McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and Bear Bachmeier are fighting like crazy to win the job as BYU’s starting quarterback. The competition is even through the first two weeks of fall camp, and the Cougars have three weeks before the season opener against Portland State.
Last year’s mini duel between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon was determined by turnovers during the final scrimmage. Retzlaff got the job and never gave it back en route to an 11-2 season. Once again, ball security for the new guys will be among Aaron Roderick’s determining factors.
“That ball is sacred. You know how much Kalani (Sitake) mixes the temporal and the spiritual. He doesn’t use words like that lightly,” former BYU quarterback Riley Nelson told the Y’s Guys livestream show. “He talks about how that ball doesn’t belong to the ball carrier or the offense or to BYU, it belongs to every individual in the stands and everybody who has supported or come through the hallowed halls of BYU. That ball belongs to them and it should be treated with the appropriate respect and care.”
The ball may belong to everybody, but the lure to have it in your hands as a young quarterback can be intoxicating. There is glory to be won and a tradition to follow that includes names such as McMahon, Young and Detmer. However, there is also the pain of falling short and the agony of being benched.
Nelson came up short in two quarterback battles, first as a freshman at Utah State in 2006 and again after transferring to BYU in 2010. In both stops, he eventually took over the starting job. At BYU, Nelson threw for 4,032 yards and 35 touchdowns while rushing for 858 yards and six touchdowns.
“The way I came into my career at BYU was very different from the way I went out,” Nelson said. “I have a love-hate relationship with (the quarterback mantle). At first, I was trying to be what I thought everybody wanted out of the quarterback. My last two years, I was more comfortable with being myself.”
Nelson relinquished the mantle 13 years ago when he passed the baton to Taysom Hill. The time between now and his last touchdown pass in Provo has produced a perspective on what BYU fans really want from their quarterback.
“They want someone who genuinely cares about their football team and about their university and that comes through in how diligent you are in your preparation and how much effort you give in the competition,” Nelson said. “People can see that. It’s crazy at how that is palpable to the casual fan, especially if they are in LaVell Edwards Stadium and they see and feel it.”
Secondly ...
“They want someone who genuinely upholds the values of the university. I’ll never forget when I missed McKay Jacobson on a pass in the red zone. I put (the ball) off his shoulder. I turn around and the camera catches me saying a cuss word and people let me know about it on Twitter,” Nelson said. “I was like, ‘Chill out, everybody.’ I wasn’t perfect, but I genuinely cared about carrying that mantle. I tried to use that as a platform to serve and be active in the community. If you can do those things, the mantle of being a BYU quarterback will wear on you well.”
For Hillstead, Bourguet and Bachmeier, this isn’t a case of be careful what you wish for, but rather enjoy the competition because the mantle that awaits the winner can be a heavy one.
Riley Nelson’s top 5 things a QB must do to prepare for game day
5. Defensive scouting report: “Know the weak spots. Know who to attack in the secondary, at linebacker and where are they the weakest on the defensive line.”
4. Align with offensive coordinator: “Limit the downside — any play you are not confident with, get it off the call sheet by Tuesday. Submit the plays you love and advocate for them. My success rate on plays that I got on the call sheet was probably 85% because you own it. You have ownership of that play and that’s huge.”
3. Be the pied piper: “Find out early from the assistants and start priming the guys for what coach is going to talk about in team meetings on Monday. Second, bring energy, enthusiasm and positivity. Your goal is not to get people to be as energetic or happy like you, but at least by the end of practice on Monday, you have everybody out of that ‘Gosh, I don’t want to be here’ to ‘Alright, I love football. I’m ready to get to Tuesday and go to work.’ You have got to be the pied piper and be the first one leading out on the tone and mentality for the week.”
2. Get your body right: “This is the airplane safety video — you must put your oxygen mask on before helping someone else with theirs. Whatever you have going, you have got to be right. I was in a position during my senior year where I hurt my back and played through injuries and I just diminished. I’m talking with the coaches and they are like, ‘Yeah, but your leadership and energy can make up for it.’ Truth be told, looking back, it didn’t. My diminished ability to perform physically hurt my team’s chances for success. I had broken bones, but the majority of injuries are soft tissue stuff which you can improve by getting in early (for treatment) to get your body right.”
1. Put the previous week to bed: “You can’t allow your high emotions to lead you to a level of complacency, and you can’t let the doldrums of a poor performance bleed over. Bad losses, if you let them, will weigh you down until Wednesday. Extract the gems that you can build and improve on, but all your energy must be on the next opponent. The (best) thing a quarterback can do as the leader with the ultimate accountability, is to put the previous game to bed for themselves and get everybody’s attention focused on the game on Saturday.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.