We're Real Lucky to be getting Jake Heaps

I hope we redshirt Heaps for a year - so he can come out with both guns blazing!!!!! Firing on all cylinders ..... at 10,000 RPM!!!

Ddawg wrote:
I hope we redshirt Heaps for a year - so he can come out with both guns blazing!!!!! Firing on all cylinders ..... at 10,000 RPM!!!

agreed, there's simply no evidence to show that starting a true freshman trumps a redshirt year and plenty of evidence to show that it's a terrible decision.



I have faith that whoever the coaching staff starts though is the right choice, but I just don't foresee a true freshman being that choice. Heaps will be awesome for BYU, but it won't be next year.

craigoscarson wrote:
there's simply no evidence to show that starting a true freshman trumps a redshirt year and plenty of evidence to show that it's a terrible decision.

This is assuming that we have a highly-recruited junior or senior QB that fits the program already in place. We don't. All we have is Riley Nelson, who has proven to be a decent WAC QB but is not your typical BYU QB and perhaps not a good match for our system in the long-term.



Redshirt freshmen usually wouldn't win as many games as guys who have been in the system longer. But I doubt that's the case with us next season. It's not a matter of having 5th-year-senior-3-years-starting Heaps competing against just-out-of-high-school Heaps like some on this board pretend.

Mars wrote:

there's simply no evidence to show that starting a true freshman trumps a redshirt year and plenty of evidence to show that it's a terrible decision.

This is assuming that we have a highly-recruited junior or senior QB that fits the program already in place. We don't. All we have is Riley Nelson, who has proven to be a decent WAC QB but is not your typical BYU QB and perhaps not a good match for our system in the long-term.



Redshirt freshmen usually wouldn't win as many games as guys who have been in the system longer. But I doubt that's the case with us next season. It's not a matter of having 5th-year-senior-3-years-starting Heaps competing against just-out-of-high-school Heaps like some on this board pretend.

agreed. Heaps has as much shot and more (I think) potential than anyone out there. I don't think we write him off just yet. He is one of the best players, coming out of a strong football state.

Mars wrote:

there's simply no evidence to show that starting a true freshman trumps a redshirt year and plenty of evidence to show that it's a terrible decision.

This is assuming that we have a highly-recruited junior or senior QB that fits the program already in place. We don't. All we have is Riley Nelson, who has proven to be a decent WAC QB but is not your typical BYU QB and perhaps not a good match for our system in the long-term.



Redshirt freshmen usually wouldn't win as many games as guys who have been in the system longer. But I doubt that's the case with us next season. It's not a matter of having 5th-year-senior-3-years-starting Heaps competing against just-out-of-high-school Heaps like some on this board pretend.

People said the same thing about Brandon Doman. IF Riley can show that type of potential, I say RS Heaps.

BlueIsBetter wrote:

craigoscarson wrote:
there's simply no evidence to show that starting a true freshman trumps a redshirt year and plenty of evidence to show that it's a terrible decision.

This is assuming that we have a highly-recruited junior or senior QB that fits the program already in place. We don't. All we have is Riley Nelson, who has proven to be a decent WAC QB but is not your typical BYU QB and perhaps not a good match for our system in the long-term.



Redshirt freshmen usually wouldn't win as many games as guys who have been in the system longer. But I doubt that's the case with us next season. It's not a matter of having 5th-year-senior-3-years-starting Heaps competing against just-out-of-high-school Heaps like some on this board pretend.

agreed. Heaps has as much shot and more (I think) potential than anyone out there. I don't think we write him off just yet. He is one of the best players, coming out of a strong football state.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that we write this guy off. He's obviously dominated at the level he's been playing at. I'm just wondering if he can look that good against collegiate athletes. It's a whole different game.



I would tend to side with BLUEshirting Heaps, even if he looks even slightly behind the other QBs. let him learn and then come out with a bang. That's far from writing him off though.

