ESPN College Football

BYU quarterback Jake Heaps has decided to transfer after losing his starting job this season.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall made the announcement in a statement Monday.

Heaps lost his starting job to Riley Nelson after the Utah State game. Nelson took his newfound opportunity and played well, making it clear he would be the starter going into 2012. Heaps is a sophomore with two years of eligibility left. He won't be with the team for the bowl game, but has yet to decide where he will go.

In an interview with Northwest Elite Index, Heaps said a weight was lifted off his shoulders in coming to this decision.

"I thought choosing a program when I was being recruited out of high school was hard, but it pales in comparison to making this decision," he said. "I have made so many friends here, and not just on the football team. People that will be friends of mine the rest of my life. I really respect and like Coach Mendenhall, he’s a great man. I’ve learned a lot about football from Coach [Brandon] Doman. There are so many great guys on this team, it’s going to be really hard to leave them. I’ve had some time to think about this decision and it’s not one I came to lightly. I have no idea where I’m going to end up, and haven’t talked to anyone. There are a lot of great programs out there, and I’m excited to do some research and find the right fit."

When the season began, expectations were incredibly high for Jake Heaps to put together a season in line with all the other great BYU quarterbacks who came before him.

He had closed his true freshman season with a flourish, and had been groomed from the time he was a young child to be your prototypical quarterback with a strong arm and quick release. The Cougars also had nearly everybody returning on offense, talent at the skill positions and an offensive coordinator in Brandon Doman, who uniquely understands what it means to play quarterback at BYU.

Well, not much went to plan this season for Heaps or BYU. After struggling in his first five starts, Heaps was pulled in the third quarter against Utah State, with the Cougars trailing 24-13. Riley Nelson sparked a comeback win, and supplanted Heaps as the starter.

Relegated to the sideline, Heaps could only watch his dream job get taken by a player who was clearly out performing him. After Nelson got hurt two weeks ago, Heaps went back in as the starter. But as the Cougars (8-3) prepare for their regular-season finale at Hawaii on Saturday, Nelson may be healthy enough to play. If that is the case, coach Bronco Mendenhall said he would go with Nelson as his starter.

"Definitely this season hasn't taken the course I had planned or our team had planned, but I'm just taking it in stride with what has been given to me," Heaps said in a phone interview. "The opportunity to play last two games, just trying to make sure I was ready and all the hard work paid off. It's been a tough season. It hasn't been easy, but I'm working hard at continuing to get better. That's all I've been trying to do."

Heaps was 2-2 as the starter in the first four games, and the low point came in an embarrassing 54-10 loss to Utah, in which he had a fumble and two turnovers. He was only completing 53 percent of his passes in his first five starts, with three touchdown passes to five interceptions. In the eight games in which he has played, he has thrown an interception in seven of them.

When asked what has hurt him this season, Heaps said, "I think I was pressing, and I think at the beginning of the season, we were just all going through growing pains," Heaps said. "We were all learning how to play together. Everybody has blossomed as the season's gone on. We've all learned and have grown. For us to be at this point in the season it's exciting. As a collective group, we've gotten better as the season's gone on."

In his two starts with Nelson out, Heaps had six touchdown passes to two interceptions and played better. Of course, you have to consider the opponents -- BYU played Idaho and New Mexico State. Still, Heaps said he came into those games with a more relaxed attitude and took away plenty from his time on the bench.

"It's been a huge learning experience for me," Heaps said. "It hasn't been easy but definitely those situations can make you a worse quarterback or it can make you a better quarterback. I was determined to make it a better situation for myself, to look deep inside myself and see what I could do to get better. The biggest thing is how I approach the game. I'll be a beter player for it."

What happens next year is certainly up for debate. Heaps is a sophomore; Nelson is a junior. It appears Nelson will be the choice to be the starter headed into 2012. When asked about his future, Heaps declined to comment because "it detracts from the season we're having right now."

BYU will play in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 30 to close out its first season as an independent. Should the Cougars beat Hawaii, they will have a chance for a 10-win season. Heaps will have had a hand in many of those wins, but the events of this year certainly will give him plenty to think about in the offseason.

All BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was looking for was a spark. He ended up with a new starting quarterback.

Indeed, when he put Riley Nelson into the game against Utah State with the Cougars trailing 24-13, Mendenhall had no idea what to expect. Nelson had been in on a few plays here and there behind center. Maybe Nelson could wake the team up. At least, he would play with more energy.

He did more than that. Not only did he rally the team to a win, he rallied the team around him. All of a sudden, the Cougars (6-2) looked much more cohesive on offense. Nelson has started the last three games and has won all of them headed into BYU's big game tonight against former Mountain West rival TCU (8 p.m., ESPN).

“Riley got us the energy and execution with this chip-on-the-shoulder mentality of I don't care what other people think,” Mendenhall said of the performance against Utah State. “He thanked me for the opportunity, and it was like Christmas for him. He was really excited to play football, and that was a contagious frame of mind.”

For a player who wondered whether he would ever take another snap as a starting quarterback again, Nelson has made the most of his second chance. It was Nelson who went into last season as the starter, but he was almost doomed to fail because Mendenhall decided he wanted to rotate quarterbacks with Jake Heaps.

Mendenhall hoped to take advantage of their vastly different skill sets. Nelson can run and throw; Heaps is your classic drop-back passer with a stronger arm. Neither got into much of a rhythm. Neither overwhelmed with his performance.

But when Nelson went out for the season last year with a shoulder injury against Florida State, Heaps took the lead. He closed out the season with four touchdown passes in a New Mexico Bowl win over UTEP and was tabbed the starter headed into 2011 without any quarterback competition.

Nelson never pouted to the coaching staff, but he did spend lonely moments in the training room during rehab wondering about his future. “I just thought about how I was going to approach the rest of my college career,” Nelson said in a phone interview. “Am I going to bust my gut and give it my all? What kind of player did I want to be?”

Only a team player would do. Without an opportunity to win the starting quarterback job, Nelson showed up for special-teams tryouts and was one of the best players on the field. Nelson won a job on the kickoff and punt cover teams.

“We made a decision as a team that if he’s one of our best players, then we ought to use him in whatever capacity,” Mendenhall said. “As he kept knocking guys down on kickoff cover and knocking guys down on punt cover, he was sincere about helping our team. That foundation that he laid with our team -- they've come to trust he's really with us, he's trying to help our team.”

Nelson has played much more carefree since he took over at quarterback. He has thrown for 11 touchdowns, including three touchdown passes in each of his three starts and two in just over a quarter’s worth of work against Utah State. He also has run for 284 yards and a score, and provided a nice change of pace in the run game.

“I feel like the biggest difference in my play from last year to this year is I stopped trying to be perfect,” Nelson said. “I stopped trying to make the perfect play or make the perfect read. I stopped trying to put the ball in the perfect spot every time and let my playmakers make plays.

“The second thing from last year to this year is I put so much pressure on myself last year. I was so worried about what everyone was saying and labels they put on me, I was so worried about whatever everybody else was saying it was affecting my play on the field. I’m one more year older and wiser. With another year of experience, I feel I can be me -- whether or not it’s what people like.”

BYU looked about the same in the first three quarters against Utah State as it did in its first four games of the season.

Uninspired.

Enter Riley Nelson.

Improbably, Nelson led a fourth-quarter charge to rally the Cougars from an 11-point deficit to the 27-24 win Friday night. It was Nelson who began last season as the starter, in name only. He split time with Jake Heaps -- until going down for the season with a shoulder injury against Florida State.

That gave Heaps the opportunity to win the starting job. He played well at the end of last season, and he was anointed the starter headed into 2011 without any real quarterback competition. But Heaps struggled in four-plus games, completing 54 percent of his passes and throwing more interceptions (five) than touchdowns (three).

Heaps was billed as the quarterback of the future. But watching Nelson run and pass his way to a win now means there could be a developing quarterback controversy for coach Bronco Mendenhall to address. He will not announce a starter until at least Thursday.

