HB Arnett’s
COUGAR SPORTSLINE
801
372 0819
hbarnett@fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission.com
Vol. 29,
Issue 39 – June 8, 2009
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HEAPS,
HEAPS HOORAY!
They say some of
the first signs of senility in sports writing are that you become confused and
take up cussing.
If my
confusion serves me correctly (more on cussing later in the letter), the last
press conference held by a junior in high school that I attended was my own. It
was when I announced at the Amapola Cafe in Blythe, California that I was
making a choice between Nancy Johnson, Yolanda Gallegos and Etta Lou Hudson as
to whom I was taking to the junior prom.
Nobody showed up,
including Nancy, Yolanda or Etta Lou. In hindsight, it must have either been
the venue or menu that kept the crowds away because from my perspective, I was
certainly a "can't miss prospect". How could any girl in her right
mind not be interested in the No. 8.479 rated prom prospect at Palo Verde High?
Had I been able to
produce a nice video and post it on You Tube, I am positive I would have been
rated much higher. With a well edited video I still think I could have been at
least the No. 7.163 rated prom boy.
Mark Winegar,
Shaler Stinson and Hector Fuentes were all more highly rated than me. Mark
might have been a better dancer. Shaler was definitely a better dresser and you
could land a helicopter on Hector's haircut. The chicks in those days dug a
nice crew cut, but I certainly thought I was the better overall package and
prospect.
25-Year
It took a couple
of decades and a 25-year high school reunion to finally have my prom self
esteem vindicated and validated.
That's when I
found out that two of the higher rated prom prospects were in prison. I guess I
showed those guys. The girls fared much better. Only one of the three was still
serving time. Word was that she was prom queen of the state pen and would be
out in time for the 30th year reunion.
As I have become
older, wiser and more sophisticated, I quit attending press conferences held by
high school students and focus now on attending more mature multi-level
marketing seminars and presentations.
Sometimes the line
between recruiting press conferences and multi-level presentations becomes a
little blurred.
Fast forward to
late last week to another press conference held at a restaurant in
The ambience must
have been much better than at the Amapola because the attendance certainly was.
It probably had to do with Jake Heaps announcing he was choosing to play
quarterback in college between
Heaps is the No. 1
rated high school quarterback prospect in the nation for next year's recruiting
class. He’s a can't miss prospect. No word on his dancing skills, but he
was certainly sartorially splendid and had a nice haircut. Mark, Shaler and Hector
would have been proud.
Mendenhall
Mum
Bronco Mendenhall
and his assistant coaches couldn't tell us how they felt as per NCAA recruiting
rules, but after three years of hard work in recruiting Heaps, the Cougar
coaching staff have already been vindicated and validated.
We'll have to wait
and see how they feel 25 years from now.
I am still a
little confused as to whether last week was a press conference or a multi-level
marketing presentation. If it was a press conference, Heaps was impressive and
the hope he held out for Cougar football fans was exhilarating.
If it was a
multi-level pitch, we should all get in now on the ground floor.
Based on the Heaps
hoopla, now is the time sign up as Bronze, Silver or Golden distributors and
donors of the Cougar club.
If you hurry, you
too can qualify for the BCS bonus money that is sure to follow.
In case you aren’t
already in the down line of Heaps, here are his credentials:
At 6-2, 195 pounds, he is the No. 1 rated high school
quarterback prospect in the nation (Scout.com). He is 28-0 as a sophomore and
junior starter for
He has led his team to consecutive state championships. Last season, he
completed 203 of 312 passes for 2,910 yards and 38 touchdowns. He threw just
four interceptions last year and also had seven rushing touchdowns.
For his current two-year career, he has completed 405 of 648 passes for 6,104
yards and 69 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and rushed for 21 TDs.
He had over 26 scholarship offers, but narrowed down those down to a top-five
list of
BYU was the big winner.
In the context of
either a press conference or multi-level presentation, Heaps is a certified can't
miss...unless he does.
Here is the deal
about multi-levels that make money.
It is all about
marketing. If the product is actually decent, it is a bonus.
