Separation In BYU Football QB Battle: ‘Not Highly Visible Right Now’

PROVO, Utah – The heated BYU football QB battle doesn’t have separation through the first five fall camp practices.

#BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake addressing the media right now over Zoom after the Cougars held their annual Photo Day. 📷#BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ejEDaWm7Ef

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 11, 2021

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake addressed the media on Wednesday over Zoom after the team’s Photo Day at the Indoor Practice Facility. He was asked by the Deseret News on the Zoom call if there was any separation in the highly contested three-person race between Jacob Conover, Jaren Hall, and Baylor Romney.

Kalani Sitake on BYU QB Battle separation

“As far as separation goes, not highly visible right now other than all three are much better than they were in spring. They improve every day,” Sitake said. “So it’s getting a little bit more difficult, but it’s really no fault of theirs. They’re just stepping up and making some big plays, and I anticipate some separation soon.”

The first five practices in Camp Kalani were all scripted. BYU Offensive Coordinator Aaron Roderick and his staff had the first five practices scripted dated back to early June.

🗣️ @kalanifsitake discussing the separation in #BYU's QB battle.

➡️: https://t.co/zMZvb48hld#BYUFootball #CampKalani #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/gwLUWPe124

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 11, 2021

BYU’s three-person QB race will start seeing simulated game situations, such as 11-on-11 work, to create the separation needed to decide who starts against Arizona on September 4 ultimately.

“That’s the goal is to get them used to situational football, and that’s not something that you script,” Sitake said in response to a question from KSL Sports. “It’s also good to work on our communication from the play-caller, A-Rod, all the way to the signalers, and the guys that lineup. So now we’re trying to get in the flow of a game, who can lead the team down the field, and score points. So that’s going to be the key in the next little bit.”

How the BYU QBs have looked in camp

During the media observation portion of camp on day one last Thursday, Jaren Hall showed off his arm talent during 11-on-11 work, completing a 45-yard touchdown pass to Neil Pau’u. He connected with Hinckley Ropati deep down the field on a well-thrown ball that Ropati caught, but he stepped slightly out of bounds near the sideline.

Baylor Romney, who has poise and has won ball games as a starter, also showed well on day one and during 7-on-7 work this past Monday.

The star from the 7-on-7 work might have been freshman Jacob Conover who made some of the highlight throws, completing passes to Isaac Rex and Brayden Cosper.

Separation should be coming soon

There’s a case to be made for all three quarterbacks to win the job. Each one wants it. But if they are going to be named the starter by Aaron Roderick, who Kalani Sitake said he would “lean heavily on” in the decision, these upcoming practices will play a big role in deciding who’s first onto the field in Las Vegas.

Sitake added, “The scripts were all situational. Now we’re going to go with the flow and go with the plays, and that’s going to be key for those quarterbacks evolving and progressing to the type of players that we want them to be leading the way against Arizona.”

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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