If BYU has picked its starting quarterback, the Cougars aren’t saying just yet.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has previously said he would like to make a decision by the midway point in fall camp to be able to provide the starter enough time to get ready for the season opener against Arizona in Las Vegas on Sept. 4.
The two-week point has passed.
Who will be the man? Good question. Dustin Smith, owner and coach of QB Elite, seems to have a pretty good idea of who it will be.
QB Elite is a quarterback and wide receiver development program headquartered in Utah. Its staff includes coaches like Ty Detmer, a 14-year NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner; Mark Brunell, an 18-year NFL quarterback; Kurt Warner, a two-time NFL MVP and 12-year NFL quarterback; and half a dozen other coaches.
While Smith hasn’t been watching the battle in person, he has kept up with the action and is close to one of the contenders.
Smith, who has more than 15 years of experience training quarterbacks and wide receivers, has worked closely with Jaren Hall previously. That relationship aside, Smith believes Hall will be the Cougars’ starting quarterback when the season starts.
“From what I’ve gathered and what I understand, it’s a pretty close battle, but Jaren I think is the guy that’s probably the front-runner,” Smith said. “Jaren and Baylor [Romney] are the 1 and 2, and then [Jacob] Conover, my guess is he’s the third one right now.”
Smith said Hall provides a more athletic-style play — he’s quicker and can run the ball more — but both Hall and Romney have good arms. Both of them have also shown great control in games and make smart decisions.
“I think what it’s going to come down to is really who provides that little extra spark, maybe provides that little bit of extra energy to the team,” Smith said. “I think, to start the season, they’ll probably lean towards Jaren. I think he provides that. But if things don’t go well or they sputter or they’re having a hard time moving the ball, I don’t think they’d be afraid to [switch to] Baylor. … I know they feel comfortable with either guy.”
Both Hall and Romney have not only collegiate game experience, but starting experience. Both quarterbacks started two games apiece back in 2019 when season-starter Zach Wilson was out with a fractured thumb.
Conover is a true freshman who, by coaches’ accounts, has plenty of potential, but doesn’t have experience at the collegiate level. “The mistakes he makes are just young mistakes,” Roderick said after the team’s first fall scrimmage.
During a recent call with reporters, BYU coach Kalani Sitake said having a prolonged quarterback battle can only mean two things: either the staff has a good group or they don’t.
“And we feel like we have a lot of confidence in these three guys and feel really comfortable with the guys that are behind them and the guys that we’re seeing improve and get better,” Sitake said. “So, I feel really good about the whole room. I know [Roderick] does. It’s just a matter of the guy winning the spot outright. As long as they keep performing and doing well, all three of them individually, then they’re going to make it really hard for us.”
However, Smith thinks Conover isn’t truly in the mix for the starting role.
“I think they have two guys — I don’t think Conover’s ready,” Smith said. “I think he’s a good quarterback, but I wouldn’t say that he’s ready to go.”
Smith credits BYU with not only finding two mature quarterbacks in Hall and Romney, but being able to keep them. After the success the pair had in 2019, they could have transferred out when they saw the program go to Wilson in what ended up being a historic season and still having to battle for the start.
When it comes down to comparing Hall and Romney, Hall is considered the more athletic, but some may be skeptical of having him as the starting quarterback due to his injury history. Besides sitting out the 2020 season with a hip injury, Hall was pulled out of both games he started in 2019 due to concussions.
Smith isn’t of that mindset.
The trainer said he’s talked to Hall on a weekly basis for more than a year and knows Hall has done everything he can to get back in health and try to play smarter.
“It wasn’t a matter of working harder for Jaren — he already was a hard worker — it was a matter of working smarter and watching a lot of film to recognize what are those situations that he can maybe avoid a hit or step out of bounds or just be careful running the ball,” Smith said. “But I’m really not super concerned about that. He played a lot of football growing up and never had concussion issues.”
Part of Hall’s recent work to improve his game includes traveling to Southern California to work with John Beck at 3DQB — the same as Wilson did a year ago when the eventual NFL draft pick was in the middle of his own quarterback battle with Hall and Romney.
When asked on Tuesday if any quarterbacks have shown separation, Sitake was coy. The three front-runners have all shown separation from the rest of the quarterbacks, the head coach said.
“It’s really close right now,” Sitake said. “There’s going to be some moments where we’re going to have to make some decisions on how to function from here on out, but they’re making it really difficult for us and that’s a good sign.”
