When 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer left Provo after being picked by the Green Bay Packers in the 1992 draft, he left behind some impressive stats.  He completed 958 passes out of 1,530 attempts, for 15,031 yards and 121 touchdowns.  He had 14,665 yards of total offense and was responsible for a total of 135 touchdowns.  He had a then-unthinkable passer rating of 162.7.  All of those were NCAA records at the time.  And they didn’t even count his bowl game stats, which would have added 1,175 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Detmer never really got much action in the NFL.  In Green Bay, he was the backup QB to Brett Favre, which was a lot like being Lou Gehrig’s backup or Cal Ripkin’s backup in baseball.  He was traded after four years, and bounced around for ten more.  He would eventually play for a total of six teams in 14 years, getting 25 starts.

He would go on to become a VP in the Athlete Services Division of Triton Financial Corporation from 2007-2009.  When it was discovered that the firm was a pyramid scheme, Detmer quit.  He cooperated with a subsequent SEC investigation, and was cleared of any wrongdoing.  Despite the fact that Detmer was a victim himself and lost more money than a lot of investors, he was sued in civil court by investors trying to recover their money.

The owner and CEO, Kurt Barton, has been indicted on 33 counts including securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, and has been accused of using athletes such as Detmer and Chris Weinke to get victims to trust him.  Detmer, though, has never been indicted except in the eyes of misguided Utes fans on various forums and in various comment fields of newspaper articles and blog posts.

Detmer, luckily, didn’t lose all of his money, and lives with his wife and four children on a ranch outside of Austin, Texas, near where he grew up.  He has a part-time business in which he allows hunters to hunt on his land.  But last year, he found a new venue for an old calling.  He is now the head football coach at St Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin.

You may remember that Detmer became an LDS member in his junior year at BYU.  While it may seem far-fetched that he is coaching at an Episcopalian school, the demands are the same.  It is his job to use football to develop young men, and not vice-versa as it is in so many other schools.

If Detmer’s support of the Brandon Davies suspension is any indication, we can all rest assured that Detmer will be teaching these boys about things like honor and citizenship in addition to football.  One of the things that attracted Detmer to BYU before he was a member was the fact that they don’t allow alcohol on the campus.  Detmer adhered to the honor code at BYU and it is a pretty safe bet that he expects his players to conduct themselves as young men.

The school he took over has not had much athletic success, and failed to win a game last year.  For Detmer, it was like being a freshman all over again.  He had to come in, set new precedents, and teach a new system.  He had to get to know the players, and they had to get to know him.

Now, he is in his second year, and it is like being a sophomore again.  He doesn’t know if it will reflect in the record, because he is at a small school, but he and the players know each other a lot better now, and they are more used to his system.  It takes a lot of time to start a tradition anywhere, though.  St Andrew’s is no exception.

If he needs encouragement, his dad Sonny coaches about an hour away in San Antonio, and brother Koy is an assistant for his father.  They are in a lot bigger division than Ty’s team, and don’t ever have to play each other, so they are free to root for each other and help each other with no mixed emotions.

Detmer is happy at his present job, but it looked like he might get an offer when Bronco Mendenhall reorganized his staff after last year.  Detmer says he never got an offer to be on the staff, but that he was consulted for his opinion on various subjects, including a little bit of “bird-dog” assistance in Texas recruiting.

As you may remember, the Cougars are scheduled to play in Austin on September 10 of this year.  Detmer’s St Andrew’s Episcopal team will be playing in Austin the Friday night before the game.  Detmer has let it be known that he hopes some of the fans coming into Austin for the game show up to support his new team.

It sounds like it would be a great road trip.  You could get into town on Thursday night, and go to the high school game on Friday night before catching the BYU/Texas game on Saturday.  Austin is a place where there is superb Barbeque and authentic Mexican food.  A couple of tasty meals, a Ty Detmer/BYU fans reunion, and the BYU/Texas game would be a weekend to remember.

