Steve Sarkisian didn't know what he was getting himself into.
LaVell Edwards knew all too well.As Edwards has said, "If Steve Young came back today and played for us under a phony name, most people around here would say, `he's all right, but he's not as good as Steve Young.' I'm serious. There is no way anyone can live up to the expectations placed on that position here."
It isn't just the BYU fans that expect Cougar quarterbacks to be, well, clones of Young, McMahon or Detmer. The media at the WAC football meetings last month voted Sarkisian as the top QB in the league and tabbed him preseason runner-up for Offensive Player of the Year accolades - and he's never even thrown a pass in a major college football game.
Sarkisian has done radio commercials, appeared on live TV shows, done interviews for dozens of newspaper and magazine articles - yet he's 0-for-0 with 0 yards passing in his Cougar career.
"Coach (Norm) Chow kept warning me about all the media attention I'd get, but really didn't think it was going to be like it has been," Sarkisian said. "I really don't deserve it. I haven't done anything yet at the Division I level."
But on the junior college level Sarkisian posted hard-to-fathom numbers. In two years at El Camino J.C., the 6-2, 200-pounder threw for 7,274 yards including 4,232 last season. He completed a national juco record 72.4 percent of his passes (228 of 335) in '94 with 41 touchdowns to earn All-America honors. In the Southern California Bowl he threw for 645 yards and four touchdowns.
It didn't take long for his new coaches and teammates alike to become Sarkisian believers during spring practices.
"I totally love playing with him," BYU tight end Chad Lewis said. "He's a great leader in the huddle. He knows what he's here to do and he's doing it."
Said receiver Mike Johnston, "Sarkisian picked up the offense fast. He looked great in spring ball and, as a receiver, that makes me happy. About the third or fourth day he was here we started looking toward him for leadership."
Edwards compares his new QB's abilities to Ty Detmer's. "I was amazed at how fast (Sarkisian) was able to pick up the offense," the veteran coach said. "He has a good arm, not a great arm, but a good arm. He's not exceptionally fast, but he has quick feet and good escapability."
In a year when few WAC schools return experienced quarterbacks, Sarkisian may, indeed, turn out to be one of the best, if not the best, in the league. He's backed up by a pair of talented redshirt freshmen, Brian Vye and Paul Shoemaker.