PROVO — From a young age, Jake Heaps has been grooming himself — pushing himself — to be a championship quarterback.
The true freshman at BYU was in the fifth grade when, with his family, he began making three-hour trips from his hometown of Sammamish, Wash., to work out with renowned quarterbacks coach Greg Barton, who runs a football academy in Beaverton, Ore.
Barton still remembers his first meeting with Heaps.
"His eyeballs were dilated. He was into it," says Barton, who has tutored Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Jason White and three current NFL starters (Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Orton). "Everything Jake and I talked about, he just ate it up.
"Quarterbacks need to take everything in, like a sponge. They have to have that gym rat mentality. They have to have that to be a really great quarterback. Jake had all that. And he was having the time of his life. The guy's really got a passion for being a quarterback."
Heaps attended Barton's academy about 25 weekends a year to learn the quarterback craft. That time and hard work paid off, as he led Skyline High School in Sammamish to three consecutive state titles and finished with a 40-2 record as a starter.
In addition to his accomplishments at Skyline, Heaps earned MVP honors at the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback camp last summer, and he was a member of the U.S. Army All-America team. He was rated by Scout.com as No. 1 high school QB in the nation.
After an intense recruiting battle, which saw him receive scholarship offers from more than two dozen schools, Heaps picked BYU. One of the most sought-after LDS recruits ever, he finished high school early in order to enroll at BYU and participate in spring drills.
When the Cougars open fall camp in a little less than three weeks, Heaps, junior Riley Nelson, sophomore James Lark and redshirt freshman Jason Munns will resume the battle to become the starting quarterback this fall.
Legions of BYU fans are expecting Heaps to join the pantheon of BYU quarterback greats right away. To some fans, he's already achieved that status even before he takes a collegiate snap.
Are the lofty expectations placed on a youngster who turned 19 in June realistic? Is Heaps prepared to deal with those expectations?
The reality is that only one former Cougar QB, Drew Miller, has started a game as a non-returned missionary true freshman. And that was for one game late in the 1997 season.
As per BYU policy, newcomers like Heaps aren't allowed to talk to the media for now. But the Deseret News spoke to several of his former coaches, mentors and others who have known him for years. They all agree that Heaps is ready to play, and even start, as a true freshman.
"BYU's got other guys who are talented, too," says Heaps' high school coach, Mat Taylor. "I think Jake can handle it. He's got the moxie to do it. When he gets his shot to start, he's not going to let it go."
Bob Johnson, who coached him at the Elite 11 camp, says Heaps has the tools to play as a freshman but adds that it will be a challenging adjustment.
"He'll have his share of ups and downs, but he's got enough desire and poise. He's got to learn to take the good with the bad," Johnson says. "The game's very fast and he's just out of high school. Most of the time, it benefits to redshirt and not play. But if there's anyone who can do it, it's him. He's got a real feel for the game."
Brandon Huffman, regional director of Scout.com in Seattle, is convinced that Heaps will be a star at BYU — sooner rather than later.
"He's one of the most polished quarterbacks that I've seen come out of high school over the last five to seven years," Huffman says. "When we name a guy No. 1 at a position, especially at quarterback, we don't just expect them to start in college, but to thrive and be an All-American candidate relatively quickly in their career.
"I told the Sporting News in late February that he's a candidate to be the (national) freshman of the year because he's that ready to come in, take over and lead that offense. He'll throw for a ton of yards in that (BYU) offense."
Jake Heaps is not a typical true freshman quarterback, based on his level of preparation and breadth of experiences.
Those who know Heaps best say he is not fazed by pressure and is not intimidated by the bright lights. He's already played games on national TV. He's been interviewed countless times by reporters from outlets all over the country, including ESPN and NFL Films.
He was recruited by some of the biggest programs in the country. He's competed at places like Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks.
"To him, it's just fun," says his mom, Kelly. "The bigger the stage, the more fun it is. Jake wants the ball in his hands at the end of the game."
Despite the accolades, recognition and titles that have come his way, Heaps is devoid of any sense of entitlement, his former coaches say.
"He's very humble. He's the kind of kid that's going to deflect a lot of the attention that comes to the quarterback position to the rest of the team," says Steve Gervais, who coached Heaps when he was a sophomore at Skyline. "He understands that you're only as good as the guys who surround you. In his mind, it's not about Jake Heaps. It's about the rest of the team."
Barton says Heaps' team-first attitude will serve him well in his first season in BYU's program.
"Jake is respectful to the older guys. They'll see that he's all business and works hard," Barton says. "The coaches will be impressed with his maturity either way. Whatever the coaches decide — whether he redshirts or plays — he'll accept it.
"I think his teammates will care less who plays as long as he gets the job done. They don't care about the grade the guy is in. They care about productivity."
Barton adds that Heaps "has good arm strength and he's getting stronger. His arm strength will improve every year. But that's not his strength. His strength is his feet, his intelligence, his vision and his great fundamentals. That's what makes him very special."
Heaps' former coaches say he possesses amazing recall — the ability to memorize plays and execute them. At the Elite 11 camp, he was honored for having the highest football IQ.
