This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • The possibility exists that sophomore quarterback Jake Heaps, who lost his starting position to junior Riley Nelson after BYU's fifth game this season, will be asked to redshirt next year to create some separation between the two in terms of eligibility, coach Bronco Mendenhall said Tuesday after practice.
"Sure, yeah, absolutely," Mendenhall said when asked if Heaps is open to redshirting, an oft-employed tactic where a player practices with a team but does not play in games and does not lose a year of eligibility. "And that would be probably a wise thing to do to create separation between he and Riley if Riley continues to play well. So it is an option we have talked about."
Speculation abounds that Heaps might transfer after his benching during BYU's 24-17 win over Utah State on Sept. 30 after he had started 15 consecutive games for the Cougars at quarterback, but Heaps has continued to maintain he's not thinking about that right now.
Mendenhall said Tuesday that he meets regularly with Heaps, who was called by at least one recruiting-based website the top pro-style quarterback in the country when he came out of high school.
"He was actually excited about the possibility [of redshirting], but again, knowing that Riley still has to play well," Mendenhall said. "But our communication is frequent enough to where this is not just something where we are visiting about the weather. We are talking about his future and all the things that might be significant to handle not only him personally but his play on the field and how it might be best in terms of managing that. So there isn't much we haven't talked about."
Mendenhall said he still believes Heaps can be an NFL quarterback, but needs to mature and develop off the field as much as he does on it.
"What is easy to forget is that he was a true freshman last year, a kid that came in as a high school senior in January and then ended up starting for us as a true freshman," the coach said. "So he is just young. So there are a lot of expectations because of the way he played in his freshman year, [so] I think just time, and continued maturity, and age will help him.
"But in terms of how he throws it, and the decisions he makes, I think he is an exceptional quarterback."
Position change
Cornerback Joe Sampson, who made a key interception to preserve a win against Central Florida, has been moved to safety. Mendenhall said safety Jray Galea'i has a back injury that has limited his playing time and juco transfer DeQuan Everett has looked good in practice at cornerback, so the decision was made to move Sampson, who played both positions in junior college.
A mixed bag
BYU linebacker Brandon Ogletree described the season so far as both frustrating and fulfilling.
"Our record might not show it, or the stats might now show it, but I think we have a really good team," he said. "I mean, we are a few plays away in a few games from having a pretty special season. We can still make it special. A 10-3 [record] doesn't sound so bad to me, so hopefully that's where we are headed, and we are going to work to make that happen."
Twitter: @drewjay