That basically is
how we see the Heaps hoopla.
Based on his high
school, summer camps and combine performances of the last two years, he
certainly appears to have talent and ability.
History has shown
that early talent at the high school level is usually a 50-50 predictor of how
that talent turns out at the college level and beyond.
Here’s a
case in point. Ron Powlus was a sure-fire two-time Heisman Trophy winner coming
out of high school in
Rick Mirer, also a
can't miss prospect at Notre Dame, did miss. He was a cup of coffee guy in the
NFL, but had a commercial grade college career.
Mitch Mustain of
If we take the
high road with Heaps, he very well could be the next John Elway, Peyton Manning
or Tim Tebow.
Using a
baseball analogy, who wouldn't want a .500 hitter?
BYU already struck
out with Ben Olsen, but hopefully have hit a homerun with Heaps.
Time and talent
will tell.
Apparent
What is apparent,
however, is while we will have to wait until his talent is fulfilled on the
college field, Heaps' marketing prowess is already proven.
He used his press
conference and national credentials to bring on board two other Diamond
Distributors to the Cougar down line and hopefully, BYU's future BCS bottom
line.
Ross Apo and Zack
Stout, along with Heaps, also announced that they will jump on board the BYU
football recruiting bandwagon.
Both are big gets
for the Cougars. They both are LDS, as is Heaps.
While we will wait
until Heaps actually enrolls in college to give our product analysis of his
talent, we have already concluded that the guy is charismatic and a marketing
maven.
He is the Cougars'
best recruiter and has been for the last two years.
He has the sizzle
and national brand name to sell the program to other potential recruits. That
is what he did with
If Heaps has the
football substance at the next level to back up the selling sizzle he has
clearly demonstrated already, then the Cougar Club will need to implement
another level in its donation program for football fans.
Forget Bronze and
Silver Cougar clubbers. The new "J. Golden" level will be for senile
sports writing skeptics and skinflints. It only takes a few dollars a year to
join, but you get to say "Well I'll be damned" when Heaps delivers
the national title he predicted in his press conference.
IT'S
STILL ALL ABOUT PLAYERS
Jake Heaps gets
it.
Beyond high
school, football is all about players. You can't win on the big stage without
players who have talent and ability.
Coaching is nice,
but good players are better.
Heaps is a player.
The fact that he could call a press conference and a standing-room only crowd
of media and fans show up, speaks volumes of his abilities.
The fact that he
also brought along two other highly-skilled players with him to the press
conference and BYU, indicates that he gets it when it comes to talent and wants
it surrounding him at BYU.
Ross Apo is the
chief case in point. This 6-4, 195 pound receiver from Oakridge HS in
He has been a star
on the summer combine and camp circuit recently.
He now says he
will be a Cougar and Christmas came early for BYU.
He had
Zac Stout is a
6-2, 220 pound linebacker from Oak Christian HS in
With Jake Heaps
turning down the Washington Huskies, Steve Sarkisian, the UW new coach, is now
targeting Nick Montana of Oak Christian. Yes, he is the son of Joe Montana.
Before committing
to the Cougars, Stout had official offers from
While BYU coaches
have recruiting restrictions placed on them by the NCAA, Jake Heaps doesn't.
He was very
instrumental in getting
With Heaps,
Zac Stout...LB, 6-2, 220,
Oaks Christian HS, CA
Ross Apo...WR, 6-4, 195,
The
Jake Heaps...QB, 6-2,
195, Skyline HS, WA
Tuni Kanuch...DL, 6-1,
285, Bingham HS, UT
A.J. Moore...RB, 5-10,
190,
Collin Keoshian, LB, 6-2,
225, Santa
Travis Tuiloma, DL, 6-3,
290, Washburn Rural HS, KS
Graham Rowley, OL, 6-4,
270, Waialua HS, HI
Jordan Black, OL 6-7,
235, Alta HS, UT
Joey Owens, LB, 6-2, 215,
Pleasant Grove HS, UT
Algernon Brown, RB, 6-1,
205, Skyline HS, UT
Bronson Kaufusi, DL, 6-6,
225, Timpview HS, UT
Here is a list of other
prospects that BYU has offered, but have not yet commited.
