Thriller: I'm not one of the Ute fans blasting Heaps, but you brought up a great point in your concern about recruiting. Let's say Heaps leaves after 3 years. That means after Heaps gets his "learning" year out of the way, he basically has 2 years playing QB at BYU. Where are the WR's going to come from in that time? Where are the TE's going to come from?
Look, I don't think I'm being a hater here. I just think it's a pretty honest fact that BYU better hurry and get some talent around this kid if they want to maximize the Jake Heaps experience. Their WR's are simply awful. Is the next Austin Collie waiting in the wings? All of their TE's are freshman and at this point don't show the potential that BYU is used to having at that position.
As much as I think Stern is a boob, his idea that BYU is young and once they mature they will be better is usually a sound idea when talking about BYU, but at this point and time I think he's dead wrong. Using the 2007 TCU team as an example of what BYU is going through right now is simply laughable and is the perfect example of a fan grasping at straws. BYU's current talent pool comes up EXTREMELY short when compared to what TCU was working with in 2007.
Experience is good for any young team, but what good is experience when most of these youngsters are nothing but average (if that)? Who's a young up-and-coming star on BYU's defense? Byu's defense is made up of 2nd and 3rd teamers if they were at Utah or TCU this year. Maybe Jake Heaps is everything that BYU fans say he will be, but I bet his years at BYU are underminded by voids of talent in other areas of the roster.
My comment was more directed towards someone who smashed Heaps yesterday... You've been actually pretty rational in this thread... I've enjoyed reading your posts and it's nice to actually have a discussion here. But there was someone a page or two ago that just smashed Heaps.
Getting basically his first real playing time in Florida St. with the offensive line doing nothing, receivers struggling, and virtually no proven RB is a tough. Put Jordan Wynn in and he looks pretty crappy too.... Put Max Hall or Brian Johnson in yesterday's game and I guarantee you see similar results as Heaps.
I think you nailed it, BYU's recruiting MUST improve significantly.
A rude awakening is in order.
Personally, I think they've become complacent. And honestly, I'm not sure if Bronco is the right guy for the job. I'm not sure who is... But excluding the BYU zoobies out there who dumbasses were praising the two QB system a few weeks ago, us rational fans are worried. BYU is going independent and yet their Football program is at best, leveled out and at worse, on a decline. Not good.
I think BYU may have just leveled out, much like what Utah had done under Ronnie Mac.
IMO BYU needs to:
A. Upgrade their schemes on both sides of the ball. their offense is wayyyyyyyy too conservative. Even Utah runs a more exciting offense now. They should study up on Boise St. Texas Tech, Northwestern, and Oregon to see how a real offense is run.
Hemie Hill just plain sucks. If you get beat deep you get beat deep, but at least send'em. There's a reason why BYU's Jan Jorgensen led the MWC in sacks his freshmen year (or sophmore?), and then never came close to doing so afterwords. Their scheme defensively in hopes of keeping everything "in front" of them actually works against them since good offenses know exactly what they're going to do. AF isn't dumb. They knew where BYU was going to be and blocked them effectively. When Utah plays them, watch how many different looks they give. AF will be so unbalanced and will not know what the hell to block.
B. Recruit speed and keep the guys from chunking up. From multiple sources I've heard how they like the "big boys." This goes completely against the trend of speed. Just look @ Utah's offensive line. There's not one fatty there. literally, they look like big linebackers and fullbacks. BYU's offensive line would scare away Sumo wrestlers. T. Brown is a complete embarrassment. He can't stay with even his run blocks because he's too fat. Matt Reynolds is a poor left tackle who can be beaten easily by speed rushes. Christian Cox is going to eat him alive.
Harvey Unga, IMO, was a better RB as a freshmen than as a soph or junior. He just got too big which took away his effectiveness, especially as a receiving RB. Even McCay Jacobsen is too thick right now. He looks like he should be a fullback not a wide out. Again, this is deep stuff that BYU needs to drastically change. It's a long time coming and I think it's finally starting to show. This team is going to lose 5-6 games this year. Why will next year be any better?
C. Step up when it counts. One thing that you have to admire about teams like TCU, Boise, and Utah is that they've stepped up when it counts. this falls directly on Bronco. He admitted this past week that last year against FSU he hadn't prepared them enough. What? I would love to ask Bronco how the hell you forget to prepare your team when you're going up against one of the most storied teams in NCAA history, against one of the best coaches of ALL TIME, on national TV, with ESPN gameday at your doorstep?
I really can't stand it when coaches say that they weren't "prepared." It's like when Jazz players say that "the other team" just "wanted" it more. Come again? How the hell does that happen?
BYU has only stepped up once, and that was against a lame OU team playing without their starting QB. Bronco had them prepared and amped up, which was nice to see. But I'll admit that if Bradford plays, they win. He was just getting heated up when he screwed up his shoulder.
Boise pulled a W out of their butt this year when all seemed lost. Utah has consistently beaten teams when all the pressure was on them. Same with TCU.
It needs to become a habit that BYU beats up on these highly touted teams like FSU, Boston College, etc. Yet, unfortunately, when they have their chance to shine, they have consistently pulled a no show. They haven't lost, but have been EMBARRASSED. In fact, they're the opposite of Boise, Utah, and TCU. They fold far too easily when expectations are made.
This is a recipe for disaster if they ever hope to convince the Big 12 to invite them. No one expects BYU to stay independent. Even Notre Dame will eventually fold and find a conference.
Personally, if I was the Big 12, I'd tell BYU to screw themselves until they get themselves a program capable of competing against the big boys. that they don't need any more teams like Colorado (which they got rid of), and invite TCU.
