It is less than two weeks before BYU does something it hasn’t done before — roll out a true freshman quarterback in a season-opener. Bear Bachmeier will take his first college snaps against Portland State on Aug. 30 (6 p.m., ESPN+).
“It’s a discovery game,” former Cougar quarterback Brandon Doman told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show. “They need to try several different things to find out what the team can do. From a coach’s perspective — we think we know — we act like we know — but we don’t really know.”
Not only did Doman play for BYU and go 14-2 as a starter, but he also returned to his alma mater several years later as the quarterbacks coach (2005-10) and then offensive coordinator (2011-13).
“Until we get into that game and we actually see live bullets from true competition, (that’s when) we are going to find out what we really have,” he said. “The beauty of the Portland State game is — let’s try a handful of things. Let’s give him several different opportunities to see what he can do to advance the ball down the field.”
Bachmeier transferred to BYU in May believing he would watch and learn from senior Jake Retzlaff this season with the assurance that he could compete with McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet for the starting job next year. When Retzlaff departed this summer for Tulane, the competition was moved up. BYU kept its promise and Bachmeier won the job.
Converting a teenager into a Division I quarterback can be fraught with anxiety. Attention to detail, including the communication between Bachmeier, Matt Mitchell (QB coach) and Aaron Roderick (offensive coordinator) will be critical as the new kid in town starts his adult-like assignment. Doman revealed what their first-quarter conversations against Portland State might sound like.
“First thing first, have fun, be Bear. You know who Bear is. You be the guy you were raised to be and have a ton of fun out there. Don’t let anything distract you from the love of the game, the love of the moment — and you play like you know how to play,” Doman said. “I think sometimes coaches don’t do a very good job of just making sure they know ‘We got you. We know who you are. We trust you — you go play.’
“Secondly, every teaching moment you can give him is critical. He needs to hear one or maybe two voices. If he has three voices, that’s too many — and enable him to discover how to move the chains.
“Completions, completions, completions equal first downs and first downs equal touchdowns,” he continued. “Teach him in that setting where he might have made some improvements (during) the drive before to have kept the chains moving. There will be so many teaching moments, even in the Portland State game because not everything is going to go right.”
As for Hillstead and Bourguet, who will watch Bachmeier play ahead of them, Doman offers some seasoned advice.
“Be a teammate. Be completely engaged in the game. Be engaged in the game plan, be in all the meeting prep going into the game and be in the pregame conversation. They are going to have to be signaling to the field, so they are going to be very involved in supporting the success of the offense,” he said. “Players and coaches are watching. They know who you are and at some point, in most cases, statistics are going to say, at some point you are going to get a shot.
“When that shot comes, what did you do with it? I was raised a little kid that preparation plus opportunity equals success.”
Doman’s shot came late during his junior season but only after injuries sidelined the two quarterbacks ahead of him.
“When I was put in, there was nobody else,” he said. “Fortunately, I was ready to play and a lot of that had to do with coaches committing to say, ‘OK, Brandon, we’ll keep you engaged. We’ll keep you involved, and I was ready when the time came.”
Doman, who twice considered transferring to Utah instead of sticking around and waiting for his shot, won his first 14 games as the BYU starter, joining national champion Robbie Bosco as the only quarterbacks in program history to do so.
It’s been a while since he called a play for the Cougars, but if Doman were back in the booth one week from Saturday, there is no hesitation as to what he would do.
“You might as well baptize him. Let him throw it,” he said. “I think it would be good to throw on the first play and get the jitters out. If (Bear’s) an anxious guy, I’d let him run and get that first hit. You have got to identify what gets him going.”
Doman’s top 5 things about a season opener
Brandon Doman led BYU to a 70-35 victory against Tulane in the 2001 season opener in the first game at the newly renamed LaVell Edwards Stadium. He also coached in nine other BYU season openers between 2005-2013.
- Fans: “I love fans in the stands. I just love that part of the first game. There is so much excitement. Football has been away from us for way too long and we can’t wait to get back in the stadium.”
- Competition: “I love competing. Finally, you are looking across the field and there is someone in a different colored jersey and that’s the first whack at it you get and you have been waiting for it for a long time.”
- Smell: “I love, late summer, freshly cut grass. It’s the first cut, first game of the year. It smells different. You can kinda smell it as you come into LaVell Edwards Stadium. I just love that.”
- Uniforms: “As a player, I loved brand new uniforms. I loved putting on your jersey and your pants for the first time. I think a player plays good if they look good, so you are trying to look sweet in the locker room.”
- Discovery: “As a coach, I love the discovery of the first game. I love the new team, the new plan and I love the discovery they go through. There are some players that we don’t know yet that are going to rise up and you just don’t know who they are going to be and we are not expecting them — we’re just not expecting them and a couple of them are going to become stars this year and it will start game one and I’m so excited to find out who those guys are.”
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.