There never has been any doubt among BYU coaches who the starting quarterback is.
Even when Ryan Hancock was leading the Cougars to win after win last season, coaches confided that John Walsh would be the starter whenever he regained his health. Even when Tom Young was picking up the MVP Trophy in the Aloha Bowl, coaches were sure that Walsh was their quarterback. Even when Young and Steve Clements were the fans' choices for the job this season, BYU coaches never wavered.But Walsh had his own doubts when he went down with a knee injury against Notre Dame and fans cheered Young as he trotted onto the field to replace him. Faced with the prospect of not playing against Fresno State the following week and thus opening the door for his rivals, Walsh needed reassurance.
"What if the other guys have a great game?" he asked quarterback coach Norm Chow the next day.
"It doesn't matter," said Chow. "You're still the guy."
These days no one doubts that Walsh is the guy. Since making a quick recovery from the knee injury, he has been on a tear. In the last three games alone he has thrown for 1,475 yards, 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions and, in the process, turned his critics into believers.
"I didn't pay much attention to (the criticism)," he says. "I just cared about how my teammates and coaches felt."
Utah quarterback Mike McCoy knows the feeling. Like Walsh, he was not a popular quarterback early in the season, but, unlike BYU, Utah had no one else remotely ready to play the position. It was McCoy or bust. After a poor showing last season, and then a poor outing in the season opener against Arizona State, McCoy had done nothing to convince his detractors that he was the man for the job, although Utah coaches weren't among them.
"We always knew he was a good quarterback," says quarterback coach Dan Henson.
By midseason, so did everybody else. In the last five games McCoy has thrown for 2,008 yards, 11 TDs and 3 interceptions and last week was named the nation's Player of the Week by Sports Illustrated. Like Walsh, McCoy has turned his critics into fans.
"You can't worry about what the fans think," McCoy has said. "You just have to keep working. I always had confidence that we could get things going."
Walsh and McCoy have thrown for more than 31/2 miles between them this season (see chart), and now their teams are both one game above .500 and fighting for a bowl berth. In the national rankings, McCoy ranks second in total offense and Walsh fourth; in pass effiency, Walsh is fifth, McCoy 17th.
Who knows what they will do today against a pair of secondaries that have surrendered 47 touchdown passes and an average of 15 yards per completion.
Walsh and McCoy are not without similarities. Both are from California. Both are tall (6-4 and 61/2, respectively). Both possess strong, accurate arms, as evidenced by their 60 percent-plus completion rate. Both have a knack for avoiding interceptions. And both endured impatient fans.
Walsh's early numbers were impressive enough, but he was judged too slow and immobile, and the wins were too narrow. "We were four-and-oh and people were still booing," says Walsh, but in a single afternoon the boos turned into cheers.
Fans cheered when Clements started against Fresno State in place of the injured Walsh, but he completed just 4 of 11 passes and was yanked after 14 plays. On came Young to even louder cheers, but he lasted only three plays, which resulted in two interceptions and an incompletion.
On came Walsh, to cheers. He threw for 439 yards, 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, but couldn't quite rally the Cougars to a win. BYU lost 48-45 but gained the popular vote for its starting quarterback.
"Early in the season we got all kinds of letters and phone calls about why we weren't playing the other kids," says Chow. "I've never heard from any of them saying they were wrong. They've just kind of forgotten it.
"I talked to John about the criticism. You can say it doesn't bother you, but you hear it and it hurts. We knew he was our quarterback because we see him everyday in practice. He is the most accurate thrower we've had in a long time. He is the best deep thrower we've had since Marc Wilson. He's young and he's still learning."
Walsh has learned so rapidly that BYU has "unleashed him more," according to Chow. "We've been less conservative and opened up the offense more. We've let him throw more and given him more latitude in making audibles."
All Walsh lacks is speed. He covers 40 yards in a pedestrian 5.1 seconds, slower than many linemen. "You can time me on a calendar," he says. But Chow says, "You don't need Steve Young back there. If you're going to run, give it to Jamal (Willis)."
The rap on McCoy was that he was skittish and nervous-footed in the pocket. He tended to scramble prematurely under pressure, and once he started running he seemed to forget about his receivers upfield. But as the season has progressed, McCoy has become increasingly more poised in the pocket, and when he is finally forced to run he still makes plays, whether running or throwing on the move. Only Mitchell has had a more prolific season at Utah than McCoy.
"He's gotten better every week; that's obvious," says wide receiver Bryan Rowley. "He seemed nervous back there at first. He'd run early and run into a sack. But now, instead of running, he'll wait and find a receiver."
Like Walsh, McCoy has been entrusted with an increasingly expanded role in the offense. In a last-minute, game-winning touchdown drive against San Diego State, he called three of Utah's six plays himself.
"He has showed marked improvement from the start of the season," says offensive coordinator Rick Rasnick. "He's very bright, very accurate and he understands coverages.
"I'm glad it's worked out. Everyone thought we were crazy at the start of the season. You couldn't find anyone in town who thought he should be our quarterback."
Fortunately for the Utes, they knew a good thing when they saw it.