never really crawled out from. So not only do i blame jake for being a part of the beginning of the 2010s demise, i blame everyone after him for not being able to pick up the pieces. Taysom almost got us out of the hole but his injuries held him back. I think all of the momentum that the program had was halted by those developments. Just think. What wouldve happened if Heaps played like the number one qb in the country for four years. What if Taysom never got injured. Think about what that does to recruiting. Think of the coaches that probably stick around or are attracted to the program. BYU was too average for too long because of those things and now we are mired in mediocrity.

Do you really not think a team can be badly affected by a problem at the quarterback position? And that the ramifications can't last for years after they flame out? Stability at the QB position is what keeps head coaches employed. The great coaches in the nfl- look at what they have in common. Belichick, Carroll, Reid, Tomlin...Long term stability or elite players at the QB position. Look who gets fired. The guys that have a qb carousel. No one was calling for Mendenhalls head with John Beck and Max Hall, but as soon as a little qb problem heats up it certainly changes the tone of the program.

The Jake Heaps swing-and-miss set in motion a long chain of unfortunate events. Could and should BYU have recovered? Yes. But they didn't. Is it all Jake Heaps fault? No. But was his demise a huge bummer and one of the biggest disappointments in BYU history? I think it had a negative impact on the program that lasted for years and that some of the effects are still felt today.