BYU Football: A decade of drought for Cougar quarterbacks

It’s been nearly a decade since the Cougars have had a great quarterback, and there’s no simple fix to bring “QB U” back to BYU Football.

What has happened to “QB U?”

BYU Football produced Gifford Nielsen and Marc Wilson in the 1970’s. Then there was Jim McMahon, Steve Young, and Robbie Bosco in the 80’s. Ty Detmer and Steve Sarkisian ruled the 1990’s, and Brandon Doman, John Beck, and Max Hall dominated the 2000’s.

Then in the 2010’s there’s…umm…Christian Stewart?

That’s right, Stewart’s 2014 season was the second most efficient for any BYU quarterback since Max Hall graduated in 2009.

The same Christian Stewart who was a backup to Taysom Hill until Hill went down with an injury against Utah State.

This isn’t a knock on Stewart. He played very well when he was thrust into the starting role for the second half of 2014.

The most efficient season by a Cougar QB this decade? Riley Nelson in 2011. The year he took over for a struggling Jake Heaps and won a bunch of ball games against the soft part of the schedule.

This isn’t a knock on Nelson either.

This is a knock on the worst decade of BYU quarterbacks since the start of the LaVell Edwards era.

Efficiency Wins

Since 2010, the quarterback rating of the main starter each year looks like this:

2018 – Tanner Mangum – 115.4
2017 – Tanner Mangum – 110.8
2016 – Taysom Hill – 116.86
2015 – Tanner Mangum – 136.00
2014 – Christian Stewart – 138.98
2013 – Taysom Hill – 118.15
2012 – Riley Nelson – 119.1
2011 – Riley Nelson – 152.93
2010 – Jake Heaps – 116.20

Nelson’s 2011 campaign was pretty impressive. Stewart in 2014 and Tanner Mangum in 2015 were both above average. The rest are well below average.

Let’s compare that to key seasons by former BYU greats:

2009 – Max Hall – 160.13
2006 – John Beck – 169.05
2001 – Brandon Doman – 159.66
1996 – Steve Sarkisian – 173.6
1991 – Ty Detmer – 168.5
1990 – Ty Detmer – 155.9
1984 – Robbie Bosco – 151.8
1983 – Steve Young – 168.5
1980 – Jim McMahon – 176.9
1977 – Marc Wilson – 148.1
1975 – Gifford Nielsen – 140.3

The Cougars finished in the Top 25 in every one of those years but one (1975). The only time they’ve finished ranked in this decade was 2011, Nelson’s big year.

What a coincidence.

Why?

So why no elite quarterback play in this decade?

Coaching?

Well, the first five years after Max Hall left featured the same head coach (Bronco Mendenhall) that produced Hall and John Beck. The same offensive coordinator was there for three of those years (Robert Anae).

Recruiting?

The Cougars have landed two of most highly-ranked quarterbacks they’ve ever had, and neither Jake Heaps or Tanner Mangum have lived up to their billing.

Scheme?

BYU has gone from “Go Fast Go Hard” to pro style to Jeff Grimes’ hybrid offense, and none of them have produced elite quarterback play.

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The truth is, it’s probably a mixture of all of these things. And because of that, there’s no easy answer or simple fix.

There’s also one more thing. A quarterback has to have “IT”.

“IT” is a combination of talent, smarts, mental toughness, and competitiveness that helps a quarterback make the right plays and shake off mistakes. It’s a desire to go out and win a game coupled with the ability to do that.

And none of the quarterbacks since Max Hall have had “IT.” They’ve all lacked at least one of those qualities that turns a good quarterback into a great one.

Taysom Hill may be the closest, but injuries ruined any chance he had to consistently refine his game in college.

Let’s hope that a few of the quarterbacks coming down the pipeline (Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, Stacy Conner, Jacob Conover) have “IT.” And let’s hope the coaches can figure out how to use “IT” when the time comes.

Because it’s well past time for the quarterback drought at BYU to end.