"Both quarterbacks were, I think, effective," Mendenhall said. "Jake continues to grow and mature and I think he throws the ball extremely well. I think he is going to be a fantastic quarterback. When Riley came in, the analogy I used was it was like our game against Texas. You have to defend a completely different style of quarterback with mobility that has the quarterback run option and it took Utah State a while to adjust to that. How best we will use our quarterback remains to be seen."

Heaps did not appear all that effective against Utah State, going 11-of-25 for 107 yards before being benched in the third quarter.

Nelson accounted for 206 yards of total offense in four drives, going 10-of-14 for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 62 rushing yards on 11 carries.

"He’s someone who has been told you can't do something his whole life. Either he is too short or not a typical quarterback or many other things," Mendenhall said. "He started his career not highly recruited, went to Utah State and then transferred to BYU. He has even been told here and even I had the opinion he isn’t a prototypical BYU quarterback. I think he uses that as a motivator to have a very strong self-concept. He is just a football player and doesn’t consider himself only as a quarterback."

Mendenhall has a tough decision to make. But rest assured, he is not going to use a two-quarterback system again after seeing how it failed last season.

"I don’t think that it’s ideal," he said. "We saw that it was hard to get in a rhythm when alternating series. There is potential that when it is a game like Utah State that we think there is a quarterback change that can give us a lift might be a possibility. I wouldn’t see it going series-by-series, quarter-by-quarter or anything like that. We name a starter and go for a while and hopefully that’s working if not we make adjustments."

Utah State stunned BYU last season, beating the Cougars for the first time since 1993.

But that game served as a rallying point for BYU. Coach Bronco Mendenhall fired defensive coordinator Jaime Hill and took over the job himself. Players came together, and slowly the offense did, too.

After the loss dropped BYU to 1-4, the Cougars ended up finishing the season on a 6-2 run with a bowl victory. The two meet again tonight in Provo, where Utah State has not won since 1978.

When asked whether last season's loss serves as motivation going into this season, Mendenhall said, "We have had so many changes and it was a pivotal point in the season where so many changes were made. It almost seems like five years ago so I’m not sure. The players might have a different perspective on that. I don’t, it just seems like a long time ago."

BYU (2-2) is having similar offensive struggles this season as Jake Heaps gets used to another offensive system. Fans are grumbling about the play calling the way they did last year under Robert Anae.

It was defense and special teams that helped BYU beat UCF last week. The Cougars are going to need another solid defensive performance against a Utah State team that has lost two heartbreakers already this season.

Utah State (1-2) dropped the opener to Auburn in the waning minutes of that game. Then last week against Colorado State, the Aggies saw a 21-13 lead late in the game evaporate after a muffed punt. The Rams scored a touchdown and got the 2-point conversion to send the game into overtime. The teams traded touchdowns but Utah State coach Gary Anderson decided to go for 2 in the second overtime to win the game.

Robert Turbin was stopped short and the Aggies lost. But there is no question Utah State is playing much better, and could even be better than last season, even if the record does not show it.

"We are playing better football than we have since I have been here for sure and I can’t judge it off of anything other than that," coach Gary Andersen said. "Nobody, nobody wants to win more than those young men in that locker room. It is going to come, it is getting closer every single week and I think that it is going to come on a consistent basis here real soon, it hasn’t yet but that is me just sitting here flapping my lips about wins. It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t give us W’s.”

The good feelings and optimism about Year 1 as an independent have turned to concern and consternation for BYU following a disastrous loss to Utah last week.

The Cougars (1-2) have managed 13 points in their last six quarters. They have committed nine turnovers in the last two games - a whopping seven in a 54-10 defeat to their bitter rivals. They turn their attention to UCF on Friday night -- another team that is coming in off a disappointing loss. The Knights, ranked for the first time last season, fell to FIU last week thanks in part to two costly fumbles that the Panthers turned into points.

So the luster is a bit off what should have been a high-quality matchup of two top non-AQ programs. It is hard to imagine another program needing a win as badly as the Cougars, who are in danger of seeing their season spiral out of control.

