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Provo • Having been benched for the first time since he began playing organized football more than a dozen years ago in the Cougars' 27-24 win over Utah State last Friday, BYU quarterback Jake Heaps said he is taking the demotion in stride and vowing to work harder to regain his starting position.
"Yeah, it is the first time I have been benched during a game," Heaps said after BYU's practice Tuesday as the Cougars continued preparations for Saturday's game against San Jose State. "It is not a fun feeling, but hey, like I said earlier, they pulled me and they felt like Riley [Nelson] needed to come in. And we won the game, and Riley played well. That was fun to see our team win the game, and I am really proud of those guys."
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said that the decision regarding who will start Saturday — the sophomore Heaps or the junior Nelson — has not been made yet, but most indicators seem to point in the direction of Nelson, who came off the bench to throw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes in the come-from-behind win.
"So the intrigue will build, it looks like," Mendenhall said.
Asked what will determine who starts against the Spartans, Mendenhall mentioned production and leadership.
"We have a lot of history with it, so we are just trying to gauge how the team in practicing, how they are responding to each guy. That's a big part of it," Mendenhall said, noting later that he will make the final decision after heavy input from offensive coordinator Brandon Doman.
Mendenhall said the reps in practice are being divided evenly, while Heaps said he hasn't been paying attention to the number of reps he's now getting and Nelson declined comment, his first of three "no comment" replies to reporters' questions on Tuesday.
As for Heaps, he said he is taking the turn of events "one day at a time" and is fine mentally. He said he was surprised by the benching and wasn't given an explanation at the time, only that coaches were putting Nelson in the game.
"So, it stung a little bit," he said. "But it worked out. It was a great win."
Heaps said it was "hard not to be the guy at the end of the game," but that he is not going to "complain and white about it. It is what it is. Our team won and I am grateful for that."
The sophomore who has started BYU's last 15 games said he still believes he has the support of his teammates. Several said during Friday's postgame interviews that they rallied around Nelson and intimated that they played harder when the junior was in the game.
"My teammates have been great through this whole process," Heaps said. "It has really been fun to know that they have my back and support me. No matter what happens, no matter what the outcome is, I love them, they love me. That is really not going to change, whether I am the starter or not, so those relationships have really developed, and are really strong, so I feel very comfortable. These guys have turned it into a great situation for both me and Riley."
Nelson called the last two days of practice "business as usual" but declined any attempts to get him to draw comparisons with Heaps.
Asked if he wants to be the starter, he said, "whatever helps the team win."
Briefly
The Cougars and Spartans are playing for the first time since 1998 (a 46-43 BYU win) and only the second time since 1969. San Jose State leads the series 9-5 after having won the first eight meetings from 1946-61. ... SJSU defensive end David Tuitupou of Orem began his college football career at BYU as a scout team player in 2008. His brother, Peter, also plays for the Spartans.
Twitter: @drewjay