Koy Detmer Jr. has had a solid spring at BYU, but will the fact he is the nephew of the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator make it harder for him to move up the depth chart?
Yes. When there's blood involved in competition for positions, history tells us an athlete has to work harder to prove his case and make it very clear to everyone what he earns is not favoritism or nepotism.
To those who have witnessed multiple practices, it is evident Koy Detmer understands BYU's developing offense as well if not better than all the quarterbacks. He should, because he's had more time working with it dating back to high school in a Detmer-organized system.
Undersized but still heralded for his play in Texas high school circles, Koy accepted a preferred walk-on spot at BYU.
What stands out to me about Koy is his mechanics. His footwork, taking his drops, his timing in getting the ball out in rhythm and in a position for receivers to make a play is his strength. Like his Uncle Ty, what he lacks in physical ability he tends to make up in his fundamentals. I'd wager he's more fundamentally sound than the other QBs.
In Saturday's scrimmage, most of the quarterbacks and receivers were affected by wet ball conditions. In the skelly portion where it is six on seven with no linemen, Koy was 6 for 6 for 93 yards. Tanner Mangum was 7 of 9 for 101 yards and a pick. Hoge was 10 of 14 for 78 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Kody Wilstead was 1 of 2 for 4 yards.
John Beck and Max Hall both expected to complete about 80 percent of their passes in a skelly drill. Good quarterbacks do that. Koy was perfect.
When it came to the team session where 11 offensive players went against 11 defenders, it always gets tougher. And with BYU's defensive front, linebackers, corners and safeties, this BYU offense has a tough time in my drills. There's been myriad interceptions, and Mangum had three of them Saturday.
Koy has just 0 of 2 in his limited reps. But if you look at the tape, both of his passes were right in the hands of the receivers and were dropped. His delivery was perfect, so was his timing.
It will be tough for young Koy to carve out playing time as a backup, but his case shouldn't be dismissed out of hand just because he walked on and he is undersized. That's a mistake many made with his uncle, a Heisman winner.
"That's kind of his M.O.," said BYU coordinator Detmer. "He's a lot like I was, he's limited in ability, so he has to make up for it in timing and technique, and so he does a great job with that."
At Somerset High in San Antonio, Koy Jr. played for his grandpa, Sonny Detmer. As a sophomore he threw for 2,002 yards and 31 touchdowns and was the San Antonio Express newcomer of the year in Sub 5A. The next year he had 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns. As a senior he had 2,375 passing yards and 22 TDs for a career total of 6,877 yards and 83 touchdowns in Texas high school football.
Sonny Detmer's two sons, Ty and Koy made NFL rosters. Aside from grandson Koy Jr., Sonny also coaches another grandson, Zadok Dinkelmann (class of 2018) at Somerst. Dinkelmann, who is 6-foot-4, 213, was offerred and committed to LSU as an eighth grader. He decommitted to the SEC's Tigers in mid-January when Les Miles was fired and this past weekend was offerred by BYU.