"If we don’t respond, it can set us back," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "If we are able to respond and finish with a strong season, and with how many wins, certainly increases your chances. That is something I have to acknowledge as we prepare for UCF. The more wins we can get our first year of independence the better."

BYU is going through some of the same struggles it did at the beginning of last season, when it failed to generate much on offense. Mendenhall made a change at offensive coordinator, but that has not really helped. The running game has stalled. The offensive line is playing poorly. Jake Heaps is not doing a good enough job making plays or protecting the football. BYU could very well be worse offensively than it was at this point a season ago.

Of the change to Brandon Doman as coordinator, Mendenhall said: "The results haven’t shown yet. The day-to-day function of the organization and the way the players have responded, the way they are being treated and being coached, I am very comfortable with and at some point that is going to show on game day. It is certainly taking longer than the fans would like but I am confident it is going to happen. I like the decision and the results will be forthcoming."

Meanwhile, BYU cornerback Corby Eason lit up the UCF message board earlier this week when he said this about the Knights and their quarterback, Jeff Godfrey: "They have a great quarterback, like, it's the staple of their offense. If we stop the quarterback, like, they have no offense. He's a great player. He can run the ball and he can pass the ball. We just have to stop him. Once we stop him, I don't believe nobody else can beat us."

UCF actually has a solid running game and depth at the position. But Godfrey had a costly fumble that was returned for a touchdown in the FIU game. The Knights' defense has played well, too, and ranks No. 3 in the nation in scoring defense. That should make it an even more daunting challenge for the BYU offense to get back on track.

Travis Uale has the distinction of being able to say he has been on both sides of the Utah-BYU rivalry.

You see, Uale began his college career at Utah, his second choice after being denied admission to BYU. But then he left for his mission in Monterrey, Mexico, and started having second thoughts about where he wanted to end up when he returned home.

“The bottom line is I prayed about it and my answer was to come to BYU,” Uale said in a phone interview.

It took three tries before he gained admission to the school, and never once has he regretted the decision -- even though he turned down a scholarship at Utah to be a walk-on with the Cougars. The teams renew their rivalry Saturday in Provo.

“Shortly after I came to BYU I met my wife, so that was it,” Uale said. “I might have been single my whole life had I not come over here.”

Uale faced the long process of trying to make the team. Former offensive coordinator Robert Anae, a distant relative of his father’s, essentially told Uale nothing would be guaranteed. Uale walked onto the team on the first day of classes in spring of 2008 and proceeded to work as hard as possible to get noticed.

Step 1 in that process was to make an impression in the weight room. Having come off his mission, he was eager to get back into the best shape of his life. He knew if he did a good job, the weightlifting coach would notice and that could lead to a spot on the 105-man roster.

He got that coveted spot. Step 2 was to play special teams.

“That’s where it started,” Uale said. “I was at every coach’s door telling them they needed me on special teams because I knew that’s how I would get on the field.”

He did not play all that much at first, and that discouraged him. But he kept working hard and got his first opportunity to play safety as a sophomore. Last season, he started nine games and he returned to his starting role this year as a senior.

“It feels good to see how far I’ve come, that hard work does pay off,” Uale said. “It also helps me counsel the younger guys who came here as walk-ons, because I have been there before and I can share my experiences with them.”

Though he won a starting job last season, it was not until this past January that he was put on scholarship. Uale was summoned to coach Bronco Mendenhall’s office to get the good news.

“Travis Uale is one of the best stories on our team and maybe the player I admire the most on our team,” Mendenhall said.

Uale and his wife also serve as the team’s barbers. Uale cuts his teammates’ hair. His wife, Lotomata, cuts the coaches’ hair. So Uale is valuable in more ways than one.

As for his take on facing his former team, he says, “I grasp the rivalry a little bit more. Now that I’ve seen both sides, I realize that it’s a great game. It’s a great chance for both teams to play a really competitive team in a really competitive environment.”

He definitely should know all about that.

BYU sputtered offensively last season, failing to put up big scores and big yards consistently for the first time in a long time.

