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PROVO -- BYU's former starting quarterback, Jake Heaps, has decided to part ways with the Cougars. BYU officially announced Monday that Heaps will transfer, though he hasn't chosen his new location.
The possibility of Heaps' transfer has been at the back of the minds of Y fans for a while now, and it came crashing to the forefront following Riley Nelson's 300-plus yard performance Saturday versus Hawaii.
It didn't take long for the news of Heaps' departure to take over the web, and just about everyone had something to say about the sophomore quarterback's decision.
#poll
"Jake Heaps. BYU fans never gave him a chance," tweeted letmeseeyothom. "Threw him under bus after two losses."
"Whoever works the hardest and produces the best results will get the job," commented Seth Cox on the ksl.com Facebook page.
Some, like Roger B, blamed the coaches for Heaps underperforming and not meeting expectations.
"Personal opinion: I don't think BYU's inexperienced Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach knew how to coach him," wrote Roger on the ksl.com comment boards. "Heaps needs to find someone who can mentor him and better develop his obvious talent."
But others came to the coaching staff's defense.
"Why am I reading comments stating that Mendenhall and/or Doman should be fired or in any way ashamed of themselves??? Heaps is a tremendous passer and proved to be an excellent player on the practice field. As a coach, Doman and Mendenhall realized that Heaps couldn't lead this young and talented team. It's unfortunate, we ALL wanted Heaps to live up to the hype but if you (honestly) look back through those first few games you will see that Heaps was awful," wrote VAcougarVA on the comment boards. "Hopefully he and his wife will be happy wherever they land and hopefully he can contribute and have success in another environment under another coaching staff."
Many fans support Heaps in his decision to leave and think it's the best thing for BYU and the young quarterback. But many of those people are asking a similar question; why now?
"I think it is a great idea for him. My only issue is his timing. This is poor form to do it now before the bowl game. He should have waited until the season was over in my opinion," BMG wrote on the comment boards. "To quit now sends the message that you do not care about the team. That is not fair to his teammates if he is needed which he may if his QB teammates go down with injuries or illness."
You can look at the situation like @BrandonBerrett on Twitter who thinks the reason Heaps is gone is short and simple, "he can't run, nor take a hit."
Or you can see it as a more complex situation like bunt- the-ripple on the comment boards who wrote, "The answer to this is much harder than it appears in my opinion. How much of BYU's struggle was the fault of the coaching staff, and how much was Heaps? The fact is, Heaps didn't perform - he didn't get it done. Who's fault was it? Not sure."
Either way, the number one recruited high school quarterback out of high school who chose BYU is now choosing to leave. Whether this is a good move for Heaps that hurts BYU or a great move for both camps is yet to be seen, but not being able to see into the future will never stop us from trying.
E-mail: jclyde@ksl.com
