Tips for Riley Nelson

Look, I'm not a quarterback and I've never played football - unless you count BYU intramural football. If that counts, the first game I played at quarterback I threw six touchdowns and zero picks. We won. Even without that lengthy resume, I feel qualified to offer some advice to BYU's starting quarterback. I'm going to be as positive as I can, because I genuinely want the best for Riley and the program.

Here goes.

First, be a quarterback first and a running back second. It seems like you always have running the ball in the back of your mind and that leads to a lot of sacks and negative plays. In last week game at Notre Dame, you were sacked three times to end drives. That can't happen.

Second, you are two very talented receivers. Ross Apo is 6'3" 207. Cody Hoffman is 6'4" 215. Why are Apo's only receptions off of wide receiver screens? If you need to, please talk to Brandon Doman about this. BYU will never again have two wide receivers of this caliber at the same time. Throw them the ball. Have you ever played the game 500? Just throw the ball up in the air and I guarantee you they will make some plays.

Lastly, go into coaching. I'm sure many teams could use a motivator like you. It's obvious that Bronco Mendenhall loves you to death, and sadly that is why this program isn't taking it to the next level. Jake Heaps should have been the starter all last year and he should still be here. He was a quarterback. Riley, you were on the kickoff team last year. My point is, if BYU had a quarterback this year, we would be 6-2 at least.

I really appreciate all Riley has done for BYU. He's got heart, he's got enthusiasm. However, he could still have contributed these attributes to the team without having to be under center. Let's hope BYU can again return to the tradition of QB-U and find someone to provide some consistency at that position.