For those hoping for a Ty Detmer return to BYU, the only thing to say is “never say never.”  Detmer is already a head coach at the high school level, and ex-quarterback Brandon Doman is now ahead of him on the Cougars’ coaching food chain.  I doubt that Detmer wants to go the assistant route now, unless there is something like “head coach in waiting” attached to his name.

He has gone on record as saying that it would have to be the “right situation” if he were to return to Provo.  I am guessing the “right situation” is to come back as head coach someday.

Never say never.

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Ty Detmer’s Triumphant Return? Never say Never…

He spent 2009 on the bench in Baltimore, and 2010 on the bench in Washington.  He has played under three coaches with three different systems in three years.  This year, though, if there is an NFL season, Beck might finally get the opportunity to be a starting quarterback while actually having two years in the system.

Donovan McNabb has a bonus of $10 million waiting for him if he survives the day after the first game of the 2011 season.  Since coach Mike Shanahan isn’t particularly enamored withMcNabb or his performance last season, most observers think McNabb is toast.  That leaves John Beck and maybe Rex Grossman, but Grossman doesn’t have a contract yet.

Quarterback is one of the toughest positions to learn quickly.  If you are a receiver, lineman, or running back, all you have to remember is where to line up and what your assignment is for any play.  The quarterback has to remember the entire play.  He has to know everyone’s assignments.  This is why a lot of talented quarterbacks don’t make it on the next level, whether it is going from high school to college or college to the NFL.  There is just too much to learn.

Beck is now in a position where he has had a year and an offseason to learn the offense and its terminology.  At 29, he is at an age where a lot of quarterbacks are in their prime.  This year is probably a make or break year for Beck.  If he is going to be a starting NFL quarterback, this is probably his best opportunity to become one.

The best-case scenario for Beck is for Grossman to sign elsewhere and McNabb to stay in coach Mike Shanahan’s doghouse.  McNabb is a fine quarterback, but is nearing the end of a long and productive career.  He is probably a better mentor than quarterback now.  I can’t see the Redskins paying a $10 million bonus to him, though.  Also, it’s tough to be a mentor when you are in the coach’s  doghouse.

So, it looks like Beck has a great chance to start this year.  It seemed like it would always be that way after he got four starts as a rookie in 2007.  He didn’t win any, but it’s not like the Dolphins were doing much, either.  It looked like Beck would have a legitimate chance at being the starting QB for the Dolphins in 2008.

But one addition can change everything, especially if that addition’s name is Bill Parcells.  Parcells apparently decided that Beck was not his guy.  Before long, Parcells had drafted Chad Henne out of Michigan in 2008 and picked up much-traveled veteran QB Josh McCown.  Then, on August 8, after Chad Pennington had been cut by the New York Jets, Parcells signed Pennington to a 2-year, $11.5 million contract.

In an ideal world, one would say that John Beck just lost to better competition.  In the real world, though, the new boss always wants to put in “his guys.”  Bill Parcells, even as a GM, embodies that concept, especially when one of “his guys” is making $5.5 million a year.

Beck stayed on the roster that year, and then Parcells drafted QB Pat White out of West Virginia to run some “wildcat” plays.  The writing was on the wall, and Beck was finally granted a release on April 27, 2009, after Parcells realized he had devalued Beck so badly that he wasn’t going to get anything for him in trade.

Beck then went to the Baltimore Ravens, whose Offensive Coordinator was Cam Cameron, who was the head coach who had drafted Beck in the first place.  Beck didn’t see any action, though.  In August of 2010. Beck was traded to the Redskins and promptly sat behind McNabb while learning the offense.

In Washington, coach Mike Shanahan runs a run-heavy version of the West Coast Offense, which is probably the best possible NFL situation for Beck.  In Shanahan’s version of the West Coast Offense, the QB isn’t expected to win games as much as he is expected not to lose any.  Though Shanahan’s best years were with Hall-of-Fame QB John Elway in Denver, Shanahan’s version is still the most QB-friendly of any West Coast permutation.

