In the 1980's and 90's, from a private university tucked in the mountain-crested base of Provo, Utah sprouted gridiron exceptionalism from the quarterback position. So much so, that a legacy of dominant passers like Steve Young, Jim McMahon, and Ty Detmer earned BYU the well-documented nickname of "QBU".
But with the onset of the 21st century, a shifting landscape and constitution forced BYU to retool and find itself a new identity. Though QBU isn't in such strong effect these days, the turn of the century did not leave the Cougars in the dust from the pocket. Here are the best quarterbacks to suit up for BYU since the year 2000.
1. John Beck
BYU was in the midst of a rough stretch when John Beck became the primary starter in 2004. They had had back-to-back losing seasons, going 9-15. His sophomore year was not much better, as the Cougars went 5-6 and experienced their second coaching change in five years, when they hadn’t had one before that since 1972. John Beck’s play was a big reason BYU righted the ship.
BYU went 6-6 in his junior year and then had one of (if not the) best seasons in school history, where a man named LaVell Edwards wasn’t the head coach. In 2006, BYU went 11-2 and was the champion of the Mountain West. They beat Utah in the biggest edition of the Holy War in the 21st Century, 33-31, in Beck to Harline. Beck always played his best against the Utes, throwing for 897 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions in his three games against them. They then trounced Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl. They beat the Ducks 38-8 and ended their season with a 30-point win over one of the top 25 programs in the country, both then and now.
John Beck was 885 of 1418 for 11,201 yards and had 88 total touchdowns (79 passing, 9 rushing) in his career at BYU. His dedication and hard work kept BYU from taking a permanent downturn as a program post the LaVell Edwards Era. Every quarterback of the last 20 years stands on his shoulders.
2. Max Hall
John Beck overhauled the engine of BYU football, and Max Hall went off to the races with it. Hall never won fewer than 10 games in his three years as BYU’s starting quarterback and ended his career with a 32-7 record for the Cougars. Hall led BYU to two wins in the Holy War over Utah, two Las Vegas Bowl Championships, and wins over power conference teams like UCLA, Arizona, Washington, Oregon State, and his biggest win as a Cougar, their 2009 upset of #3 Oklahoma.
2006 through 2009 were the best four seasons of the Bronco Mendenhall Era at BYU, and Max Hall was the quarterback for three of them. Hall was 903 of 1382 for 11,365 yards and had 101 total touchdowns (94 passing, 7 rushing). The epic wins against Utah and Oklahoma make Max Hall a BYU legend.
3. Jaren Hall
Jaren Hall was 468 of 718 for 6,174 yards and 52 touchdowns passing. He also rushed for 800 yards and nine rushing touchdowns and even caught a touchdown once. Jaren Hall’s legacy is one of helping BYU navigate the rocky terrain of being an Independent school and joining the Big 12, as well as breaking the Utah curse. Beating six Power Five teams (five of them from the Pac-12) in 2021, including the 2021 Pac-12 Champion and rival Utah, proved that the Big 12’s invitation to BYU was a good addition to the conference. Jaren Hall helped prove that.
4. Taysom Hill
Having the best dual-threat records at a school that produced the great Steve Young is no small feat. Taysom Hill has that achievement. Hill was such a tremendous athlete at BYU, both passing and running the football, that if not for injuries cutting three seasons short, he’d be at the top of this list. Hill was 609 of 1,047 for 6,929 yards and 43 touchdowns passing. He was just as lethal rushing the football with 534 carries for 2,815 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Hill led BYU to wins over Power 5 teams like Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Arizona, and Virginia. His signature wins with BYU, though, had to be their victories over Texas, which he led them to in 2013 and 2014. Hill’s passing was modest in both games, with only 129 and 181 yards and no touchdowns, respectively. His rushing, on the other hand, was dominant. He went for 17 carries for 259 yards and three touchdowns in 2013 and 24 carries for 99 yards and three touchdowns in 2014, crushing the Longhorns 40-21 and 41-7. That is why he is the do-everything player for the New Orleans Saints.
5. Brandon Doman
Brandon Doman was 312 of 500 for 4,324 yards and 35 touchdowns through the air. He also had 585 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing the football. Doman led BYU on a 14-game winning streak that began with the last two games of the 2000 season and continued through the 2001 season. Doman’s heroics (along with Luke Staley and Kalani Sitake) helped send LaVell Edwards out a winner against Utah 34-27 in 2000.
Doman and Staley would take BYU to a 12-2 season the very next year. That is the most wins BYU has had in a season without Edwards as coach and the most they’ve had in almost 30 years. In 2001, Doman passed for over 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns and rushed for over 400 yards and 9 touchdowns. Most BYU fans agree with me that BYU goes undefeated, it is the first BCS Buster, and Staley is in New York as a Heisman finalist if he doesn’t get hurt. Brandon Doman’s quarterback play was the unsung hero of BYU's 2001 run.
Honorable Mention: Zach Wilson, Riley Nelson, and Tanner Mangum