towards BYU.
However, that doesn't change the reality that he was never cut out to be anything special at the D1 level. He was afraid of taking hits long before he arrived at BYU. And frankly appeared to have been coddled before he ever stepped on the field in Provo.
Yes, I think he got more gunshy as he took some bigger hits at the D1 level, and he was mismanaged - I don't dispute that. But I doubt he would have ever been anything special, even if the coaching would have been solid. He certainly did not have the leadership or "it" factor to be special.
My guess is if he had had solid coaching, he would have been serviceable at best against decent teams.