SALT LAKE CITY -- The script had Jake Heaps taking the snaps this Saturday in Hawaii on his way to a 3,500-yard passing season placing him in the lineage of all time BYU greats. Instead, after two seasons in Provo the former No. 1 high school quarterback in the country may be pulling on his Cougar #9 jersey for the final time.

Heaps has made no comment about transferring, rather he has been classy to avoid such speculation. However, it is undeniable that he has become the backup QB at BYU and transferring is a legitimate possibility.

From the top QB in the country to backup QB to a poor throwing, primarily running quarterback. It is the opposite of a storybook screenplay and it has taken a confluence of failures to put a potential star on the outside looking in.

Heaps is not without blame. Life prior to BYU had gone too smoothly on the playing field. When things went awray he didn't have the gumption to react correctly. His talent at the high school level was so dominating that he never had to learn to lead. Instead it was the only and obvious choice for his teammates.

When he arrived at BYU he found himself in a competition for the starting job for the first time in his career. While Heaps brought a huge bag of talent, Riley Nelson brought one enormous satchel of charisma.

Heaps may have been too good for his own good. His skills on the field were undeniable. His ball zipped. His throws arrived in a blip. His form was straight from the textbook. However, from the beginning of Fall Camp 2010 it was obvious that the upper classman at BYU rallied around the girt and fight of Nelson.

This is where the coaches failed. Lured in no differently than most Cougar fans, the belief was Heaps couldn't fail. But, he wasn't ready. The arm was ready, the mind and the leadership was that of an 18-year-old freshman. He needed help. The team wasn't ready for him without the coaches' stamp of approval.

Cougar Tracks:

Nelson Preparing to Play at Hawaii

Having missed one game and most of another with an injury to his ribs and lung, BYU quarterback Riley Nelson is on pace to make his return this Saturday at Hawaii.

The coaches knew something wasn't completely there for Heaps as they went to an unheard of idea of rotating series and then rotating plays between Heaps and Nelson. As the BYU coaches closed fall camp in 2010 they had two choices at this point and they made neither. Instead, they passive aggressively stood by and let things play out.

The expense was Heaps' confidence. This is where the coaches failed Heaps. This initial mismanagement of Heaps led straight into the downslide of his 2011 season.

In the fall of 2010 the coaches needed to step in and either announce this was Jake's team without question or sit Heaps and let him mature as a redshirt. By doing nothing they fostered the division in the team. A division that became evident with the lethargic start to this season. The coaches should have known that given a choice, charisma and maturity were always going to win out.

Nelson's pizazz owned this team. Greg Wrubell, the voice of the Cougars, told an amazing story of how the team loves Riley in our podcast this week.

This is the essence of the Heaps stagnation at BYU. As an 18-year-old kid he ran into a 23-year-old man; a mature return missionary with a gift of leadership and a vastly improved skill set.

Today the former prized recruit is lost. The praise sounds good. BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall referred to Heaps as a "potential NFL player." Brandon Doman says his "heart and soul are connected to Jake Heaps."

However, all the words in the world don't matter anymore for Heaps. It is Riley's team. Heaps has been tarnished. Not challenging the interception return has become his legacy. He knows he doesn't command the team. He failed on his own, but his failure was enabled by the coaches who should have protected an asset this valuable.

Instead, the next in the line of great quarterbacks will likely take his next snap elsewhere. The dark horse in his original recruitment was the Cal Bears. His next snap in Utah may be at Rice-Eccles as an opponent.

Maybe then and only then under the tutelage of NFL quarterback-maker Jeff Tedford will we find out what Heaps can achieve. It is hard to write a new script where he wipes off the taint and succeeds at BYU.

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