5 schools, 5 reasons why Utah college football quarterbacks dropped in quality

What’s ironic about the change is that wide receivers at most programs are better than ever. Even the running backs are bigger, faster and stronger. Is the speed and ferocity of the game simply passing these quarterbacks by? 

 

Part of it may be due to the offenses that programs like BYU, Utah and Utah State are running. All three schools went through significant changes in coaching staffs in the offseason, and all are playing catchup due to quarterback controversies, be they forced or inconsequential. 

 

Most notably among the shifts, is Utah. The Utes hired longtime BYU and USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow to head up their offense and in place now is a pro-style offense, a direct retreat from the spread offense that has proven so successful over the years. 

 

At BYU, QB great Brandon Doman was promoted from a position assistant in the program to the head offensive coordinator's job, and Joe Dupaix entered the Cougar program from Navy to help resuscitate a flagging running game. 

 

The only big three program that has retained its mojo from the past year? Offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin is in his third year, and he has the Aggies looking like the Utes of yore, up in Logan. 

 

While Utah State, Weber State and Southern Utah have retained their offensive staffs for the most part, the passing numbers at all three programs are down as well from last year. Is that because teams are now paying attention to Utah college football programs as a whole, or is more than that? 

 

The Wildcats have enjoyed unprecedented success from two main criteria: Weber State hired former Utah football coach Ron McBride, and he in turn shifted the program’s focus to recruiting Hawaii. That brought Cameron Higgins from St. Louis High in Honolulu to Weber State, and all he did was shatter school records in almost every passing category. Higgins was a four-year starter for the Wildcats, and that’s something that will likely never be duplicated. While Mike Hoke, another Hawaiian, has done an admirable job filling in for Higgins, it’s Cameron’s leadership ability, his poise and his combination of running and throwing that has Wildcat fans yearning for a fifth year of eligibility, but that can't happen. 

 

The future looks bright for the Aggies, and is being somewhat shrouded in mystery due to the phenomenal running game Utah State has these days, but the fact remains: Chuckie Keeton is a freshman. Make no mistake about it, Keeton can play. He proved that against Auburn, and has reiterated this point throughout the season, despite the Aggies’ poor overall record and inability to finish off teams. Keeton will be a star in not only the league (whether that’s WAC or Mountain West is also up for debate) but around the country. He has the poise Jake Heaps wishes he had, the legs of former Aggie QB Diondre Borel and the ability to know when to throw a ball away. The closest prototype to Keeton in the past ten years in the state was Alex Smith, and possibly Brian Johnson. So then it’s no surprise that head coach Gary Andersen--who spent a few years at Utah--knows a good QB when he sees one, and Keeton is no exception. It’s just that he’s still young. 

 

The T-Birds sneaked up on virtually everybody last year with Brad Sorensen, who helped SUU snag a Great West Conference title in his first year at the school. After transferring from BYU where he redshirted in 2009, after he spent two years as an LDS missionary in Spain, Sorensen isn’t surprising anyone like he did in his first season. Sorensen’s 2011 numbers are down considerably from where he was at this time last year, when he threw for 3,163 yards ad 21 touchdowns. Although it can be argued that his team is running the ball more often in 2011, thus leading to more wins, his numbers are not what they were. Only a junior, the strong-armed Sorensen is a Walter Payton Award candidate, and though his team isn’t completely clicking behind his throws a few games into the season, the T-Birds have upset Division I UNLV and have put up gobs of points en route to a winning record. SUU’s season will depend on how healthy Sorensen stays, and how he goes, will certainly determine how the rest of the team fares in what could be their biggest season in decades. 

 

The burning question on the minds of all Cougar fans is simple: What in the heck happened to quarterback Jake Heaps between his 300-plus yard performance in the New Mexico Bowl and his first few games this season? It’s as if the mature, steady Heaps has disappeared, leaving us with a disheveled, immature shell of a player prone to making strange statements at press conferences and putting up subpar numbers on the field. Who can forget his preseason exclamation that the Cougars--now an independent--would win a national title? The coaching staff hasn’t helped Heaps’ cause, either. They’ve constantly babied and protected him to the point of nausea. What Cougar fans want to know, pure and simple, is whether the once-No. 1 recruit can actually deliver on his promise, and bring the long-starving BYU fans a national championship, or at the very least, a BCS bowl berth. Both of those possibilities, however, went out the window as soon as the Cougars lost to Texas and were pummeled by Utah. 

 

The saddest news of all around the Utah football program is that Jordan Wynn, who at times looked invincible before his shoulder injury curtailed the rest of his sophomore season, is not the player he once was, and the leader we once knew. When he threw the ball last year against teams like Pittsburgh and Iowa State, legitimate BCS contenders, he had zip on his passes and a swagger to boot. Fast forward to this year, and not only is that swagger and leadership gone, he’s almost a carbon copy of Heaps, running for his life while throwing strange passes into double and triple coverages. What makes matters worse is that Wynn's now injured his good non-throwing arm and will be out for between two to four weeks. With the Utes in the midst of their first Pac-12 season, that news cannot be good for Ute fans, or just fans of the player. His laid-back demeanor coupled by his likeable personality makes the last of the quarterback stories around the state not only unfortunate, but kind of tragic. And now it’s up to his fellow Utes to pick up the pieces in his absence.