In light of Ross Apo’s announcement that he’s not going to transfer from BYU anytime soon, Cougar Nation should be at ease, right?
Less than two months ago, Jake Heaps wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, word was he was going to redshirt the 2012 season, then take over in 2013.
That plan fizzled out on Dec. 5 when the school announced Heaps’ departure. Now Heaps is headed for Kansas and—supposedly—greener pastures.
Apo’s plan, however, is to keep his starting position and finish out his college career at the foot of the Y.
“I’m going to stay,” Apo told the Deseret Morning News. “I never had intentions of moving anywhere, even if I did have a rough season, I don’t think I’d ever leave here. I love this place.”
Should we believe him?
It’s not unheard of for an athlete to say one thing and do another, so to say Apo is absolutely staying in Provo would be presumptuous.
Apo was part of the 2009 press conference that brought BYU its next great quarterback. Cougar Nation was hoping Heaps-to-Apo was going to be the battle cry that would fill the Stockton-to-Malone void, but things didn’t turn out that way.
Now that Heaps is gone, Apo has one season left with Riley Nelson, someone he knows can throw him the ball. Should Nelson go down with injury or when his eligibility is gone, it’s unclear who will be throwing the ball during Apo’s junior and senior seasons.
Because that answer is unclear, so is Apo’s future at BYU beyond the 2012 campaign.
Then again, this coming offseason could be the linchpin in that grenade.
A look into the BYU football crystal ball displays a scene of Apo eventually following suit and announcing his intentions to play elsewhere. Texas perhaps? USC? Oklahoma?
Wherever he finished playing college football is in for a treat. It’s obvious he is a skilled receiver, one who has a future in the NFL, if he plays his cards right.
Staying at BYU with a quarterback who cannot get him the ball is a formula for thwarting any pro hopes he might have, unless he only aspires to the Arena Football League.
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