BYU's Doman, Heaps: Intertwined stories end miles apart

PROVO -- For almost three years, Brandon Doman literally stood idle along the sidelines as his college football career withered away.

Doman enrolled at Brigham Young with high expectations, much like every scholarship quarterback with the desire to become the latest name to join the assembly line of All- Americans. More than a decade separates Doman and Jake Heaps, but their stories intertwine.

Unlike Heaps, the former Salt Lake City Skyline High star stuck it out. Instead of continuing to compete, Heaps announced Monday that he will transfer from BYU effective next week.

Over the next several weeks, and probably even beyond, the Heaps situation will be dissected and hashed over repeatedly. Rather than focus on the Armed Forces Bowl, which has become meaningless in the greater scope of things, the talk will be all about who's to blame for Heaps leaving.

Three weeks ago, in an interview after practice, Doman knew this day could come. Whatever went through Heaps' mind, Doman was there, circa 2000.

"You have one of two choices to make," said Doman, in his first season as BYU's offensive coordinator. "I teeter tottered on these choices for a long time - hang in there and fight and stand tall, face the adversity because, you know what, you want or quit."

In essence, Heaps quit. Extremely talented, Heaps will find another school where he quite possibly could fulfill his potential. But, in Doman's words, he didn't "hang in there and fight and stand tall." When the three-time high school state champion - his team in Washington went 40-2 during his three years - faced adversity for the first time, he walked away.

Bronco Mendenhall openly discussed the possibility of using a redshirt season, but it was all talk. Heaps never was going to redshirt at BYU, recognizing the irony that NCAA rules will force him to sit out next season. There also was no way he would sit behind Riley Nelson for another season and then be content to regain the job for only his senior season.

Heaps, along with his parents, has always seen himself in the mold of Andrew Luck or Matt Barkley, two stars worthy to each leave college early and become first-round draft picks in the NFL. The thought of playing behind Nelson, who openly admits to having no NFL future, couldn't be more unappetizing.

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Heaps' departure sets social media on fire

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.

Many of his teammates knew was a goner. A relative of a player confirmed as much three weeks ago.

It's too bad the lure of a fresh start can't be denied. Heaps could have shown more to future employers by staying true to his commitment.

But patience is wasted on the mature. Remember, many in the assembly line - Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco - had to wait their turns.

And it's not like any of the coaches were rooting for Heaps to fail. Doman scoffed at the notion that he's had a falling out with Heaps.

"The reality is I love the kid," Doman said last month. "I've invested my life and soul into this kid. I want him to succeed. It would be a darned shame if Jake ever chose to leave this school because I think he has a bright future and a great opportunity. Whether it's now or he whether he redshirts or whatever, we've got a couple, two three years with him that will be a lot of fun if we'll just hang in there for a just a minute and let this thing pan itself out."

As it usually is in the workforce, the boss is right.

Heaps could have learned much from Doman, who started only after injuries to two other lesser quarterbacks left the coaches no choice. Over the last two games of his junior year and the following season, Doman went 14-2 and wound up getting drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.

And it almost never happened.

Few could have criticized Doman for bolting. For more than half his college career, he never got above third string, barely getting a serious look in practice. As the quarterbacks higher on the depth chart floundered, Doman would have been right to assume the coaches had a vendetta against him.

"I certainly considered transferring as a player," Doman said. "Once I realized that I didn't want to transfer and I certainly was going to keep fighting, it gave me a lot of momentum moving into the battle after that, and I was prepared for my opportunity."

Doman had the right to complain. Heaps has no such claim.

Even though he had done nothing to deserve it (high school credentials don't count), Heaps got at least half the repetitions in practice from the first day he arrived in Provo. Because the coaches didn't fully believe in Nelson, the freshman got immediate playing time.

In a sense of irony, Nelson didn't play this season until Doman had no choice but to change quarterbacks after Heaps floundered well into the third quarter of the fifth game. The job has rightly belonged to Nelson as soon as he led the Cougars to a last-second thriller over Utah State, which was BYU's best win of the regular season.

Nelson clearly deserves to remain the incumbent going into next season. The situation must be a crushing blow to Heaps, who left high school as the No. 1 quarterback recruit with a clear path to the NFL.

Instead of wondering if he would leave college after three record-breaking seasons, Heaps is now left to ponder another program.

In the current situation, he's better off seeking a fresh start. Unfortunately, outrageous expectations at BYU have smothered him.

"He was so heavily recruited coming in," Doman said. "The expectations were so high that it put him on a pedestal real quick, even in our locker room. He was too young to be on that big of a pedestal and it was too hard to manage."

Patrick Kinahan, a veteran sports writer, is currently a sports radio co-host on 1320 KFAN.

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