By Todd Bluth
As the BYU football team gears up for next season, a heavy part of the team”s success will rely on the continued effectiveness of their historically pass-oriented offense.
Returning starter John Beck will direct the BYU offense under center next season, an offense ranked number one in passing in the Mountain West Conference last season.
Despite changing faces at other key positions, Beck returns for his senior year as the nation”s fifth-ranked passer. He easily outpaced other MWC quarterbacks last season, throwing for almost 600 more yards than his nearest competitor, Colorado State”s Justin Holland. Beck”s proficiency helped BYU finish the season ranked sixth in the nation in passing offense, with 310 yards per game.
“John is going to be great for us this year,” said second-string quarterback Jason Beck. “He”s developed a lot of maturity and confidence, and he”s become a definite leader since last season ended.”
With such an effective offense, it would appear that no major changes are necessary at the quarterback position, especially with a returning starter. Quarterbacks coach and former BYU quarterback Brandon Doman, however, insists that the team will have to continually progress at the position if it hopes to maintain its effectiveness.
“We had a great passing game last season,” said Doman after last Saturday”s Blue and White Scrimmage. “There were some open shots we missed though, some passes that we didn”t convert, among other things, and we need to keep working on that.”
Behind Beck on the depth chart sit three quarterbacks with a total of one game of experience between them. Senior Jason Beck put up 232 yards on 23-of-46 passing, with three interceptions and no touchdowns, in a 2004 loss to Stanford, and has not seen action since.
The Cougars also brought in three freshmen during the offseason in search of John Beck”s heir apparent. Brock Hansen will join the Cougars for his first season after transferring from Snow Junior College, and Kurt McEuen comes to Provo after earning Region 10 MVP honors at Wasatch High School and being named to the Utah Valley Elite 11. Taylor Barrett has also signed on to play for BYU, but will defer his admission in order to serve a mission in New Jersey.
“I think we”re going to have a great season,” said Jason Beck. “This team is capable of going all the way; we can definitely get to another bowl game next season.”
