This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The BYU football team enjoyed a much-needed bye last weekend, using the time to heal up and re-energize a little bit after what was a trying month of October. You can read more about what the Cougars did during their bye week here.
Also, here's a closer look at how BYU went from having six scholarship quarterbacks on the roster — seven if you count Tanner Mangum, who was greyshirting in 2012 — to just one (Taysom Hill) in 2014.
I reached out to former BYU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman for some perspective when I was working on the article, but unfortunately Doman wasn't able to get back to me until after the article had gone to print.
Here, then, are some of Doman's thoughts about the quarterback situation at BYU, and how it got to the point where there are three walk-on freshmen (McCoy Hill, Hayden Griffits and Hunter Moore) behind current starter Christian Stewart.
As you can see from the chart that accompanied the article, BYU did not sign a quarterback out of high school in 2008 or 2009 before signing Jake Heaps in 2010. They did sign USU transfer Riley Nelson in 2009 when he returned from a church mission to Spain.
There are rumors that BYU didn't sign a prep QB those years because it wanted to make it clear to Heaps that he would be the starter for four years if he chose BYU, but Doman said that speculation has no merit.
"We tried to sign a QB every year while I was there," he said.
One of the quarterbacks in camp in 2009 was Blake Decker, a walk-on from Mountain View High in Mesa, Ariz., who is now UNLV's starting quarterback. Decker left in the third quarter with an injury last Saturday and his status for the BYU game was not known as of Monday morning. He went on a mission after the 2009 season and played for Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College before signing with UNLV.
"I remember Blake Decker. He was a good player, but we didn't choose to offer him a scholarship," Doman said.
In 2011, BYU signed Alex Kuresa, a record-setting QB from Mountain Crest High in the Cache Valley. Kuresa was the scout team QB in 2011, then was moved to receiver in 2012. He's now the starter at Snow College.
"While I was there, I never intended on not having Alex play QB at BYU," Doman said. "I figured he would have a chance to be our QB upon his return from his mission. He's a good player and BYU could use him right about now." (He added a :- sign after that)
Of course, had Ammon Olsen stuck around, he probably would be BYU's starting quarterback right now. But Olsen saw the writing on the wall that Hill would be the starter as long as he was healthy, and bolted for Southern Utah.
"Yes, it is unfortunate that recruits aren't more patient in their preparation to play QB. They need time. .. The grass usually isn't greener on the other side (transfers). Patience and hard work usually pay off in the end!" Doman said.
Many recruiting experts were puzzled in 2013 when BYU signed Billy Green, a non-LDS QB out of King's High in the Seattle area. Green played for a small school and wasn't recruited by a lot of other programs. He played briefly in 2013 against Idaho State (enough to burn his redshirt year) and then transferred to Weber State in 2014.
But Doman says coaches saw some talent in Green, and were hoping he would be a mainstay and provide some continuity while other QBs went on missions.
"Billy Green came to our camp the summer of his junior year and had a great camp," Doman said. "I liked him and felt he could develop into a guy BYU could count on in time. He provided some stability in an LDS missionary-fluctuating environment."
I asked coach Bronco Mendenhall the other day to give Christian Stewart a letter grade based on how Stewart has performed in a tough situation since replacing Hill against Utah State. Mendenhall declined to give Stew a grade, but said, "man, I think he's good."
Doman was at BYU when Stewart walked on the first time out of high school, and was still there when Stewart walked on after a fine career at Snow College.
"I have always liked Christian Stewart and thought he was a competitor with enough talent to play," Doman said. "I am not surprised that he has done well in this offensive structure, because he is a good athlete with a football mind."