Beck has had a year to learn this offense behind Donovan McNabb.  And while he obviously doesn’t have McNabb’s running ability, he is still the person who was largely responsible for BYU beating Oregon 38-8 in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2006. Make no mistake about it: John Beck can still throw the football and he can run the West Coast Offense.  Beck can be a caretaker until he gets more experience, and then he could start winning a game or two with his arm.  
Really, though, the time is now for John Beck.  He is going to be thirty years old before the season starts, assuming there is a season.  He is going to have to take advantage of the opportunity he has this year to become an “overnight success” that was five years in the making.

Because he served on a mission, Beck, like many BYU grads, was a few years older than the usual rookie when he got to the NFL.  The fact that he has lasted even five years is a compliment to his ability.  Most journeyman QB’s his age are tossed to the scrap heap by now, but Beck is showing something that makes coaches want to keep him.

Hopefully, John Beck gets a chance to show exactly what he can do this year.

Post from: BYU Sports Guy

John Beck: Is His Time Now?

According to the neurosurgeon who routinely works Colts’ games, Collie was out for 34-40 seconds.  The doctor commented that he had never seen a player out for that long.  After telling the staff that he couldn’t get up or he would vomit, Collie was carried off on a stretcher.  Despite the penalty that was called on the play, Coleman was able to convince the league that the helmet to helmet hit was purely accidental.

You can be the judge by watching this video:

At any rate, Collie sustained a concussion on the play.  He was cleared less than two weeks later to play again and left after 11 snaps and a dizzy spell.

On December 19, he once again left a game with a concussion, this time after a clean hit.

Before both of the games Collie played after the initial concussion, he passed what is called an ImPACT test.  It stands for Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing.  It is done with the aid of a computer and is accepted as the most comprehensive and accurate test for evaluating concussions.  Even though he passed the test, though, he developed post-concussion symptoms on normal hits in both of the games he played.

Two weeks after the Colts lost in the playoffs to the Jets, Collie took the test yet again and was given a clean bill of health.  He is now working out in California, getting ready for what he hopes will be an NFL season later this year.  He could find himself squarely in the middle of a debate.

The NFL, along with other sports, is a lot more careful about concussions than they used to be.  The deaths of NFL alumni Dave Duerson at 50 and Andre Waters at 44, both by suicide, and the revelation Mike Webster, who died at 50, already had dementia and depression for years before his death, has a lot of people worried.

Even worse, they played just before the era when advances in conditioning exploded.  In this era, players almost look like mutants, and the collisions are much harder than they were in the era before science really took hold in the weight room.

It is now known that if you get too many concussions, you will probably become depressed and suffer from dementia far earlier in life than most people, and that your life span will probably be considerably shortened.  The question for Austin Collie is whether it is worth the risk to play football anymore.

The ImPACT test is great at measuring whether your concussion is affecting your reflexes, coordination, concentration, and short-term memory now, but it isn’t great at telling you whether you are susceptible to another concussion from minimal impact.  In fact, nobody can really predict what is going to happen.  Many athletes get one or two concussions and never suffer another one.  Many suffer concussions in double digits before retiring from sports.

Christopher Nowinski, Harvard grad and ex-WWE wrestler, suffered from post-concussion symptoms for a year after a concussion forced him to quit professional wrestling.  He subsequently founded the Sports Legacy Institute, and is now acknowledged as “the” expert in sports-related concussions.

He has been instrumental in getting the medical community to fully investigate the aforementioned deaths.  In the case of Waters, it was found that his brain tissue was more like that of a 85 year-old man than a man of 44.  The gist of his research is that it there is an alarming connection between multiple concussions and a brain condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.

CTE involves premature degeneration of brain tissue, and can be so extensive that it is misdiagnosed as ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Symptoms are memory loss, confusion, aggression, depression, or dementia, and can show up years after the injury.

So, what does this all mean to Austin Collie?  It means that he could be fine, or he could be a walking time bomb.  It has to be a tough position.  As a rookie, Collie led all NFL rookie receivers with 7 touchdowns and 60 receptions.  Even though he only played in 9 games in 2010 due to injury, he still had 58 receptions for 649 yards and 8 touchdowns.

