BYU Football: The Case for Zach Wilson at Quarterback
Welcome to the great BYU QB debate! Today, we'll go over the cases for Zach Wilson, Baylor Romney and Jaren Hall to be the starting Quarterback when BYU kicks off the 2020 season.
Click here to read the case for Jaren Hall.
Click here to read the case for Baylor Romney.
The Case For Zach Wilson
- High Ceiling
Zach Wilson has the raw talent to be one of the best Quarterbacks out West. He has the arm talent to make all the throws and the mobility to be really dangerous on his feet. When Zach Wilson is playing well, he is great. In the Potato bowl, Wilson went 18/18 with 317 yards and 4 touchdowns. At times, Wilson will make plays that you simply can't teach. For example, watch this two-play sequence from the game against USC: (Start at 5:41)
With six minutes remaining against a ranked USC team, Wilson put together an incredible drive to give BYU the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Let's talk about another play that most fans have probably forgotten. (Start at 0:59)
This play was forgotten once the football dropped to the turf, but Wilson's abilities are on full display here. The Left Guard gets beat and Wilson has a guy in his face almost immediately. Wilson avoids the pressure, keeps his eyes downfield, and delivers a strike to Shumway who had room to run.
On this play, the average college pocket passer probably gets sacked. The average mobile Quarterback probably avoids the pressure and picks up a few yards on the ground. Wilson had the mobility to avoid the pressure and the arm talent to deliver the perfect throw. He turned this play from a 7-yard loss to potentially a 30-yard gain. It's plays like this that display Wilson's potential.
- 2019 Season
There was a lot of hype surrounding Zach Wilson heading into the 2019 season. We'll address the reasons why Wilson didn't live up to those expectations in a moment. For now, let's look at a few of Wilson's accomplishments in 2019:
- Prior to breaking his thumb against Toledo, Wilson was on pace to throw for the most yards by any BYU Quarterback since Max Hall. At the time Wilson went out for injury, BYU's strength of schedule was ranked #7 in the country after their game against Toledo. Wilson was moving the football against some really good teams.
- Wilson led BYU to a comeback victory against Tennessee and an overtime win against USC.
- Zach Wilson had shoulder surgery before the 2019 season. During spring ball, Coach Roderick stated that Wilson only had one week of complete participation in practice prior to the Utah game. Wilson had very little time to prepare for the 2019 season. That's not an excuse for Wilson, but it's important to note as we discusses the case for and against Zach Wilson.
- Spring Ball
Zach Wilson was fantastic during spring practice. For the first time since 2018, Wilson looked completely healthy. Wilson didn't throw any interceptions during media availability and he led multiple touchdown drives.
- Experience
Wilson has much more experience than both Jaren Hall and Baylor Romney. More in-game experience is a big benefit for Zach Wilson heading into 2020.
The Case Against Zach Wilson
- Turnovers
Interceptions were a problem for Zach Wilson last season - he had nine interceptions in as many games. At the end of 2019, Wilson had an TD/INT ratio of 11/9. TD/INT ratios hardly tell the full story of a quarterback's performance, but that must improve if BYU wants to overcome mediocracy.
A few of Wilson's turnovers came in very critical moments. For example, the interception late in the game against Toledo, the first pick-six against Utah, and the fumble at the goal line (thanks ESPN) against Hawaii. Great Quarterbacks take care of the ball, especially in critical moments and Wilson hasn't learned how to do that yet.
- Doing Too Much
Wilson's scrambling ability can become a liability if he is not disciplined. Sometimes, Wilson turns a two or three-yard loss into a seven-yard loss when he tries to avoid pressure. We've mentioned the upside of his scrambling ability above, it's only fair that we bring up the downside. This is especially problematic in the redzone. For example, check out this video against Washington. BYU was inching their way back into the football game and Wilson takes a really bad sack instead of throwing the ball away. (Start at 5:04)
- Redzone Decision Making
Wilson's gunslinger mentality is part of what makes him great and you don't want that to go away. Like the scrambling, however, it must be disciplined. Wilson made some very questionable decisions last year in the redzone. Here's an example again from the Washington game. On this play, Wilson makes a bad decision on 1st and goal. (Start at 8:11)
You can't make such a risky throw on 1st and goal. This ball should have been intercepted; instead, it miraculously landed in Bushman's arms.
In conclusion, there is a lot to like about Wilson's game. There are a few things that he needs to clean up from last season but his potential is very high. Those things are fixable - more experience and a healthy offseason should help solve those problems. Some BYU fans have voiced their concern over Wilson's decision making and prefer the more conservative play style of Baylor Romney. We'll go in depth about Romney in a separate article, but here is a rebuttal to consider: BYU faces a really tough schedule in 2020. BYU probably doesn't have the skill players to consistently beat good teams with a Quarterback that simply does his job. BYU will need a play-making Quarterback that takes calculated risks and make big plays to pull off a few upsets.
Stay tuned for the articles about Romney and Hall. Those two bring a lot to the table for BYU.
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