I think the prevailing opinion is that Heaps will get another shot when Nelson/sucks or gets hurt. Only if Nelson exceeds most folks opinions of his abilities will Hake have to sit two years.

[Shaka]

Shoemaker offers some fairly uninsightful insight.


http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...ight.html?pg=2

He also advocated starting Riley.

[Shaka]

Also, I have to give mad props to Shaka. Obviously, he's been a very strong Riley advocate in the past. After last week's game, Shaka had the chance to come in here and say, "SEE, I TOLD YOU SO, YOU FREAKING IDIOTS!" to a bunch of people, but he has been very level-headed and reasonable in his approach here. And he brings up some great points about both Riley and Jake that you wouldn't expect from a pure Riley-ite.

Shaka, you're the man!

Thank you.

I want Jake to succeed, I really do.

Also I'd like to thank Junkie and Hot Lunch for popping up in this thread. Their take is always appreciated even if it doesn't always jibe with mine.

[smokymountainrain]

I'll be shocked if Heaps ever becomes a good college QB (QB rating of 150+).

I'm calling it now - he simply doesn't have what it takes. For one of the positions on the field that takes little punishment in comparison with others on the field, a QB has to be physically tough and have courage in order to succeed. He has to have the necessary mental makeup and work ethic to be successful. Heaps doesn't have any of that and I predict he never will.

He will have accuracy issues, problems reading defenses and seeing the field, and will be plagued with inconsistency his entire career. If he were to announce he's transferring tomorrow, I wouldn't even be a little bit disappointed.

[jay santos]

I'll be shocked if Heaps ever becomes a good college QB (QB rating of 150+).

I'm calling it now - he simply doesn't have what it takes. For one of the positions on the field that takes little punishment in comparison with others on the field, a QB has to be physically tough and have courage in order to succeed. He has to have the necessary mental makeup and work ethic to be successful. Heaps doesn't have any of that and I predict he never will.

He will have accuracy issues, problems reading defenses and seeing the field, and will be plagued with inconsistency his entire career. If he were to announce he's transferring tomorrow, I wouldn't even be a little bit disappointed.

It's very difficult to imagine a kid who's been bred to QB the way he has, starting since a frosh or soph in a passing offense in high school, all the camps and private QB coaches, two spring/summers at BYU with starting reps, and a year and a half of D1 experience is going to turn on a dime.

[MarkGrace]

He also advocated starting Riley.

I read that, and I agree with him. I think you start Riley next week.

[Shaka]

It's very difficult to imagine a kid who's been bred to QB the way he has, starting since a frosh or soph in a passing offense in high school, all the camps and private QB coaches, two spring/summers at BYU with starting reps, and a year and a half of D1 experience is going to turn on a dime.

Agreed. We have to find out if Heaps has it or not. We have too much invested. Mostly what folks are disagreeing on in this thread is how to cure Heaps of his suckitude.

[MarkGrace]

These throws do not work if he winds up and throws a fastball. Nelson is beating him at these throws right now because he throws them with less (but adequate) velocity so that if they aren't pinpoint the receiver can adjust.

This is something I've noticed. Jake's window of accuracy is much tighter than Riley's because of how hard he throws the ball. If Jake throws a step behind the receiver, that ball is going right past him. It's just too much velocity moving in opposide directions. If Riley throws a step behind the guy, there's still a chance he'll get his hands on it and hold on. Same for throws where the receiver it defended a little more closely, has to dive, etc.

[MarkGrace]

He will have accuracy issues, problems reading defenses and seeing the field, and will be plagued with inconsistency his entire career. If he were to announce he's transferring tomorrow, I wouldn't even be a little bit disappointed.

For me the accuracy is a far bigger concern at this point than the other stuff. There were near constant complaints about Hall and Beck having the same problems with progressions/field vision for most of their careers, even into their senior years. To be limited in those aspects as a Soph just isn't a huge deal to me. But right now, the accuracy is a huge deal. Even with those problems, if he was still just putting the ball on target it would make a world of difference.