This is just my opinion, but I feel there were two factors that led to Jake Heap's "demise". The final "nail" is that instead of starting as a Senior for a D1 program for a well-known coach, he has to now take a back seat to a starting Sophomore. I know some of these issues have already been discussed, but they need to reviewed again, now that Jake is not named the starter.

First off, I feel sorry for Jake Heaps. I'm sure that during his pre-collegiate days, he thought that he had the football world before his feet. I'm sure he thought that his collegiate career would be "Johnny Manziel"-esque that would launch his future pro career. He had been told that by family, friends, coaches, and scouts. He had practiced that way. His High School career certainly led him in that direction. This is not a slam for thinking this; simply, this was his mindset coming INTO college. At the very least, he thought it would be FAR different than what he finds himself now.

Secondly, I'm a big Bronco fan: THE BEST hire that could have transformed the progam from the dark Gary Crowton years, post-2001. Bronco's success, given the players he has had, rivals even Lavell Edwards. Bronco is one of the most winningest active coach in the sport. Has Bronco made mistakes? Plenty. Does he still make some of the same mistakes? Sure. But who doesn't. As far as anyone is concerned, there was only one perfect Man to live on the earth.

With that said, I believe both of these idividuals (Jake & Bronco) made some serious mistakes regarding Jake's collegiate career.

First, Bronco should have never considered playing Jake as a true freshman, EVEN IF Jake's skill set far surpassed that of Riley Nelson. I'm not saying that a Freshman shouldn't or couldn't play (or even start), but one has to be VERY careful when starting a true Freshman at the most scrutinized position at a University "expected" to continue the tradition of 'Quarterback U'. Lavell Edwards was VERY hesitant to start a Freshman at the QB position, even with the great ones: Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, and YES, Ty Detmer. Those former QBs had to wait their turn.

Now I know that Jake Heaps HAD to come in after Riley Nelson got hurt in the FSU game. However, Bronco should have never been in the position of starting a true freshman in the first place, let alone making him the backup. To make matters worse, if you recall, Bronco had this failed notion of implementing a Dual-QB system of rotating series for the two QBs. It was an intriguing idea, ONLY if you had TWO seasoned QBs (AND the entire offense, for that matter) that could handle that kind of rotation.

If you really want to get to the root of the problem, recruiting, particular QB recruiting, should have dictacted that there should have been an identified 1st or 2nd stringer already in the system BEFORE Jake Heaps was even in the BYU fold, before Riley Nelson was running draw after draw. Sure there were other Quarterbacks on the roster, but if they were not going to beat a "run first" QB or a true freshman, then you probably left a recruiting hole in that critical spot.

Now, I am not going to second-guess as to who floated the idea of starting Jake, but Bronco is the Head Coach and he ultimately makes the final decision. The mind games and ill-preparedness for Jake resulted in a promising player who could never recover where he was. Hence, he felt he HAD to transfer, and start all over again.

The second factor was Jake's mistake. He felt that he was good enough to overcome the immaturity of a true freshman in the QB position. VERY FEW, no, EXTREMELY few true freshmen excel as a Division1 QB, let alone start. That's why Johnny Manziel won the Heisman because of the norm that he changed. What Jake SHOULD have done was go on a 2-year LDS mission, and grow up. I know even THAT is not the norm, even at QB U, but Jake was not ready - mentally or emotionally. Again, whoever whispered in his ear "Don't go on a mission; it'll ruin your future career", he ultimately made that decision. If he was not willing to go, he should have, at least, waited a bit longer before getting married. I don't think he was ready YET for this major life event, either. In fact, some have said that this decision impacted his ability to think clearly: more pressure from an additional family now in the mix.

Ultimately, both Bronco and Jake made critical mistakes in decision-making; Jake's career suffered from those mistakes.