He is in what should be considered the prime of his career by NFL standards, and has been given a “clean bill of health” by a battery of doctors.  If it was even ten years ago, nobody would think twice about Collie taking the field.  But it is a different era and there is more information available about the effects of multiple concussions.

He could have a long career with no ill effects, but he could also sustain more and more “sub-concussions” with every hit he takes due to a compromised condition.  Worse yet, the next big hit could cause an injury with life-altering consequences.

It might be better for Collie if there was no NFL season this year, and he had to take an entire year off.  If he went a full year with no impact, it may give him more time to heal fully, and might take the field next year with no lingering effects or risks from his previous concussions.

It’s obvious that he will play, though, either way.  I just hope he’s making the right decision.  Collie has a warrior’s mentality on the field and won’t quit until he has nothing left to give.  Ultimately, though he should ask himself this question: if the player in question was your son, would you tell him to play or retire?

We have opened up comments for this post, let us know what you would do by commenting!

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Austin Collie Feels “Phenomenal”

The NCAA Tournament didn’t end well, but it really only does for one team in the entire country.  While Jimmer and his Cougars lost in the Sweet Sixteen, a picture of a bruised, bandaged, and fatigued, but unbowed Fredette walking off the court may be the most iconic image of the tourmanent.

The big question is, where does Jimmer Fredette go from here?  Will he be a boom or a bust in the NBA?  How will his talent translate to the next level?  Will the Jazz draft him?  If not, where will he go?  Let’s take a look at these questions.

Will Jimmer Fredette be a boom or a bust in the NBA?

Some “experts” don’t think he has much of a chance in the NBA.  Here’s what those “experts” think:

Strengths:

Jimmer Fredette is a great shooter.  His range is more than sufficient for the NBA 3-point line, but he can also hit midrange jumpers and can penetrate the lane.  He can not only spot up and shoot off the dribble, but he can also hit shots that most players are told not to take.

Also, he is a natural leader.  He is a player who is equally adept at putting the entire game on his shoulders or involving his teammates, depending on what is working and what is needed.

In addition, Fredette is a very good passer.  He can pass well enough to be a point guard in the NBA, and can use the threat of his shot to open up other players for shots.

Weaknesses:

The main concern at the next level is Jimmer’s defense.  If he stayed and watched Butler beat Florida in the Elite Eight game, he would have noticed how everyone on Butler moved their feet on defense.  This is something that Jimmer needs to do more.  He is seen as having slow feet, and as a potential liability on defense.  He will have to improve in this department if he wants to start in the NBA.

His turnover rate is too high.  His adjusted turnover rate was 23rd highest in the NCAA, and his assist to turnover ratio was only 1.22.  These will need to improve, too.

Overall prospects:

According to the gurus, Jimmer Fredette is a mid to late-first rounder who will have to land on the right team.  He can be a solid player, but won’t dominate as he did in college.  In other words, they see him as a possible bust with an upside of being a solid player but not a star.

How will Jimmer’s talent translate to the next level?

To fully answer this question, we must first address the “elephant in the room.”  What is the elephant in the room?  Jimmer Fredette has different ethnicity than the stereotypical basketball player.  It’s unsettling that stereotypes still exist today, but the bottom line here is that even scouts who do this for a living fall prey to the “black men are natural athletes, white men can’t jump” mentality.

There’s really no way to sugarcoat this: recruiting gurus, who should know better, are using the “slow, white guy” stereotype in their assessment of Jimmer Fredette.  It’s subtle, and I’m not saying by any stretch of the imagination that it is intentional, but it is still there.  People in Utah are used to this because they saw John Stockton play possibly the best basketball in the country night after night, but never get full credit for just how good he was.

So, let’s pretend for a moment that everybody on the court is gray.  They are all generic players, with no cultural or racial differences: they are just players.  I don’t need to do this exercise myself, because I see all players as “cut from the same cloth,” but I will pretend.