LDS
Ricky Heimuli, DL, 6-4,
285,
Toloa'i Ho Ching, LB,
6-0, 225, Alta HS, UT
Kona Schwenke, DL, 6-5,
210, Kahuku HS, HI
Alani Fua, LB, 6-5, 210,
Oaks Christian HS, CA
Sefa Tanoa'i, DL 6-4,
270, Pleasant Grove HS, UT
Non LDS
Justin Utopo, DL, 6-3,
260,
Cameron Roberson, RB,
6-1, 215,
Keanon Lowe, DB, 5-10,
170, Jesuit HS, OR
Drew Phillips, RB, 6-0,
185, Boaz HS, AL
Joseph Champaign, LB,
6-0, 200, Grayson HS, GA
Blair Tushaus, OL, 6-2,
270, Notre Dame HS, AZ
Jase Butorac, OL, 6-3,
280, Skyline HS, WA
Kyle Benson, LB, 6-2,
215,
Joseph Quezada, RB, 6-0,
200,
Brandon Bourbon, RB, 6-1,
210,
Cardinal over Cougar
BYU offered two LDS
prospects, but both chose Stanford over the Cougars. They were:
Chris Badger, DB, 6-1,
195, Timpview HS, UT
FLUFF
AND STUFF
Jim McMahon and Mark Wilson...We bring
up these two former BYU and NFL quarterbacks because theirs was a unique
playing time situation.
Both were talented
as evidenced by their NFL careers. The problem for LaVell Edwards was that he
wanted to maximize their abilities and talents for the benefit of the program.
That is why he
redshirted Jim McMahon in 1979 in order to get a two-year gap in their
respective eligibility.
Consequently, he
was able to get three years out of
That could be what
we will be looking at with Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps.
Heaps is hoping to
compete for the vacated starting job left by Max Hall in 2010 as a true
freshman.
If Nelson is the
backup to Hall this fall as we expect he will be, it will take a herculean
effort from Heaps to win that job from Nelson.
If neither Heaps
or Nelson redshirts, there will be a natural two year spacing in their
eligibility.
If Heaps redshirts
as a frosh and doesn't go on an LDS mission, that would give him the
opportunity to be a three year starter after Nelson graduates. As of now, a
mission is not in Heaps plans.
Our early
handicapping of the quarterback derby after Max Hall is done, is that it will
take Heaps living up to all his hype, and then some, as a true freshman if he
is to wrest the job from Nelson. We smell redshirt or mission for Heaps before
he is done at BYU.
Mendenhall Mess...Bronco Mendenhall
has been a very good coach for BYU, but in our opinion, despite all of his
accomplishments, he is not without some serious failings.
We are speaking of
the current defense.
How does a
defensive-minded coach and defensive coordinator who has the final say on all
recruiting matters, get caught after four full years on the job with no
defensive players?
Sure you can blame
unexpected mission calls and some academic issues, but after four years,
shouldn't you at least have some defensive personnel that could start for other
teams in the Mountain West Conference.
We hope to have to
eat our words, but from what we see, the defensive line is very ordinary, the
linebacking corp could be worse than last season and while the defensive
backfield should be better, there isn't anybody there that could even make the
two-deep at the majority of teams in the conference.
LaVell Edwards
figured it out. You have to recruit juco corners to compete in this league.
It looks like
Mendenhall has finally got the message, but it is a few seasons too late to
help for this year.
The coaches are
trying to patch the leaks by switching some incoming recruits from offense to
defense and by hoping that their incoming juco corners will pan out, but any
way you cut it, after four years at the helm with complete control of
recruiting, the defensive personnel should be better.
In our opinion, it
will take some major offensive production from that side of the ball at BYU for
the Cougars to be successful and win games this season.
Can Cougars Win State of
The Cougars will
host
The ASU game is a
return game for BYU after facing the Sun Devils last season in
The UofA game is
part of the Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic, but the game is set for McKale
Arena in
Other
non-conference games include contests at