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PROVO — Their desires granted, Kalaini Sitake and Ty Detmer now have to negotiate the potential sticky situation of handling two experienced quarterbacks on the same roster.
From the time Sitake was named the new BYU head football coach and Detmer took over as offensive coordinator, both of them immediately wanted Taysom Hill to return for another season. The oft-injured senior, whose latest foot injury may keep him out until August, made it official with an announcement on Tuesday.
So now what?
Both coaches, each of whom will go into next season as rookies at the college level in his respective position, will have to decide between a three-year starter in Hill — who has stayed healthy only one season — and Tanner Mangum, last year's freshman sensation. Commence the second guessing.
"I've always said two's better than one," Detmer said. "Whoever's in the game we expect for them to play at a high level and to be able to compete and to play the game. I know both guys can do that. They've proven it. For me, it's great to be able to have those two guys with experience."
But only one quarterback at a time, please. Any form of a platoon, as many horror stories have shown, usually ends in disaster at the game's most important position.
And forget about changing positions. Hill believes he has NFL talent at quarterback.
"He's not coming back to BYU to play running back," said former BYU linebacker David Nixon, who is Hill's brother in law.
Surely, there can only be one way to approach this. From this day forward, both quarterbacks start at the same point, with neither deserving any advantage based on performance. While not being ignorant to prior seasons, the past should mean nothing to Sitake and Detmer.
Spring football practice, which begins in two weeks, and training camp in August are the proving grounds for all the quarterbacks. It's got to be a head-to-head competition, winner take all.
In the cold business of college athletics, particularly in this case, forget any thought of loyalty. No player is owed anything.
"Nobody's been promised anything," Detmer said. Sitake "has said we'll play the best 11 and we'll go from there. They'll all get their reps and get some time, and the best guy will play."
Hill has been a model soldier in the BYU army, representing all the good in the institution and its values. Already having earned a degree, he chose to stay instead of taking advantage of the NCAA rule that would have allowed him to transfer and be immediately eligible for next season for the several programs that were interested in him.
Mangum is right there with his fellow Idahoan, a faithful defender of all things BYU. And all of it goes out the window when they hit the practice field.
Unfortunately for Hill, health is always the overlying issue. The dynamic athlete, perhaps the best in BYU history, has played only one injury-free season during his four college years. Expecting anything less one last time might be unrealistic.
"Even Taysom said it himself, he's not sure how the foot is going to react from day to day," Detmer said. "By August, hopefully it's 100 percent and there's no residual effects. We'll take it a little bit at a time here."
For Mangum, nothing changes. As a 23-year-old sophomore (his birthday is in September), he's also got NFL aspirations and can't waste a season as a backup.
At times last season, after taking over for Hill in the first game, Mangum was brilliant, especially considering he returned from a church mission with only three months to prepare. Mangum's got to go into this season with a starter's mindset with no intent of taking one step back, even if he's happy for a friend.
"Tanner has a great attitude," Detmer said. "He's excited as anybody that Taysom made that decision. He's a team player."