When I see them as all gray, and I look at Fredette, I see a player who has the tools to make it at the next level.  I see a player who can shoot, pass, and drive.  I see a player who has the mental toughness to succeed at any level.  Do I see a player who isn’t a finished product yet?  Of course.  I see him as a player who needs to learn to move his feet on defense.  But do I see him as unable to learn to move his feet better?  No.

Will the Jazz draft Jimmer Fredette?

I think the Jazz will take Fredette if they get the chance to.  But there is a problem with that.  Every year we see a high-scoring player raked over the coals by scouting services, only to get taken as a high pick.  The Cavs have two lottery as do the Jazz.  Assuming that neither the Cavs’  nor the Jazz’ wins one of the top three slots,  the Cavs’ second pick will be before the Jazz second pick.  Will the Jazz use their top pick for Jimmer?

The Cavs are looking for star power.  They desperately need a “feel-good” pick to replace Lebron James.  Looking at the board for this year, there really isn’t anyone who is a guaranteed game-changer, even at #1.  Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert is establishing a reputation as a very rich and very loose cannon who isn’t afraid to take a chance.

What does this mean?  I think the Jazz would take Jimmer Fredette in a heartbeat.  They know that Jimmer can play, and they know it would be great for the franchise to take a star who happened to play at BYU.

Goodbye or Hello?

“With the eighth selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers take Jimmer Fredette.”

Post from: BYU Sports Guy

Goodbye, Jimmer. Hello, Jimmer?

Every year, about this time, grown men spend long hours in Internet chat rooms, hoping, predicting, praying, and cursing because of one thing, recruiting stars.

Recruiting sites such as Scout.com and Rivals.com, rate high school recruits by using a system of stars. Five stars is the highest ranking and, of course, one star is the lowest. But what do these stupid little pointy things really mean?

How Stars are Awarded

So what kind of things are recruiting services looking at when rewarding recruits with the cinco digit delights?

One of the first things that recruiters look at is current talent level. These are the kids that are the stars of the High School Football scene. They make the plays, and seem to have “it”. They are performing well at their current level. But not all high school stars have what they need for the next level.

They also look at how they think this kid will transfer to the next level. Is he fast enough? Is he too short? Does he have the body type and mentality for College football?

Third, they look at NFL potential.  Does the kid look to have the raw materials to develop into a contributor in Professional football?

So this produces a variety of kids who have stars for a variety of reasons.  Some may be playing at a high level, but tapped out their potential.  Others have tons of potential, but it is still raw and undeveloped.

What the Stars Don’t Measure

Work Ethic:  This is probably the single biggest reason that many a 2-star athlete has put in a 4-star career, and vice versa.  A kid may have a ton of potential, but if he is lazy and unwilling to develop that potential, it remains just unrealized potential.

Character and Attitude: Is the kid a primadonna or a team player.  Does he bring synergy to field, or discord.  Are his actions on and off the field an example or a distraction.  Character is huge, especially at a school like BYU.  If the kid can’t keep the honor code and stay in school, it doesn’t matter how much talent he has, we won’t get to see it.

Academics:  Many a talented athlete have had their careers derailed, or side tracked because they couldn’t either qualify for school, or remain qualified once they got into school.  Again, it seems that almost every year, there is a kid who committed in February, but couldn’t qualify in September.  Some are able to go the JC route, get a little maturity and help, and come back to contribute for 2 years at Division 1. There are also many who disappear, never to be heard from again.

So What Does it all Mean?

Ultimately, no matter how excited we get on Letter-of-Intent Day, the value of any recruiting class may not totally be known for a few years.  At BYU, this is delayed even longer by missionary service.  So we can debate and claim to have a better class than the rest of the MWC put together, but we won’t know if that is true till we match up at some future date.

Post from: BYU Sports Guy

The Stars Have It

Last week, after a poor showing in the Utah game, many Cougar Fans had less than kind things to say about Max Hall.  Though, no one would represent this showing as a good thing, I thought that an examination of Hall’s performance overall, and comparisons to great Cougar Quarterbacks, might bring a little perspective to the last week.

