As spring ball winds down, here's where BYU's backup QB derby stands

PROVO — In the final days of BYU spring camp, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick shed some light on one of the biggest questions of the moment before the Cougars release for summer workouts, player-run practices, and the run-up to training camp in August.

No, Jacob Conover didn't formally clinch the runner-up spot on BYU's quarterback depth chart because of his play Monday, which consisted of a couple of slant routes and a handoff to Jackson McChesney during roughly 20 minutes of media viewing in the late afternoon.

But if there's a leader on the back nine just over two days before Thursday's spring finale and alumni game, it's the 6-foot-1, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Chandler, Arizona, over fellow freshman Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters and Boise State transfer Cade Fennegan.

"Jaren's playing really well, and Jacob has separated himself a little bit at No. 2," Roderick said. "But I see Cade and Sol-Jay improving every day, and I'm still giving them reps. That's just where we stand right now."

No official decision has been made, and indeed, Roderick and head coach Kalani Sitake have said all spring that the formal competition will likely head into the training camp in August.

But if the news that Conover was pulling ahead in the race surprises anyone, perhaps it shouldn't.

Conover was the only quarterback not named Jaren Hall to take reps during the media's limited viewing portion of practice Monday, and the freshman was poised and collected as he completed passes to McChesney, tight end Lane Lunt and the rest of the twos, with Hall, Gunner Romney, Puka Nacua and the other starters on the sideline.

The former four-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN, who threw for more than 10,000 yards and 102 touchdowns en route to three consecutive Arizona 6A state titles, has easily the most experience on the quarterback roster, save for Hall.

Conover returned from a two-year church mission in Paraguay just prior to the COVID-impacted 2020 season, and with hardly a moment to think about it, packed his bag and drove to Provo with his father to begin the season on the Cougars' scout team. From there, he enrolled at BYU and essentially grayshirted a semester while working exclusively in practice, with the year not counting against his eligibility thanks to an NCAA rule designed in light of the pandemic.

Of course, there's a long way to go from high school to Division I football. That goes for Conover as much as Fennegan, Maiava-Peters, Nick Billoups or any other signal caller wearing a green non-contact jersey during Monday's blustery practice.

"Everyone who's followed their careers from high school until now, they've all done special things," Hall said. "Jake looked good last year in his opportunities, and he'll continue to get better. That's just a product of A-Rod, who keeps everyone in the mindset of 'next man up.'

"We've seen that the last couple of seasons at BYU. Like any quarterback that comes here, they've got to realize that your time can come with any snap, any game. I'm excited for those guys and their futures."

But Conover also has the most in-game experience at BYU among the group, appearing as the No. 3 quarterback on the roster in 2021. He took snaps in two games for BYU — both wins, at Utah State and over FCS foe Idaho State. And though he only completed five passes for 45 yards — all against the Aggies, when he replaced an injured Baylor Romney at halftime and rode running back Tyler Allgeier to a 34-20 win in Logan.

But even that little bit of experience has given him a slight upper hand to be the signal caller should Hall be forced to miss time in 2022.

"The reps are accumulating now. He's been here long enough now that it's starting to show that he knows what he is doing," Roderick said. "He's had a few more reps than Sol-Jay and Cade have, and that just kind of comes with playing. The game seems to be slowing down a little bit for him, and he's a talented guy."

Under Hall, Conover or any other quarterback in BYU's system, the Cougars' offense has grown exponentially over the past month of a preseason slate. That's to be expected for a group that returns roughly 88% of its production from a year ago, according to ESPN's Bill Connelly — including 80% on offense, anchored by a deep rotation of offensive lineman that includes 10 players with heavy game experience still looking to prove themselves.

It should come as no surprise, then, that BYU has used many of the most recent practice days to add on to its offense, installing new schemes, new packages and additional intel than what it's been before.

It all adds up to being a more versatile offense, perhaps more so than Roderick's previous four years as passing game coordinator and offensive coordinator.

"We can play with so many personnel groups. It's probably the most versatility of personnel I've ever had," he said. "We're doing a lot of things in the spring that are pretty exciting, things that we haven't done before. Last year, we pretty much stuck with the exact same offense we ran the year before.

"This year, the language and everything is the same but we've evolved this spring and have some good things in store."

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