# OPINION OF JAKE HEAPS??



## Lefty (Sep 20, 2008)

What do you think of Jake Heaps? 

My opinion: He stares down his intended receiver, so there is no question where the ball is going. He has no touch on short passes. Not real mobile. I wonder how he was rated top high school QB last year. I hope he is successful but.........


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Typical freshman. Certainly not overly impressive, but when D1 receivers can't catch balls that are in both hands, certainly not the QB to blame there. He has shown moments of greatness, but they have been very short moments.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

He is behind where I expected him to be by now. Wynn advanced much faster than Heaps, I am starting to wonder if he is going to be somewhat of a bust, still to early to say for sure. I don't think he is awful.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Its really hard to say. The one thing with major high school "super stars" like Heaps, is that first, he had a D1 starting receiver he threw to all the time in high school that made things a bunch easier for him. And no matter where you go to high school, the talent gap between high school and D1 college football is huge. College ball is an entirely different game all together because of the speed and strength of the players. Now that said, when Hall took over as the starter, he was a redshirt sophomore that had been on a mission - so 22 years old, and had spent 2 years in a D1 program. He had his "man strength" that comes somwhere between about age 18-22. And six of the guys that Hall threw to that year, are all in the NFL right now. And I really don't know if ANY of the guys Heaps is throwing to are NFL talent - none of them are showing it anyway. 

So long answer -but really - Time will tell. I'm not ready to declare him a bust or the next Steve Young. Give him time. We'll see how it goes. 

As for Wynn, I still think Cain shows better field presence and has a better knack for winning games than Wynn does. His two years playing JC ball show in how he handles himself. And remember with Wynn - he still lost two of this first three starts. And, I think he has a much stronger/better run game, which forces the defenses to respect that.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

The BYU program seems so different now. They had a few seasons with some good running backs and have gone away from the passing game of the past. The Y always had good receivers and an offensive scheme that other teams had a difficult time stopping. I think we are seeing the beginning of the end for the Y. It's like most things in life, if you don't put in the energy, time, and passion, you become mediocre. I don't think the offensive coordinator has enough confidence in Heaps. Maybe Heaps isn't picking up the plays, the reads, the flow of college ball. If I was Anae, I'd let the kid go down in a blaze of glory. The season is already over. They suck, so might as well tell the kid to open it up and throw the ball. Finding someone who can catch it will help too.

I can't balme it all on Heaps. This is the worst BYU team I have seen in decades. I think all of the Shtuff from the summer took away the focus. From the AD on down, they have spent all their energies trying to become independent. I think a lot of the players have been affected by all the distractions.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

> I can't balme it all on Heaps. This is the worst BYU team I have seen in decades.


Decades? Really? Do you remember the last four years under Crowton? In '03, they were 4-8 overall, and 1-5 at home - with home losses to Air Force, CSU, and Wyoming. THAT was some BAAAAADDDDD football. And in '02 - the first losing season since before Lavell took over - 5-7 with home losses to CSU, New Mexico and UNLV? Those years were low of lows. And as bad as the team is this year, I'm betting they'll still go 6-6 and get a bowl. Not much better, but still better. Those teams were just pathetic.

The thing I'm seeing, is how rare it is for a team, any team, to rack up four 10-win seasons in a row. That is not the norm for any team, I don't care who they are. Heck, Florida with all the recruiting advantages and the mighty Urban Liar won't post 10 wins this year. And their might QB is riding the pine in Denver now. College football is a tough deal, and it is all dependent upon a package of variable to come together and you can catch lightening in a bottle- and that seldom happens for anyone.

This team will get better.


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## Stellarmike (Mar 12, 2009)

I agree, I think they will be better again. They need to recruit some people that can catch the ball. Until then, A lot of three step drops and getting rid of the ball until heaps gets more comfortable.


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## gitterdone81 (Sep 3, 2009)

I too have wondered if I have been too much of a Heaps Apologist. I figure I can't blame him until I see a received get separation. Any route deeper than 10 yards, and they can't get open, thus he gets a sack.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> Its really hard to say. The one thing with major high school "super stars" like Heaps, is that first, he had a D1 starting receiver he threw to all the time in high school that made things a bunch easier for him. And no matter where you go to high school, the talent gap between high school and D1 college football is huge. College ball is an entirely different game all together because of the speed and strength of the players. Now that said, when Hall took over as the starter, he was a redshirt sophomore that had been on a mission - so 22 years old, and had spent 2 years in a D1 program. He had his "man strength" that comes somwhere between about age 18-22. And six of the guys that Hall threw to that year, are all in the NFL right now. And I really don't know if ANY of the guys Heaps is throwing to are NFL talent - none of them are showing it anyway.
> 
> So long answer -but really - Time will tell. I'm not ready to declare him a bust or the next Steve Young. Give him time. We'll see how it goes.
> 
> As for Wynn, I still think Cain shows better field presence and has a better knack for winning games than Wynn does. His two years playing JC ball show in how he handles himself. And remember with Wynn - he still lost two of this first three starts. And, I think he has a much stronger/better run game, which forces the defenses to respect that.