Changes were made in the offseason. Brandon Doman was promoted to offensive coordinator. Jake Heaps was firmly entrenched as the starter at quarterback. And plenty of talent returned at running back, receiver and the offensive line.

Given all that, expectations were ratcheted up for the offense in 2011.

But headed into its rivalry game against Utah on Saturday, the offense looks just as plodding as it did at the beginning of 2010.

Heaps has not gotten into much of a rhythm. The ground game has been nearly nonexistent. So have the big plays. The result? Here is where BYU ranks in the NCAA stats through two games:

• No. 76 in passing offense, averaging 208.5 yards a game.
• No. 108 in total offense, averaging 275.5 yards a game.
• No. 107 in scoring offense, averaging 15 points a game.
• No. 113 in passing offense, averaging 67 yards a game

“Offensively, we’re not happy with the amount of points we’ve put up on the board,” Heaps told ESPN.com this week. “We feel we could put up more and we should put up more. The way we’re driving the football, the way we’re able to move the football, we’re happy about that. Now it’s a matter of one or two plays we didn’t execute that cost us putting seven points on the board.

“We’re so close to just exploding. We’re so close to having this offense rise to what everybody thinks this offense should be and what our team believes this offense could be.”

The inconsistency has been particularly maddening. BYU took a 13-3 lead at halftime against Texas, but managed only a field goal the rest of the way. One of Heaps’ interceptions helped swing momentum to the Longhorns. After coming from behind to beat Ole Miss in the opener, the Cougars feel they let one get away in Austin.

“It’s extremely frustrating because we know we could have won that game, and we know we could have won it in dominant fashion,” Heaps said. “We left the door open for a good Texas football team. That’s no one else’s fault other than our own. We know we can play with anybody.

“We know we can dictate and control the game with the best of them. We just have to make sure we’re executing at a high level and putting together everything offensively. We can’t afford to make crucial errors on a play that could be a touchdown. We just can’t have that happen. The difference between putting three points on the board versus seven points on the board or zero points, there’s a huge difference.”

For his part, Heaps is 46-of-76 for 417 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. When asked what impact having a new offensive coordinator has had, Heaps said, “Coach Doman has done a great job coaching. Yeah, he’s going through some learning experiences himself, but our offense and our team has full confidence in every play he’s going to call. It’s our job to go out there and execute that play call. We could have walked away from that Texas game with the scoreboard a little bit different, and we take that very seriously offensively. I know these guys have taken it upon themselves not to let that stuff happen again.”

When asked for his assessment, coach Bronco Mendenhall said the offense needs more consistent go-to players.

“There’s still some searching for the right combination and the right identity in terms of run-pass ratio and in terms of the critical ball carriers and ball handlers at the right time,” Mendenhall said. “The offense … they want to win. They’re determined, diligent and right now those things are exceeding the level of execution. We have to get their execution to match their will.”

What will that take?

“We know we have all the talent and all the tools we need to be a great offense,” Heaps said. “That’s not in question. It’s just a matter of executing at the right times and being consistent in our execution and that’s a huge thing. We’ve been working on that and we’re going to keep getting better and better at that. We’re going to take off in that aspect hopefully sooner rather than later.”

BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy had one word to describe how he felt in the wake of an important season-opening win over Ole Miss.

"I'm sore," he said in a telephone interview.

No rest for the newly independent Cougars, as they hit the road once gain for another huge test, this time in Austin against Texas. BYU played an incredibly physical game against Ole Miss, rallying for the 14-13 win when Van Noy forced a fumble, scooped it up and scored in the fourth quarter. Soreness, bumps and bruises are all part of college football, but BYU is playing on a different level now with an incredibly challenging schedule to start the season.

There is no easing into the slate. After the Texas game, BYU has Utah, UCF and Utah State at home. But BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said starting out with such a tough grind at Ole Miss is good for his team.

"It was a long trip in terms of distance," he said. "It was a formidable environment to play in against a team from a very good conference, and yet it also left our team realizing this is exactly what type of schedule we’re going to play. These are the types of teams we’re going to play and it’s going to take some improvement for the results we’re hopeful for."

