The Heaps Reclamation Project

[byu71]

It's too bad he got married - he could go on a mission.

and come back and play like Paul Shoemaker or Ben Olson. Not that they were worse than Jake is playing now.

[Hsaru]

Heaps had points or a dropped 3rd down pass on 5/6 of his drives in the game, that is a damn tough way to get benched for the rest of the season and you'd be hard pressed to find similar situations where a player got benched.

[Viking]

I really feel for the kid. I imagine he must be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders: his dad's company moves to provo, he gets married at not much more than a teenager, QB of BYU, etc.

You just want a responsible person to say: it's ok, man. It's good to fail. In fact, failing is GREAT...it's how you get better. Imagine yourself failing and yet knowing you'll be OK and your family, too.

The doctor is IN!

[Raketemensch]

Rewatched some of the Ole Miss game, the second half- then took in the first half against USU. Blows my mind- Jake has gotten worse with every game... I wonder if he's hurt, if he maybe re-hurt his ribs earlier this season and he's scared to get hit and aggravate it. That's the only thing I can think of. He needs more attention than Doman has to give as an OC.

I think the "No one likes Jake" stuff is bullshit. I don't think it matters if you're an asshole or a prima donna if you go out and throw a good ball and play well. Jake will get respect when he plays well.

[KillerDog]

I think its clear (1) Heaps is hurt, (2) Doman is young and stretched too thin, (3) Heaps has potential. I wouldn't like to see a QB competition. I want the coaches to move Heaps to third string. I think he needs to watch more in practice and tha game. Let him get healthy. Get Lark and Nelson reps. See what Nelson can do when healthy and prepare Lark to salvage the season when Nelson goes down with an injury and Heaps still sucks.

[Green Monstah]

I think its clear (1) Heaps is hurt, (2) Doman is young and stretched too thin, (3) Heaps has potential. I wouldn't like to see a QB competition. I want the coaches to move Heaps to third string. I think he needs to watch more in practice and tha game. Let him get healthy. Get Lark and Nelson reps. See what Nelson can do when healthy and prepare Lark to salvage the season when Nelson goes down with an injury and Heaps still sucks.

I hadnt considered the injury angle, but he does seem tentati ewhen it comes to contact.

Agree with Vike. This is a lot of pressure for a 19-year old.

[USUC]

This may be a naive question, but is it against the NCAA rules to hire an assistant coach and bring him in mid-season? It won't happen because I don't think anyone you would want would be available during the middle of a football season. But just out of curiosity...

[KillerDog]

I hadnt considered the injury angle, but he does seem tentati ewhen it comes to contact.

Agree with Vike. This is a lot of pressure for a 19-year old.

He seems to constanly be favoring one side. Recall how much worse Nelson was last year when he was injured. It is hard to be accurate when hurt and I think he is trying to "be tough" and play through it. Putting him down could help his perspective and his health.

[Hsaru]

http://byufootblog.com/2011/09/30/fa...-your-starter/

Pretty interesting poll, shows there is atleast somewhat of a silent majority that still wants to see Heaps given atleast one more shot.

You wouldn't know it looking at CUF and CB where people are giving up on him in droves. I've received boardmails on CB that lend me to think this also, people don't want to voice their opinion publicly as any Heaps supporters are getting flayed alive on CB.

[TripletDaddy]

I'm not afraid.

I think it is crazy to make Nelson the starter. Nelson is a good situational QB. He should get more snaps. He should not be the starter. If heaps sucks but has raw skills, then he needs reps and more reps. He needs better coaching. If the rumors are to be believed, he also needs to put in more time watching film. He needs to prove to the team that he can lead.

The Heaps injury thing makes little sense. Injured quarterbacks throw ducks not bullets. heaps lacks accuracy because he throws it too far and lacks a soft touch. If he were injured, especially in his ribs, he wouldn't be throwing it so hard and so far so often. What makes more sense is that he is just a wuss. He doesn't like getting hit.

What is there to salvage if this season? The only other benchmark BYU has to hit is win 3 more games to become eligible. We are contractually locked into that awful bowl game. This season is DOA already.

