BYU Football: Position Preview – Quarterbacks
By Adam Gibby
With the departure of Zach Wilson, BYU Football turns its attention to three potential starters with huge shoes to fill.
It seems that coming into every season there is a question as to who the next BYU quarterback will be. Nelson or Heaps? Taysom or Mangum? Wilson or Mangum? Romney or Wilson? The list goes on and on, but now for the first time there are three names that all seem to have a legitimate chance to take the first snap in Allegiant Stadium this fall; Jaren Hall: Baylor Romney or Jacob Conover.
Experience Returning from 2020
Starters: 0
Returning Production: Baylor Romney: 24/35, 261 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Likely Starters: Baylor Romney OR Jaren Hall OR Jacob Conover
Experience Coming Back
At this point, it really does seem like there is a 33.2% that it could be any of the three quarterbacks. The final .3% goes to Sol-Jay Maiava. Even talking with players on the team there doesn’t seem to be a clear frontrunner. This can be both concerning and promising.
We know that Romney and Hall are capable quarterbacks. Both of them won games in 2019 and have shown that they are capable of playing at a high level. Conover probably received the most snaps last season as the scout team quarterback. Snaps are snaps and probably paid off more than the backup snaps that Romney and Hall split (Hall was injured so Romney probably got a majority). Depending on how you look at this, all three players have a reason to claim to be the starter this year.
Watching all of their game footage, Hall is much more explosive and capable of making a big play with his legs or getting outside of the pocket. He does sometimes appear to make quick decisions that aren’t always the best option and his accuracy is good, but not great. Romney seems to always make the right decision and is very accurate with his throws. His problem is that he doesn’t really present any run threat and struggles to get out of the pocket.
Regardless of who plays, the situation is much better than normal after a star quarterback leaves who started every game the year before.
Bold Prediction
BYU Football is going to be running a two quarterback system with Romney as the primary starter and Hall the short field quarterback. Inside the 10 yard line or in a 3rd/4th and short, Hall seems like the most reliable quarterback who can run for extra yards and cause chaos for defenses. However, Romney seems like a very dependable option for moving down the field. Watching Romney play, he always seems to make the smart decision, but lacks the speed or mobility to be a real threat in short yardage situations. As the season goes on, I think that one of those two will emerge as the better in-game player and will end up becoming the main quarterback.
Jacob Conover, who received an extra year of eligibility will be a backup and will hopefully get into a couple games without burning a redshirt season.
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What do you think? Who will end up being the starter next season for the Cougars?