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PROVO — If you think Baylor Romney's relationship with BYU's top returning wide receiver in a loaded position group will have any bearing in deciding the Cougars' starting quarterback in 2021, think again.
That relationship didn't even get Romney best man honors in his little brothers' wedding this summer — though the final result of that "competition" may be debatable.
"He likes to think he was. I didn't have a best man," wide receiver Gunner Romney joked. "But if he wants to claim he was, I'll let him have it."
The younger Romney isn't even gunning for big brother to win the starting quarterback job, either. It's not awkward at all being one of the most productive returning receivers in a wide receiver room that is absolutely loaded while coaches determine who among quarterbacks Baylor Romney, Jaren Hall and freshman Jacob Conover will start in the Sept. 4 season opener against Arizona in Las Vegas.
After all, Gunner Romney played with Conover at Chandler High in Arizona, as well. While off the field, the brothers have a unique and special bond — one that helped bring Baylor to BYU after initially signing with Nevada prior to serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Carlsbad, California — the same could be said of almost any quarterback on the roster.
"Obviously, that's my brother and I love him off the field," Gunner Romney said. "But on the field, I have to be selfish. It's the best quarterback that wins the position. If that is him, that's great. If it's not, I'm comfortable with the other two as well."
So Baylor Romney will have to rely on himself to win the starting job. And based on Monday's practice, the second of the Cougars' opening week of camp where media was invited to watch the final half hour, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound gunslinger who grew up in the Mormon Colonies in Mexico has made quite the impression.
Romney sprayed several impressive passes to Hobbs Nyberg and running back Mason Fakahua, and even hit wide receiver Terence Fall with a touchdown on a day when fellow sophomore Hall ended the session with an interception to D'Angelo Mandell.
Hall had the better of the three potential starters on Thursday, so the competition appears to legitimately be back-and-forth.
"It's competitive. Those guys want it; I want it," said Baylor Romney, adding that he's been told the same thing as the media regarding a potential timetable for naming a starter. "We'll see how it turns out in the next couple of weeks."
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick will be the one tasked with making the final decision for his starting quarterback, one he's repeatedly said he hopes to have made after a couple of weeks of fall camp, with at least seven to 10 days left for the starter to prepare for the Wildcats.
Whether or not Roderick publicly acknowledges the starter may be another quest. But he'll at least make the decision known in the locker room and with the same coaching staff that will give him opinions on the QB derby.
That includes head coach Kalani Sitake, who put one thing above all else as a premium in the competition.
"Win. Score points, and win," Sitake said. "That's what it is; I don't know if we need to break it down, other than we're going to have the best leader out there to score as many points as we can, and that's going to be the bottom line."
In that regard, Baylor Romney may lead the quarterback room in leaps. Though still a sophomore by eligibility standards, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound signal-caller has been with the program since 2018, played in 11 games, and completed 65% of his passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions.
He was also Zach Wilson's primary backup during the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season, though part of that was due to Hall's struggles the previous year with head injuries and a hip injury that flared up in the offseason.
That also means there's a lot of game tape on Baylor Romney, which is good for BYU's coaches — and also opposing coaches, as they try to scout the Cougars, including Week 1 opponent Arizona.
Plenty of people know what they are getting in Baylor Romney.
"I feel like I play a very poised game of football," he said. "My mindset as quarterback is to distribute the ball to playmakers and let them be the ones that make plays on time."
His knowledge of the offense will likely help, too. Roderick is in his first season replacing newly hired Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes in the OC role, but the former Utah offensive coordinator was previously Grimes' passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. And though some new wrinkles and additions are common every year, much of the bulk of the offense remains the same.
"This offense has been around since I got here my freshman year," Baylor Romney said. "It's evolved over the years; and as we've learned the offense more, there have been more layers and things have gotten more intricate. But it's pretty much the same."
Roderick even called a few games in 2020 due to various "circumstances," wide receiver Neil Pau'u said Monday, which should help each of the returning quarterbacks.
"A-Rod's probably a little more aggressive, and it's good to see," Pau'u added. "I love when the ball's in the air and we get to go make plays."
So, too, does Baylor Romney, the only quarterback of the group to have led BYU to a win over a ranked opponent, that being the 28-25 victory over then-No. 14 Boise State in Provo in 2019 (though Hall did complete one pass against then-No. 24 USC in a 30-27 win in 2019).
The former 3,000-yard passer out of El Paso's Franklin High School is viewed as the BYU quarterback with an unknown ceiling but the highest floor. It may not be the same upside as Hall, a three-sport athlete at Maple Mountain who also signed with the BYU baseball team; or Conover, the former four-star recruit who turned down offers from Alabama and Arizona State to commit to the Cougars.
None of the quarterbacks will be hit during training camp, either, which means the best man will truly win out.
That's is just the way Baylor Romney wants it — whether it's his first or second time earning "best man" this year.
"I think I've taken enough hits in my life to know what real football is like," he said. "I think it's good; just keep the players healthy.
"Things have been clicking on offense, especially today and Saturday. As we keep installing our offense, things keep on clicking. There are a lot of people stepping up on both sides."
Correction: In an earlier version of this story misspelled Terence Fall's name as Terrence.
