From season to season, of all the things in the air in this state — lung-clogging particulates among them — one of those things is the spiraling football. That’s traditionally been true at BYU, where over long-ago stretches the school had been known as Quarterback U. Maybe it is, or should be again. For that matter, Utah and Utah State have their current offerings, as well.
The most prominent of all gauges when it comes to measuring those who spin or have spun the ball around here is, of course, making it to and playing in the NFL.
Well. This week will be Quarterbacks-a-Go-Go.
Three QBs who played at BYU — Jaren Hall, Zach Wilson and Taysom Hill will play for the Vikings, Jets, and the Saints, two of them as starters under center and one as an all-purpose difference-maker who, as much as any NFL baller of any kind would be a candidate, if called upon in a freakish circumstance, to play every position on the field. Utah State’s Jordan Love will start at quarterback for the Packers, as he has done all season. A former Ute quarterback, Tyler Huntley, has battled injuries as Lamar Jackson’s backup for the Ravens.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes the football Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (97) attempts to tackle during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)
That’s pretty cool, to have four quarterbacks from Utah schools, three from one program, playing key roles for their NFL teams on a given Sunday or Monday.
The rookie Hall will get his first start for Minnesota against Atlanta. When starter Kirk Cousins got hurt last week — he’s now lost for the season — Hall came in long enough to preserve the Vikings’ win over Green Bay. He hit on a modest 3 of 4 passes for 23 yards. An initial start for most rookie QBs is an adventure and that’s likely to hold true for Hall. It could get wild on Sunday, and if it doesn’t, Hall might embolden a team that last week took a belly punch, losing its leader.
“I pride myself on preparation,” Hall said this week. “Once you go out on the field, it’s just a game. I feel like I’m more than capable and ready to do whatever’s asked of me.”
Minnesota traded for quarterback Josh Dobbs on Tuesday, so it remains to be seen who will get the largest share of the snaps moving forward for the Vikes, who after a rough start have won four of five games.
Coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that his team has confidence in Hall, despite his inexperience. “Every guy on our roster has confidence in Jaren,” he said.
Hall impressed his teammates at BYU with his maturity, and that same quality has been noted by his veteran mates now.
New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Wilson, whose undulating journey with the Jets has been well documented and often ridiculed, has made some nice plays after subbing in for the injured Aaron Rodgers in New York. He’s helped the Jets win four of seven games thus far, his talent crawling out from under so much debris on certain occasions, shining beyond some of his blunders. All told, he’s thrown for 1,337 yards, 5 touchdown passes and 5 picks.
After the Jets’ loss to the Chiefs a few weeks back, a game in which Wilson flourished outside of a costly fumble late, coach Robert Saleh said: “If he plays like that, we’re going to win a lot of football games.”
Hill has gone on this season mastering what he’s mastered in past ones —simply doing for the Saints what is anything but simple to do — take some snaps, make some throws when necessary, catch some touchdown passes and run to daylight. He really is a unique athlete, not quite polished enough of a passer to play quarterback full time, but valued and talented enough to contribute in the oddest of ways, and by odd we mean multifaceted. So valued by the Saints is he that he’s operating under a contract — good for $40 million — that has made Hill not just famous among NFL players, but wealthy, too.
Love has had his ups and downs this season as Rodgers’ replacement in Green Bay, as might have been predicted, getting caught in the wash of taking over for a future Hall of Fame quarterback. His first starts were promising, his later ones more problematic. He’s passed for 1,492 yards, 11 TDs and 8 interceptions.
We could ratchet up the local college quarterback prowess even further if we wanted to include coaches, like former Utah QB Brian Johnson, who is the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, having taken over that position before the start of this season. And an oldie-but-goodie, Steve Sarkisian, the former BYU quarterback who is not in the NFL, but is the head coach of the highly ranked Texas Longhorns, who last week put a beatdown on the Cougars in Austin.
Other former quarterbacks at BYU, Utah, and Utah State have gone on to find success in various professions inside and outside of football. Former Ute Mike McCoy, currently the quarterbacks coach for the Jaguars, has had a long NFL coaching career that included positions as an assistant with the Panthers, the Broncos, the Cardinals and for four seasons he was the head coach of the Chargers.
Former Ute Jordan Wynn was an assistant coach at various schools. Former Ute Troy Williams has been a QB in the CFL for a number of seasons and currently plays for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL. Brett Elliott is a college coach. Brett Ratliff bounced around the NFL for a fistful of years. Travis Wilson worked in a surf shop and got a taste of NFL camp with the Rams.
Former BYU and Utah State quarterbacks have also made their ways, from Gifford Nielsen, who is a general authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to John Beck, a quarterback tutor for a large number of aspiring and developing signal callers at varying levels to Tanner Mangum, who is an executive at Nike, to Chuckie Keeton, who’s coached at four different colleges. A busload of others have done their notable things.
But on Monday, Wilson will face the Chargers, on Sunday, Hall will face the Falcons, Hill will face the Bears and Love will face the Rams.
The guys who learned a good deal of their craft playing school ball in Utah will go on learning in the pros. And 50 others who in some fashion lived and got educated here, among the Cougars, Utes and Aggies, along with millions of fans and viewers from around the country, will be watching them as they absorb their lessons, as they spin the ball.