Let me point out the 2009 Utah Utes. They had a talented true freshman come in to camp, play well, but be slightly turnover prone. They went with the more experienced guy in Cain, who was a JC transfer. And Cain played pretty well--not horrible, but just lacked something. Utah played the kid in game 6 or so, and he looked inconsistent, but made plays. But he lacked polish. He was about as good as you can expect from a true freshman. Same with Matt Barkley at USC. I do not care how talented they are, it is a much faster game, just like jumping from CFB to the NFL is. The leap is not made without huge struggles for even Hall of Fame QB's. And that is the reality. I hope Heaps gets a year to catch up to speed, and then is let loose. I expect the same from much of this potentially great incoming freshman class. Blueshirt year, then let loose in 2011.

Let me point out the 2009 USC Trojans (giggle). They had a good Junior QB who left for the pros and has done pretty well despite their coach publicly calling him a bum for doing it. They, on the other hand, have a true freshy qb who was a five-star guy out of high school and they had the worst season at the school in a long time.

Schmoe wrote:
Let me point out the 2009 USC Trojans (giggle). They had a good Junior QB who left for the pros and has done pretty well despite their coach publicly calling him a bum for doing it. They, on the other hand, have a true freshy qb who was a five-star guy out of high school and they had the worst season at the school in a long time.

USC went 8-4 in the toughest conference in college's FBS division. They beat Ohio State in Columbus with that true freshman. They lost a lot of talent the year before on defense and in their receiving corp. Most importantly, they lost their offensive and defensive coordinators to a rival team in their own conference. And they beat the team that BYU is going to face in the LV Bowl. SO they didnt go to a BCS bowl game this season, but they still beat 3 top 25 teams, including the Big 10 champion. They did that all starting a true freshman qb, which was the first time ever for USC.



BYU should be so lucky with either Nelson or Heaps starting next season.



Finally, with Barkley starting for USC as a true freshman, they know he'll be starting for 3 years, barring injury. If Heaps starts next season for BYU, he'll be the QB for 3 years, minimum. If he doesn't, he could redshirt, go a on a mission, spend another season on the bench, then start his redshirt sophmore season, play great, declare for the draft and be gone, while only playing a single season for BYU. I seriously doubt he'd do that, but it is possible if he doesn't start and ends up waiting at least 2 years before becoming BYU's starting QB.

Schmoe wrote:
Let me point out the 2009 USC Trojans (giggle). They had a good Junior QB who left for the pros and has done pretty well despite their coach publicly calling him a bum for doing it. They, on the other hand, have a true freshy qb who was a five-star guy out of high school and they had the worst season at the school in a long time.

This is a TERRIBLE comparison (and you aren't the only one guilty of it).



What you are saying is that USC STARTED a true freshman. That the best quarterback at arguably the best football team in the nation this decade was a true freshman. That is NOT a reason against doing so.



If you could point out that once USC replaced the highly-recruited true freshman with a low-star junior or senior and then began to play better, THEN you would have an argument. But no one is claiming that a better QB sat on the Trojans' bench this season. If USC had the same defense this year as last, they likely would have won AT LEAST two more games.

Obviously you play the best qb that you have, but generally a true freshman will not be up to snuff because the college game is SO very different. If my best qb is a poodle, then yes, I'll play a poodle, but that doesn't mean that he's any good.

Mars wrote:



What you are saying is that USC STARTED a true freshman. That the best quarterback at arguably the best football team in the nation this decade was a true freshman. That is NOT a reason against doing so.



If you could point out that once USC replaced the highly-recruited true freshman with a low-star junior or senior and then began to play better, THEN you would have an argument. But no one is claiming that a better QB sat on the Trojans' bench this season. If USC had the same defense this year as last, they likely would have won AT LEAST two more games. [/color]

Actually, sophomore Aaron Corp won the job in camp, then got injured and did not heal. USC also had Mitch Mustain on the bench. He was the 4-star transfer from Arkansas. Not sure why USC did not give Mustain a shot, perhaps because he was a junior. I think USC had talent more ready to lead on the bench, but went with the raw guy because he was younger and they could get 3 years out of him. I also think USC knew that they were young all over and that it was a rebuild year for them, so they invested in Barkley for that reason. This analogy could actually ring true if Harvey jumps. It will be a rebuild year at BYU.