Suddenly, Ryan Hancock's plans have changed.
The BYU sophomore quarterback who is 7-1 as a starter is out indefinitely with a torn knee ligament, incurred on a meaningless play late in the Cougars' 31-22 victory Saturday over Utah.That means no bowl game and, worse for him, no baseball season.
"That's the frustrating part," Hancock said. "This (baseball) season doesn't look too good."
A star reliever who was drafted by the California Angels out of high school, Hancock would have been eligible for the major-league draft in June, after BYU's baseball season. There has been speculation about whether he would turn pro or continue playing football, but he said he'd consider doing both.
"I was planning on signing (with a baseball team) for sure," he said. "But I might have still played football, too."
That "might" probably depended on whether he remained the Cougars' starter, after a season in which he jumped from third-string to hero. Sophomore John Walsh is recovered from a shoulder separation suffered in the UCLA game, and he was expected by some to be the No. 1 guy again by next fall.
In the training room after the game, with his leg encased in a brace, Hancock criticized Utah defensive back Cedric Crawford for what he considered a "cheap shot."
The injury occurred on a third-and-six play at the BYU 42. Forced out of the pocket, Hancock tried to get a first down but was hit just as he reached the sideline.
"He went after my knees," Hancock said. "Then he stood there laughing. It wasn't very classy at all.
"That just exemplifies Utah," he continued. "We had the game put away, and if they want to take cheap shots, I guess that's their prerogative."
Hancock's injury - the third major injury to a BYU quarterback this season - means sophomore Tom Young will start BYU's bowl game. Asked if Young were ready, BYU coach LaVell Edwards said, "He'll have to be. Ready or not, he'll get the shot."
Young closed out Saturday's game, mostly handing off to Jamal Willis as the sophomore halfback made a successful bid to become BYU's first 1,000-yard rusher in a season since 1972. Young didn't throw a pass; on the season, he has thrown three, completed one, for seven yards.
The thought of replacing Hancock for the bowl game never occurred to Young during the game, he said, but in the locker room afterward it was starting to sink in.
"I never thought I'd be in this position by now," said Young, BYU's fourth-string quarterback coming out of fall camp. "It is a big turnaround."
Young said the weeks he has spent as Hancock's backup will make it easier for him to make the step up to starter.
"I feel a lot more confident now," he said. "I feel more a part of the team now. I'll be ready."
The fact that his first start could come in a bowl game doesn't faze him. "It would just be another game," he said. "It's a great opportunity for me."