Provo • There’s finally some separation in BYU’s quarterback room.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick this week indicated Jacob Conover is beginning to take the reigns of the backup quarterback role behind Jaren Hall. This was expected for most of spring camp, but Monday was the first time Roderick publicly addressed how the Cougars’ depth chart is stacking up.
“Jacob has separated himself a little bit as the number two,” Roderick said when asked by The Salt Lake Tribune. “Cade [Fennegan] and Sol-Jay [Maiava-Peters] are improving every day. I am still giving them reps, so that’s where we stand right now.”
Conover has been seen as the likely backup for most of the offseason. He has been in the program for two years and was a highly rated recruit out of high school. Last year, Conover appeared in two games and threw 10 passes.
But there was doubt thrown into Conover’s status by the coaching staff. Just last week, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said he was surprised a clear-cut backup hadn’t yet emerged.
BYU brought in Boise State transfer Cade Fennegan to compete with Conover. Freshman Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters was also further along than Sitake and Roderick expected. So, the last four weeks of spring practice have seen Conover go through another quarterback battle.
“It is mentally taxing for every person [to be in a quarterback battle several times],” Conover said three weeks ago. “We see this as a full-time job, but we love it. I’m understanding how the game works a bit more. The game is slowing down for me.”
Roderick has insisted throughout the process that Conover needed more reps. In his first two seasons, Conover was buried in the depth chart behind the trio of Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall and Baylor Romney.
“The reps are accumulating now,” Roderick said. “[Conover] has been here long enough that it is starting to show that he knows what he is doing.
“In his overall time here, he has had a few more reps than maybe Sol-Jay and Cade have, so it just kind of comes with playing. The game seems to be slowing down a little bit for him, and he’s a talented guy.”