Indeed, BYU did not play its best game. The new offense, with Brandon Doman as offensive coordinator, had some struggles. Jake Heaps was inconsistent, going 24-of-38 for 225 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The running game never really got established. BYU averaged 2.9 yards a carry. But perhaps the biggest problem was an inability to convert drives into points, something the Cougars emphasized this week during practice.

"I think we moved the ball pretty well; we just couldn't finish at the end of our drives," said receiver Ross Apo, who had four catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. "We can move the ball pretty good. We just need to work on finishing and putting seven on the board. It was little things here and there. Sometimes we just missed blocks. We just couldn't get our pass game going, got a couple here and there. We just have to execute better."

This game is particularly meaningful for Apo, who is from Texas and was a Texas commit before signing with BYU. He said Heaps was a big reason he changed his mind because the two attended several high school camps together. "When I weighed things out, I realized BYU was a better place for me," Apo said.

He will have family and friends at the game, but fully expects to be booed. He understands the emotions, but also wants to have a big game in his home state.

Everybody at BYU wants to have a big game with a national television audience watching once again. Following up a road win against an SEC team with a win against Texas would do wonders for national perception.

"We're looking at the same thing as last week," Van Noy said. "They’re the Big 12. They don’t want to lose to a bunch of kids in Utah, a bunch of Mormon boys that everyone calls us. We're going to try to take that challenge on. Going to Texas, they make football a religion, and we’re excited to go down there."

One of the huge positives coming out of the game is the way the BYU defense held up against a much bigger Ole Miss offensive line. Granted, Ole Miss starting running back Brandon Bolden got hurt early in the game, but the Cougars still held the Rebels to 64 yards rushing and just 208 yards of total offense. That gives the defense a huge lift heading into another big game.

"The goal is to ground and pound you until you can’t take the heat," Van Noy said. "We took that challenge on. Our front seven is one of the best in the country. The secondary is progressing and getting better and better and going to become one of the best in the country. We take a lot of defensive pride in stopping the run."

Now they have to do it all again on a stage that is just as big.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall talks about the Cougars' win at Mississippi, preparing to travel to Texas, the rivalry with Utah, being an independent program and more.

Boise State, TCU and BYU all had scrimmages this past weekend. Here are a few notes:

Boise State: The backups had their time to shine in the Boise State scrimmage on Saturday. Running back Malcolm Johnson, who recently returned to the team, had 10 carries for 41 yards and scored on a 9-yard run. Kellen Moore was 7-of-12 for 116 yards and threw two touchdowns in red zone drills. The kicking competition appears to be a two-man race between Dan Goodale and Michael Frisina. Also, Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman reports the Broncos are going to use a six-man rotation at receiver: Tyler Shoemaker, Chris Potter, Mitch Burroughs, Geraldo Boldewijn, Kirby Moore and Matt Miller.

BYU: The first-team offense played just one series and the first-team defense did not play at all in BYU's final scrimmage of preseason camp. There are just two open starting spots up for grabs: left guard and cornerback. Freshman Ryker Mathews and Houston Reynolds are vying for the guard spot; Preston Hadley and Joe Sampson are competing for one starting cornerback job, while Corby Eason, Robbie Buckner and Jordan Johnson are competing for the other spot. Coach Bronco Mendenhall also said the backup quarterback job is too close to call between Riley Nelson and James Lark.

TCU: Coach Gary Patterson might be dipping into his motivational tricks bag. After the Horned Frogs scrimmaged Saturday, he said it was not a sure thing that Casey Pachall would start against Baylor in Week 1. Pachall missed a few days of practice with a sore shoulder, and Patterson says that impacted his player. Matt Brown had a better day in the scrimmage and the two are "neck and neck."

"The time being out hurt Casey," Patterson said. "Matt got a lot better. That's what you do. You don't worry about the guy that's not here. You make the next guys better; that's what big programs are about."

Also in the scrimmage, running back Ed Wesley hurt his arm, but Patterson did not know the extent of the injury.