Hall’s 6 Interceptions:

Multiple Interceptions is not a stat any quarterback strives for, but many have suffered.  One of Steve youngs first games included 5 picks to Georgia, and Ty Detmer had two awful showings at Hawaii, including 4 interceptions in the 1990 game that occurred on the same day he won the Heismann trophy.  Most professional quarterbacks have had an occasional really poor outing, so it would seem unfair to judge him on the basis of one game.

Junior Year Stats

I thought it might be nice, for comparison sake, to compare his junior year statistics with those of a couple of other great BYU QB’s.

Statistically, Hall’s Performance can rank with some of the best BYU QB’s.  Add to that, the fact that Max has helped produce back to back 10-2 regular seasons, Cougar faithfull should be grateful to have him at the helm. With Hall, Pitta , Collie, and Unga returning next year, and the addition of Jacobsen, and hopeful return of Manase Tonga, the Cougar Offense could be as solid as ever, at least at the skill positions.  Also, given the fact that most of our tough games (at least in conference) are at home next year, BYU is poised to make another run at the goals of an undefeated season, and possible BCS bowl birth.

So Where Does He Fit?

Though, no one is ready to crown Max as the greatest BYU QB ever, He has shown that he has an above average ability to lead them to victories.  He still has one more season to raise his game, and take his place among the Cougar Quarterbacking Elite.

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Max Hall’s Place in Cougar History

Warning: The music is “Cotton-Eyed Joe”…if that isn’t in your ability to stomach, turn the sound down…

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For Those Fearing Utah This Year

Quest for Perfection

At the beginning of the season, I had several discussions with friends who thought the cougars could run the table, but that they probably wouldn’t. Most of them, feared either Washington at Home (bolstered by PAC-10 officiating) or UCLA as the teams that posed the biggest challenge. Now that those hurdles are overcome, I have to ask, do they have a good shot at going undefeated?

Eight Games to Go

With eight games left in the season, what are their chances? Let’s take a look:

USU

If they don’t win this one in similar fashion to the last two, they may not deserve BCS

New Mexico

New Mexico has typically had a solid defense, and a steady offense. The Loss of Poterie may not help them much, but may not hurt them as much as expected. (They seemed to be just as effective after he went down as they had been.) However, I doubt they can keep pace with our offense this year and we are playing them in LES. Expect something like 35-14

TCU

TCU looks to pose a threat to the cougars undefeated season. We will know more after this week, after they play OU. TCU has a great defense and a solid running game. Their passing game is a bit suspect though. The game is in Texas, though they don’t seem to have the same home field advantage that the cougars possess and TCU has not looked good on Thursday nights. I look for them to challenge, but expect a cougar victory. 35-24

CSU & SDSU

I don’t look for either to pose much of a threat. (see USU)

Air Force

The Air Force wishbone is always tough, and has big play capabilities. However, BYU has as strong of a track record against the Falcons as anyone. The game is in Colorado, but their passing game is also not there yet, so unless they find that between now and then, they can’t stop the cougs.

42-24

Utah

This may be the Cougar’s toughest match of the year. I would love to see an undefeated Utah versus an undefeated BYU, with national focus on the game, BCS bowl bid in the balance, and then have the cougars drop the hammer on them. Again, solid running game, but Johnson has not been great under pressure. Running QB’s have been a weakness of the cougar Defense, (see Jake Locker) and the game is in RES. If Utah happens to drop a game or two along the way (which they have been prone to do) then it is their chance to be a spoiler. However, against Air Force, Utah looked very beatable. I predict a victory for the Y in a close one, say 35-28

The Crystal Ball

I know my crystal ball may be fogged, or broken altogether. But from where I sit, I predict a 12-0 season and a BCS bowl bid.

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Can the Cougars Run the Table?

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1980 Miracle Holiday Bowl Highlights

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You’ll Always Find The Right Man On His Knees