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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun was the starting quarterback for the Falcons from 1986 to 1988, coached for a couple of years as a graduate assistant, as a recruiting coordinator, JV offensive coordinator and now as head coach.
That means he knows the BYU Cougars and has seen firsthand the quality of BYU quarterbacks. Now he thinks he's found the best of them all in true freshman quarterback Jake Heaps.
"(He's) extraordinarily talented. You look at him, I think he's the most talented quarterback they've had there," said Calhoun, "as a pure NFL, pro-style quarterback, in terms of raw skills and ability at that age.
"And they've had some fair ones there," understated Calhoun, "whether it was (Gifford) Nielson or (Marc) Wilson or (Jim) McMahon or (Steve) Young or (Robbie) Bosco or (Ty) Detmer. He (Heaps) is impressive."
Interestingly, this past weekend, eight All-American quarterbacks got together for the first time for a BYU fundraiser that included the QBs mentioned as well as Virgil Carter and Steve Sarkisian.
So the question remains, is it possible to put this true freshman above all of them?
Without hesitation, Calhoun responded, "Talent? Absolutely. Yes sir, especially at this stage (true freshman) at that age (18), most certainly."
E-mail: dnoriega@ksl.com