[YOhio]

What is there to salvage if this season? The only other benchmark BYU has to hit is win 3 more games to become eligible. We are contractually locked into that awful bowl game. This season is DOA already.

I doubt it will happen, but beating TCU would sure be nice.

[TheAzzuri]

I only remember Ja. Beck playing at USU because Jo. Beck was hurt. Maybe there was another time. Ja. Beck did have a great game, though.

Jason Beck played because John Beck had two sprained ankles and they wanted to rest him on the short week before we played TCU in TCU. Ja Beck did have a great game (38-0) but that's partially because we played a historically bad USU team. My most distinct memory from that game was USU having a chance and a chip shot FG and the ball sailing over the holder's head. They were really, really bad.

John Beck's revival (if you call it that) had nothing to do with the USU game. Some have said that he spoke to some of the former QB greats during that week and they told him that he was going to have to go out and win games himself. I don't know if that part is true, but it certainly makes sense if that's the case. From that point forward, he was automatic. I've said it many times, but I'll say it again. I'm still a relatively young buck, but that performance rivals Detmer's Miami performance.

EDIT: I know that was tangential, but I was just pointing out that the sitting out the increased performance were coincidental.

[smokymountainrain]

I'm not afraid.

I think it is crazy to make Nelson the starter. Nelson is a good situational QB. He should get more snaps. He should not be the starter. If heaps sucks but has raw skills, then he needs reps and more reps. He needs better coaching. If the rumors are to be believed, he also needs to put in more time watching film. He needs to prove to the team that he can lead.

The Heaps injury thing makes little sense. Injured quarterbacks throw ducks not bullets. heaps lacks accuracy because he throws it too far and lacks a soft touch. If he were injured, especially in his ribs, he wouldn't be throwing it so hard and so far so often. What makes more sense is that he is just a wuss. He doesn't like getting hit.

What is there to salvage if this season? The only other benchmark BYU has to hit is win 3 more games to become eligible. We are contractually locked into that awful bowl game. This season is DOA already.

Is it crazy to make Lark the starter or at least see what he can do in a real game? He arguably has more raw talent than Heaps.

[TripletDaddy]

Is it crazy to make Lark the starter or at least see what he can do in a real game? He arguably has more raw talent than Heaps.

Good point.

I would think it would be crazy to make him a starter but definitely not to see what he does in a real game. I would like to see Lark in a garbage time scenario for a few series a game.

That is another problem with these close call wins. We never have a time when the game is put away and we can see what Lark can do without tossing way too much pressure on them. Hopefully against SJSU BYU can have this game in hand by 4th quarter.

[Shaka]

I'm not afraid.

I think it is crazy to make Nelson the starter. Nelson is a good situational QB. He should get more snaps. He should not be the starter. If heaps sucks but has raw skills, then he needs reps and more reps. He needs better coaching. If the rumors are to be believed, he also needs to put in more time watching film. He needs to prove to the team that he can lead.

The Heaps injury thing makes little sense. Injured quarterbacks throw ducks not bullets. heaps lacks accuracy because he throws it too far and lacks a soft touch. If he were injured, especially in his ribs, he wouldn't be throwing it so hard and so far so often. What makes more sense is that he is just a wuss. He doesn't like getting hit.

What is there to salvage if this season? The only other benchmark BYU has to hit is win 3 more games to become eligible. We are contractually locked into that awful bowl game. This season is DOA already.

It could be argued that Jake should have worked on his raw skills over the spring and summer and that maybe now is the time for him to work on them as a backup. It could also be argued that he has hasn't shown much as far as being a leader and has lost the respect of his teammates.

This thread is not about Riley Nelson. It's about bringing Jake back from the brink. He has become progressively worse as the season wore on and in spite of Hsaru's assertion that the receivers let him down on third down Heaps sucked badly against USU.

I will support it if the coaches start him next week but it may not be the right answer to curing what ails him. Also keep in mind there may not be anything to cure. The possibility grows greater every day that Heaps may not be cut out to be a good college QB.