Jake Heaps: I Didn’t Come Here To Be The Backup

Former BYU and Kansas quarterback Jake Heaps is certain he will be the Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback this season. So certain that he’s went to the media to proclaim it.

Heaps told Susan Miller Degnan he didn’t transfer to Miami to the backup quarterback.

"“I didn’t come here to be the backup,” he said. “I made this decision for a reason. I came here to play, but you have to earn that. No one is going to give that to you, and that’s what I knew coming into this situation and that’s what I wanted.“… That’s the only way you’re going to earn your teammates’ respect and gain their confidence. So for me, I’m very excited about this opportunity. This is my last year. I’ve given everything I have at this thing, and it’s extremely important for me to perform well — not only to win the job but for my goals and aspirations down the line as well.”"

At 23-years old and on his third school in four years, Heaps has a lot of work to do to regain the promise he once had coming out of high school. A former five star recruit and number one rated quarterback prospect by Rivals.com, Heaps has failed to live up to his hype. While he set virtually every BYU freshman record, Heaps lost his starting gig his sophomore year.

Kansas was Heaps choice after deciding to transfer from BYU and the results were worse. After sitting out a season due to NCAA transfer rules Heaps failed miserably in his one season at KU, completing less than 50% of his passes and throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. It would seem after this kind of failure finding a starting gig with a BCS team would be unlikely.

Fate appears to be on Heaps side. Miami’s projected quarterback, fifth-year senior Ryan Williams, is recovering from an ACL injury and the rest of the depth chart features freshman. It looks like Heaps will get one more chance to live up to his hype.