Today was a day that people could see coming but were hopeful that it could be avoided. Guess not. Highly touted sophomore quarterback Jake Heaps announced today that he is leaving the BYU football program. According to Heaps himself, he has not decided where he is transferring to. Heaps told Mason Kelley of the Seattle Times “I’ve had some time to think about this decision and it’s not one I came to lightly. I have no idea where I’m going to end up, and haven’t talked to anyone. There are a lot of great programs out there, and I’m excited to do some research and find the right fit.”

Today’s news will obviously bring up feeling of anger and confusion for Cougar fans. Heaps was supposed to be ‘The Guy” at BYU. He was supposed to shatter all the QB records. Heaps was supposed to be the next great BYU quarterback. Now that we know none of those expectations were realistic, it begs the question…who is to blame for the situation?

There are only two logical ways to look at it. Either Jake is to blame or Bronco/BYU coaches are. The easy answer is to say it’s a combination of the two. While that may be true, if Jake had performed up to potential, the coaches hand would have been forced. While I do believe that Bronco mishandled the QB situation last season, those set of circumstances were over. Heaps had taken over the starting job and was set to be BYU’s quarterback for the long haul. It was only because of Heaps inability to produce on the field that cost him the starting job. If Heaps had performed up to his abilities, Riley Nelson would have never seen the field regardless of how much his teammates liked him or his toughness. This was Jake’s job to lose and he lost it.

I have always been a pro Heaps guy. I wanted him to succeed because it is not everyday that the #1 QB recruit in the country comes to Provo. I looked at the quarterback battle with Riley and thought, sure Nelson is playing better now but who will be here longer with the opportunity to lead this team into the future?. My only argument for Heaps returning to the starting job once he lost it was his potential. Outside of that, Nelson was the clear choice to lead this offense.

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall said in a statement today that “Jake is a great young man with tremendous potential and someone I deeply care about. I am sorry to see him leave this wonderful institution yet anxious to follow his future development and success.” I think BYU fans agree with the first part of that. Most are sad to see Jake leave but I’m not sure many will be rooting for him to succeed…especially if the team he chooses to transfer to plays BYU in the future.

The most likely scenario for Heaps is to transfer to a school in the Pac-12. Washington, Washington State, Cal and USC are all reportedly options. Either way, Heaps will have to sit out a year before he is eligible to play. That means that if Heaps had decided to redshirt at BYU, he would have had the same two years to shine that he will at another school. Bronco said Jake was leaving BYU for a fresh start. For Heaps and his family, I hope he finds what he’s looking for. As for BYU, they seem quite content to move on with a fresh start of their own.

Shep