I am just commenting on your Wynn comment. Wynn won his first two starts, lost his third game to TCU. So he was 2 and 1 to start off unlink 1 and 2 you are claiming.

Wynn only had one game in his first season that his quarterback rating was below 100 Heaps has only had one game over a rating of a 100 since he became the starter.

Wynn had 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in his first 4 starts
Heaps has 0 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in his first 4 starts

Wynn lost two games his first season one to TCU and one to BYU, both great teams
Heaps has only won one game and that was against SDSU, losing to Nevada, USU, and TCU.

Lets not forget about Wynn's excellent game in the bowl game against Cal. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Here are some links to look at to see where I got my numbers. Wynns first start was against Wyoming in game 8 of last year and Heaps first start was against Nevada this year in game 4.

Wynns link:

http://espn.go.com/ncf/player/gamelog?playerId=482349&year=2009

Heaps link:

http://espn.go.com/ncf/player/gamelog?playerId=501563


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

GaryFish,

I think the Crowton teams had the talent and it was a coaching problem that made them bad. I think Bronco is a great coach he has shown it in the last 4 years. I really think this group of players are not only young, but less talented than past players. Maybe they will develop into something, but right now, they are just not good players.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

HighNDry said:


> GaryFish,
> 
> I think the Crowton teams had the talent and it was a coaching problem that made them bad. I think Bronco is a great coach he has shown it in the last 4 years. I really think this group of players are not only young, but less talented than past players. Maybe they will develop into something, but right now, they are just not good players.


I disagree, I don't think Bronco is the Messiah as many Cougar fans think he is, I think he is a big part of the problem, this is his recruiting class, keep that in mind. Also as Gary has pointed out many times, how many great players has Bronco had over the last four years, great players can make a good coach, which Bronco is, look great, which he isn't.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

So how did he take the Crowton recruits to such a high level after Crowton left?
And I see no mention of the Messiah in my post. Big difference between great and God.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

HighNDry said:


> So how did he take the Crowton recruits to such a high level after Crowton left?
> And I see no mention of the Messiah in my post. Big difference between great and God.


It was implied. :mrgreen: 8) :lol:


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Jake has an NFL arm already. He just doesn't quite know what to do with it sometimes. He'll learn. Give him time. As mentioned, the receiving corps at BYU is terrible. 

Though I got blasted on this forum for saying before last season that the BYU offense was really deep with pass catchers, Dennis Pitta, Andrew George, Harvey Unga, and Manase Tonga proved themselves and went to the NFL as a reward. Pitta became the greatest receiver in a long history of passing at BYU. George was an awesome safety valve (just ask Utah!). Tonga was one of the better pass blocking fullbacks in the country and caught some passes upon releasing as well. Unga was always a threat both running and receiving the ball and became BYU's all-time leading rusher. Last year's offense was incredible. Jake Heaps has nobody who's a dependable ball catcher right now. 

Who did Wynn have helping him out as a freshman, again? Oh yeah, just that Reed guy who's now playing on Sundays. Devonte Christopher, Shaky Smithson, and Eddie Wide all made his job a little easier, don't you think? Then that fantastic defense bailed Wynn out of many of his mistakes. 

Apples to apples, fellers. Wynn's talented. He also had waaaaay more talent around him than Jake has now.


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## coyoteslayer (Sep 10, 2007)

> Who did Wynn have helping him out as a freshman, again? Oh yeah, just that Reed guy who's now playing on Sundays. Devonte Christopher, Shaky Smithson, and Eddie Wide all made his job a little easier, don't you think? Then that fantastic defense bailed Wynn out of many of his mistakes.
> 
> Apples to apples, fellers. Wynn's talented. He also had waaaaay more talent around him than Jake has now.


You can blame that on the bad recruiting that BYU has done. They went from a good team to a very bad team because they weren't focused on the future.

The Utes do a lot better job at finding replacements from year to year.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

coyoteslayer said:


> > Who did Wynn have helping him out as a freshman, again? Oh yeah, just that Reed guy who's now playing on Sundays. Devonte Christopher, Shaky Smithson, and Eddie Wide all made his job a little easier, don't you think? Then that fantastic defense bailed Wynn out of many of his mistakes.
> >
> > Apples to apples, fellers. Wynn's talented. He also had waaaaay more talent around him than Jake has now.
> 
> ...


You realize, of course, that Bronco's first season of recruits are seniors this year? BYU has a 6 year recruiting plan instead of 4 like most other schools. 8)


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Their run game is barely there.... when it shows up at all. The recievers stink, the QB doesn't have time to find them even if they could get open.... this offense is terrible and it all comes back to the guy who's supposed to lead the Cougs somewhere... I'm sure they'd take anywhere other than where they sit right now. He might be ok if he was playing behind a solid line but so far this season, the golden boy isn't producing the way they were hoping. The sad thing is, he hasn't gotten any time to watch and learn because the QB in front of him is just as bad or worse.


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