BYU Spring Football Week 2 Recap: Quarterbacks dominate the headlines

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BYU QB Beau Hoge (Photo: Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo).


As the BYU Cougars continued their Spring football practices last week, quite naturally, the quarterbacks took center stage. It has long been considered the most important position in football, and there was legitimate, noteworthy happenings.

As the week began, news broke that there would be one less mouth to feed. Practice reps have been spread thin with eight players in the mix. That gets a little easier now that Kody Wilstead has decided to transfer.

From the individual's perspective, it seems a little premature. Although Wilstead may already see the writing on the wall, he is losing out on a few more weeks of opportunity to practice, receive coaching, and improve. Plus, it is still very early in the new coaching regime. It might be prudent for Wilstead to give it a few weeks and see if something unexpected happens.

On the other hand, it shows maturity and unselfishness for Wilstead to make the move now and free up reps, even if it is just a few, for the other guys.

Where Wilstead intends to transfer is unknown, but in a similar situation nearly 10 years ago, Brad Sorensen left BYU for Southern Utah. Like Wilstead (6-6), Sorensen has a big frame (6-5). He thrived at SUU and spent three years in the NFL. Given the geography and connections that the current BYU coaching staff has, Southern Utah wouldn't be a huge surprise. Neither would Weber State, where wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake coached last season, and where former BYU quarterback Billy Green transferred to prior to the 2014 season.

Blue Cougar Football wishes Wilstead the best.

Speaking of the rationing of reps, that has also been made a little easier with walk-on Hayden Griffitts sitting out due to injury. Tanner Mangum, however, appears to be getting more work in than anyone expected. After finishing 2017 early due to an Achilles injury, he isn't participating in full contact drills, but he is putting on the pads and actively participating in most other activities.

Newcomer Zach Wilson is also turning heads. For better or worse, the current BYU coaching staff is making similar comments as Bronco Mendenhall did when Jake Heaps was new on campus. Head coach Kalani Sitake said this week of Wilson, "People keep forgetting that he’s supposed to be in high school right now. I’ve been really impressed with his knowledge of the game."

One reason Heaps didn't have more success at BYU was fear of contact. That probably won't be an issue for Wilson. He was a dual-threat quarterback in high school. Also, BYU coaches have allowed full contact on quarterbacks during practices. If Wilson, or any of the other QBs can't perform under threat of attack, it sounds like the coaches are going to find out before an actual game.

All in all, the quarterback position seems to be doing ok. BYU held its first scrimmage last week, and the quarterbacks led the offense to "victory." Few details of how the quarterbacks played were provided, but the consensus is the offense clearly shined, and the quarterbacks deserved the credit for that. The highlight of the day was Beau Hoge's 45-yard touchdown pass to Tariq Buchanan. As for positioning, coaches have not given any kind of depth chart, but Mangum, Hoge, Wilson, and Joe Critchlow seem to have separated themselves from the others.

The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com

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