While Heaps possesses natural talent to be a quarterback, he's no prima donna, Taylor says. "His fundamentals are something he's worked tremendously hard at since he was a little kid. He'll try to outwork the next guy."
Johnson describes Heaps as "an absolute overachiever."
Even after receiving numerous scholarship offers, Heaps continued attending QB camps around the country.
"He said he wanted to be the best quarterback in the nation," Taylor says. "He wanted to go against the best competition, like the Elite 11. That's where you start to develop that competitive edge. That's where he blossoms."
Like the situation he finds himself in at BYU, Heaps knows what it's like to be a young player surrounded by veterans. After all, he became the starter at Skyline as a sophomore.
"The seniors took to him very quickly prior to his sophomore year," Gervais remembers. "When fall camp took place before the season, the seniors endorsed him. He took off running. We went 14-0 and won the state championship."
Heaps' leadership manifested itself on and off the field.
During that sophomore season, after a victory over Bellevue, many of Heaps' teammates were in the locker room — no coaches were present — talking about their plans to do some partying and drinking. That's when Heaps stood up on a bench and proclaimed, "Hey, let's not do that. If we're going to make a run for state, we can't be partying on the weekends. We've got to be focused."
The entire room went quieter than the library during Christmas break.
All eyes were on Heaps, who was hoping his teammates wouldn't kill him. Then Nathaniel Willingham, the team's center and the son of then-Washington head coach Ty Willingham, stood on the bench with Heaps.
"That's why you're our quarterback, Jake," Willingham said. The team made a pact not to go to parties or drink alcohol during the season.
"Jake was very vocal. He was vocal with the team in standing up for right versus wrong and showing strong leadership," Gervais says. "That's a definite strength of his. He's not intimidated by his youthfulness or by other players. He's going to speak up for what is right. It's a unique talent."
Meanwhile, Heaps has a fiery, competitive side, too.
Skyline faced O'Dea High in the state championship game when Heaps was a sophomore. Trailing 28-7 midway through the third quarter, Skyline's hopes were dim.
But not to Heaps, who shrugged off an early interception. On the sideline, he was challenging and motivating his teammates. "We're still in this!" he yelled. "We can do it!"
Heaps helped guide Skyline to a huge comeback that resulted in a 42-35 victory. The Spartans outscored O'Dea 35-7 in the final quarter-and-a-half of the game.
"Every throw he made was spot-on," remembers Taylor. "That was when we knew we had a special kid."
Never mind that the game was almost too much for his mom.
"The drama thing? Welcome to Jake's world. That's just how it goes," Kelly Heaps says, laughing. "It was just that gutty, gritty, don't-give-up attitude."
During a family drive when Jake was 8, he noticed some football players practicing. With his nose pressed against the car window, Jake asked, "Can I try that? That looks fun."
"Yeah, but you'd have to give up soccer," Kelly said. At age 8, unbeknownst to anybody, Jake had just made a major life decision. He was going to be a football player.
At his first practice, when Jake dropped back and threw the ball, he looked different from the other kids. Steve Heaps, Jake's dad, arrived late to the practice and Kelly told him, "I think Jake is supposed to be a quarterback."
"Yeah, right," Steve said.
"No, really," his wife said. "This kid is supposed to be a quarterback."
Call it maternal instinct, but Kelly Heaps was right. After playing on the offensive line his first year, Jake played quarterback the next season and every season since.
"He loved it. He loved the pressure of it, the challenge of it," she says. "He always wanted more. When he was little, you couldn't give him enough. He wanted to learn the three-step drop."
Because Skyline ran a pass-oriented offense, Heaps wanted to play there. But the family didn't live within the school's boundaries, so the Heaps family moved — purely for football reasons.
In recent months, Steve and Kelly Heaps family moved from their longtime residence in Washington to Orem. They moved to be close to Jake and their married daughter, Brittany, who lives in Orem with her husband, Jason.
Heaps and Skyline proved to be a perfect fit, and those who have been around Heaps say they expect him to be a perfect fit at BYU, too.
Things seem to be going well so far. According to his mom, Heaps is dating a BYU student, Brooke Shaw, who happens to be from the Seattle area — and they met at BYU. Shaw's father is a former Cougar safety.
What role Jake Heaps will play in 2010 is still up in the air, but Barton says BYU is fortunate to have a player like him.
"He's a keeper," he says. "I love the kid as a person. I love him as a quarterback. He's one of those kids that will be as good as he possibly can be because he'll make himself that way."
The Jake Heaps file
Hometown: Sammamish, Wash.
Class: True freshman
Height: 6-2
Weight: 205
Accomplishments: Ranked No. 1 quarterback in the nation by Scout.com ... USA Today All-America first-team selection ... posted 40-2 record as a starter at Skyline High ... passed for 9,196 yards, 114 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in three years at Skyline ... led Skyline to three consecutive state championships ... was invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as the starting quarterback for the West team ... MVP of Elite 11 camp.
Personal: Parents are Steve and Kelly Heaps ... plans to major in communications ... favorite athlete is Drew Brees ... other schools that offered scholarships include Oklahoma, Florida State, USC, Florida, UCLA, Georgia, Alabama, California, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Washington and LSU.
e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com