BYU opens camp Saturday. Let us take a look at three burning questions:

1. Can the Cougars be a national player? BYU ended the season on a hot streak and brings back nearly everybody on offense. There has been a shift in philosophy with new offensive coordinator Brandon Doman. Everybody expects Jake Heaps to be infinitely better this season than he was last. Now BYU has the perfect opportunity to prove all that on a national stage in Year 1 as an independent. The season starts with games at Ole Miss and Texas, then home games against Utah and UCF. Plenty of opportunity to grab some headlines early.

2. Who gets the ball? I mentioned Heaps above -- now who does he get the ball to? BYU has a wealth of riches at the skill positions. JJ DiLuigi, Bryan Kariya and Josh Quezada all return in the backfield; Cody Hoffman and McKay Jacobson return at receiver. Add in highly touted receiver Ross Apo and tight end Devin Mahina, and you have got plenty of options to get this offense back to what is expected with the Cougars.

3. Leaders on defense. BYU loses six starters from its defense, but there are plenty of talented players ready to fill in. Linebacker Jordan Pendleton is back and healthy after sitting out a chunk of last season with a knee injury and has stepped into a leadership role. Tackle Romey Fuga returns from an injury as well, and safety Travis Uale is back. There are big losses, though. The top three tacklers from last season are gone. Coach Bronco Mendenhall hopes to replace Andrew Rich with Daniel Sorensen and Shane Hunter with Uona Kaveinga. Both had impressive springs and could make this unit even better.

PROVO, Utah -- I bet you can guess the hot topic of conversation during BYU media day on Tuesday.

Talk of going independent dominated sessions with coach Bronco Mendenhall, athletic director Tom Holmoe and players as well. Everyone is excited about the prospects of partnering with ESPN, having an exclusive network in BYUtv and testing the waters in an unconventional way.

Will independence work? We have to wait for the answers. But here are some notes and nuggets off a day spent visiting with a variety of BYU officials.

Scheduling: Despite rampant speculation, there were no scheduling announcements made Tuesday. Getting games on the schedule as an independent has been a bit tricky, because other teams are tied into their conference schedules past September. Many others already have games planned through 2018, and there are those who want 2-for-1 deals instead of home-and-homes. Holmoe said he would like to take BYU all over the country, and would like to schedule games against the service academies, possibly even Northwestern or Vanderbilt. Mendenhall mentioned getting games against teams like Boston College, and playing in the Southeast, Midwest and Northwest.

The 2-for-1 deals, like the one with Texas, are not ideal. But Mendenhall said, "I’m willing to play some 2-for-1s for the sake of establishing credibility. Hopefully after that, more will want to come to Provo and view us on equal footing."

BCS: BYU does not have an automatic berth guaranteed into the BCS. If the Cougars finish ranked in the top 12 of the BCS standings, then they would be eligible for an at-large berth. But both Mendenhall and Holmoe are confident that an undefeated BYU team with the schedule it has lined up for this year would get into the BCS -- something that has never been done before at the school. Mendenhall also seems confident that in the future, a one-loss BYU team might be given consideration if the Cougars string together multiple 11- or 12-win seasons.

Winning: Both Holmoe and Mendenhall know there are risks with going independent. With 10 games set to be aired on ESPN, all national eyes are going to be on the Cougars. They cannot afford another 7-6 season in Year 1 of being an independent. The pressure is on. "I’m willing to take the risk," Mendenhall said. "It’s intriguing. There are many fans that aren’t BYU fans that can’t wait to see BYU stumble with all the exposure. It’s pretty clear our program is strong. We have a worldwide following, we’ve partnered with the worldwide leader in sports. With that, whether folks are BYU fans or not, I bet folks tune in and are anxious to see what happens."

One bit of news emerged today. Mendenhall said he signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the school through 2013.

"I would like to coach here as long as I'm wanted and as long as I feel it's where I'm supposed to be," he said. "I was invigorated and so excited by the chance to continue to move the program forward. This idea of independence, while many would have backed away from it, I'm anxious to be the coach to take it on. There's a huge amount of risk but there's also a great opportunity for reward."

