BYU Football 2011: 10 Former Stars Who Couldn't Start Today

BYU has a history of turning out great college and even NFL players. Just the list of tight-ends making the grade takes up a page.

And nobody can argue this BYU team isn’t chock full of offensive talent in 2011. From the backfield to QB, down the line, and out to the wideouts, this team has a ton of athleticism. Tight ends are noticeably absent from the list.

But in a program with no shortage of stars over the years, we inevitably begin comparing players of the past to those of the present. And we ask ourselves, could Player A from 1985 have made today’s roster?

Steve Young is a definite yes. But what about other Stars from the past?

So let’s play that game and discuss 10 former BYU stars who might not make the roster if pitted against the talent of the present.

Brandon Doman

Doman is a fun name to start with considering he’s the current offensive coordinator. In fairness to Doman, he only had one full year to take the reins as the leader of QBU, but it was a memorable one as the Cougars ran off 11 straight wins before getting pasted by Hawaii after Luke Staley went down.

But would Doman’s grittiness and great footwork have beaten out Jake Heaps and his rocket arm and stellar accuracy?

Likely not. Heaps hasn’t proven a ton yet after one season, and Doman proved a winner on the field, but if you were comparing just physical skills, Heaps probably gets the nod.  

Kevin Feterik

He passed for 8,000 yards from 1996-1999, but he mixed in 26 picks to go along with it, on teams that never could quite get over the hump.

Would the lefty’s inconsistency earn him a starting job over Heaps? Methinks not.

John Walsh

Like Heaps, Walsh has a dubious loss to Utah State on his resume, although his could be blamed entirely on a defense that gave up over 600 yards in a 58-56 loss.

But Walsh suffered from serious inconsistency and lacked an ability to win big games until the end of his senior season.

Would the big guy have beat out Heaps in a fall camp? Not if they were the same class.

Any “Star” from 2002 – 2005

Also known as “The Fire Gary Crowton Era,” these lean years lacked for real stars. Aside from Reno Mahe, who caught passes from approximately 47 different quarterbacks his senior season, there wasn’t much doing.

Dallas and Lance Reynolds

Dallas Reynolds was 6-5, 310 pounds, while Lance was 6-3, 293.

These guys would make any team in BYU history, but what if they had to compete with little brother Matt for the same position, at the same time?

Matt is 6’6 and goes nearly three-and-a-quarter. And while his big bros were very, very good, he takes the Reynolds genes to another level on the O-line.

Mark Atuaia and Hema Heimuli

These two backs anchored the backfield for some good Cougar teams. At 6-2, 210 Hema Heimuli had good size, but only managed 4.3 yards a carry at BYU. Atuaia was undersized, but ran very hard. He barely eclipsed 4 per carry.

To make the current roster, these guys would have to beat out the speedy JJ Di Luigi who has averaged 5.1 YPC and has shown explosiveness to outrun defenses, and Josh Quezada who averaged nearly the same as just a freshman.

Harvey Unga is BYU’s all-time leading rusher, and Quezada has a chance to run right past him, something Atuaia and Heimuli were far from.

Margin Hooks

Think “Star” is a title not befitting Margin Hooks? Did you know he is currently 4^th all-time at BYU in receiving yards?

Hooks amassed nearly 3,000 yards through the air from 1997-2000 and while he didn’t score a ton of touchdowns like Austin Collie and Eric Drage, he still was impressive.

But at 6’0, 210 pounds, would he have beat out Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman?

Hold that thought and let’s talk about this next guy first…

Eric Drage

Before we get to Drage, consider this. The video above points out the 1993 Holiday Bowl featured Big-10 co-champ Ohio State against WAC co-Champ BYU. My, how things change.

Just behind the aforementioned Collie, Eric Drage averaged a whopping 19 yards per reception (well, almost) from 1990 – 1993.

And he seemed to do it in slow motion. I loved watching Drage play. He ran perfect routes and was an absolute genius in finding his way to open spots in the defense.

But watch the old film, and man, does he seem to be slow.

The question remains, would he and Margin Hooks, both about six-foot-nothing and 180-200 pounds be able to out-shine Cody Hoffman (6’4, 208) and Ross Apo (6’3, 206)?

If what we’re hearing from camp is true, the two current Cougs have all the physical skills Hooks and Drage lacked, but also have the hands and precision route-running the two greats thrived on.

My hope is Apo and Hoffman prove they would have beat these old-time greats for starting spots.Because if they do, BYU will be VERY good for years to come.