Former BYU quarterback Jacob Conover was thrust into action early in Arizona State’s game against Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Trenton Bourguet, Arizona State’s third-string quarterback, started the game against Utah but was hurt on the Sun Devils’ first drive of the game after a hard hit on third-and-9. Bourguet was down for a while and was helped off the field.
On the Sun Devils’ next drive, Conover was inserted into the game.
The former Cougar signal-caller was behind an offensive line that traveled only six scholarship players. He was pressured often and was sacked three times.
He finished the game 5 for 22 for 41 yards and an interception as Arizona State failed to score a touchdown in a 55-3 loss to Utah. The 52-point margin of defeat was the worst for the Sun Devils in the Pac-12 era and the second-worst in school history.
From when Conover was inserted with 6:24 remaining first quarter to when Bourguet came back into the game with 4:05 left in the second quarter, Conover was 0 for 6 passing.
The former BYU signal-caller went into the contest again with 56 seconds left in the first half and found a little more success, completing two passes for a combined 14 yards.
Conover would finish the game for the Sun Devils, completing just three passes in the last two quarters.
A four-star prospect out of Chandler High School in Arizona in the class of 2019, Conover committed to BYU over offers from Alabama, Ole Miss and Wisconsin, among others, before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Perhaps Conover’s finest moment at BYU came in 2021, when he took over for an injured Baylor Romney at the start of the second half and helped the Cougars beat Utah State.
Conover returned from his mission in 2020 but never caught on at BYU as Zach Wilson quarterbacked the Cougars in 2020 and Jaren Hall got the starting job in 2021 and 2022.
Conover transferred to Arizona State last offseason.