A few more nuggets from media day:

• Left tackle Matt Reynolds has lost 25 pounds and is down to 308. To lose the weight, he did two hours worth of cardio every day and kept to a tight schedule and watched what he ate. "I feel so much better now," Reynolds said. "I look better, too. All the weight was in my midsection and now this is going to help me move a lot better on the field.
• Quarterback Jake Heaps is preparing to take more snaps from center this season as more of a pro-style offense will be featured with new coordinator Brandon Doman. "It's definitely a different feel with the drop-back," said Heaps, a spread quarterback in high school. "I have been working on that a lot this summer, and trying to get my timing down with the receivers as well."
• Doman on how he feels headed into his first fall as a coordinator: "In December, I turned 34. Now I feel like I'm 44."
• Linebacker Jordan Pendleton makes his return this season after missing half of 2010 with a knee injury. He wasn't quite ready to declare himself 100 percent, but said he does feel better than he has in a long time. He has spent the summer getting back into shape, taking it slowly so he would not suffer any setbacks.

With spring practice in the books, let's hand out some virtual hardware.

Best newcomer: BYU linebacker Uona Kaveinga sat out last season after transferring from USC and is now eligible. Judging by the spring he had, he should have an immediate impact. Coach Bronco Mendenhall cited him as a leader on his defense during the spring.

Best new quarterback: Derek Carr, younger brother of David Carr, takes over as Fresno State's starter, and already he has the complete trust and confidence of his coaches and teammates. He had a great spring, and coach Pat Hill says, "Derek is the kind of kid who can take us to this next level."

Best quarterback competition: It's hard to envy the position new Miami (Ohio) coach Don Treadwell will face this fall -- choosing between the quarterback who started the 2010 turnaround in Zac Dysert, or the quarterback who capped the turnaround in Austin Boucher. They are even. Treadwell says he would rather have two skilled choices than no choice at all.

Best transformation: TCU's Sam Carter came into school as a quarterback. But after redshirting last fall, he is now playing safety and had a good spring. Carter is just the latest to change positions at TCU. That is what Patterson does best.

Best brother tandem: The Moore brothers will once again be on the same field. Kellen the quarterback now has his brother to throw to again after Kirby redshirted in 2010. A natural chemistry exists between the two. Now we'll see how that pays off on the field.

Best spring news: Houston learning that Case Keenum would be eligible for a sixth season. Keenum got his medical hardship waiver granted and will get another chance to try to break the NCAA record for passing yards. He didn't practice this spring, but just the idea that Keenum would be back lifted the spirits of his coaches and teammates.

Were there any answers to some of the most pressing questions of the spring? Some, but not many.

Here are five impressions from the spring:

1. Geraldo Hiwat is a rising star. By all accounts, the young Boise State receiver had a terrific spring. Even better news for Broncos fans is how much improvement he can make, considering he has played only three years of organized football.

2. BYU picked up where it left off in 2010. The last time we saw the Cougars, they were trampling UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl to the tune of 52 points and 514 yards. That momentum carried them throughout the spring. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said it was his best spring as BYU head coach.

3. TCU's defense could be No. 1 again. The Horned Frogs lose their leader on defense in Tejay Johnson, but they bring back Tank Carder and Tanner Brock, a formidable combination at linebacker for a team that gave up only 12 points a game last year. The defensive line is so deep and talented, coach Gary Patterson believes it has a chance to be better than last season -- even without end Wayne Daniels.

4. Plenty of new faces. With 10 new head coaches among the non-AQ teams, there was plenty of fresh energy across the country. Most of the coaches spent the spring evaluating their players. Now the hard work of fitting talent to scheme begins, and fall practice will serve to separate those who will have the opportunity to succeed in a change environment.

5. Not much QB news. Of the 21 non-AQ schools that went into the spring with a competition for the starting quarterback job, only two have named a starter (Derek Thompson at North Texas, Casey Pachall at TCU). The rest are going to wait and see how fall competition plays out before making any decisions.