A time for teaching
Brandon Doman doesn’t slow down. As a hands-on coach and teacher, he’s always out in the middle of the action, whether it’s calling plays, demonstrating a drill or giving one-on-one help to his quarterbacks, and his optimism and energy are at the heart of how important Spring practice is to the team.
“Oh, man. This is why you do it,” Doman told me. “You come out on a Spring day like this while the sun is shining and you get to coach awesome young men. It’s just a ton of fun for me, and it’s a great time for the team to come together and prepare for the upcoming season.”
After leading BYU to a 12-2 record during his senior year in 2001, Doman was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round and spent three years in the NFL. Now he’s entering his fifth season as BYU’s quarterbacks coach and revels in the opportunity to spend time with the next generation of Cougar players.
It’s not unusual for onlookers to see Doman actually running the drills with the players, throwing the ball around just like he did when he was known as “The Domanator” nearly a decade ago.
“For me, I’m still young and I like to move around and be involved,” he said. “Sometimes it’s nice for these quarterbacks to see somebody actually do it. And for them, they kind of use it as a joke to tease me that I’m an old man and can’t do it anymore. So, sometimes I have to step out and set it straight.”
He entered Spring practice this season knowing that all eyes will be on the quarterback position and the competition between Riley Nelson, James Lark and Jake Heaps. When I asked him to tell me what he sees in each individual quarterback, here’s what he said:
Nelson: “Riley’s attribute would be mobility. And he’s strong. He’s got some good lower-body strength. He understands the offense right now and is a real analytical guy. He’s very smart and will probably be an orthopedic surgeon someday.”
Lark: “James has a real unique demeanor as a quarterback. He’s not keyed up. He’s pretty kicked back, which sometimes in the middle of chaos is nice to have. And physically, he’s really what you would like a quarterback to look like. He has good size and is an explosive athlete.”
Heaps: “For Jake, he’s not quite as tall, but he’s really a savvy, learned quarterback. He’s very experienced for only being 18 years old. I think he’s already driven our offense three times for touchdowns after only two days of practice. That’s really rare. He has a long way to go, but he’s a very talented young man.”
With no pressure to name a starter until Fall camp, Doman is focusing on the little things that will help his quarterbacks develop into the leaders they need to be for the team.
“We have simple goals,” he said. “I want to see us get better. Now, can we get better from Max? That’s going to be a hard thing to do. We have some areas we need to improve on. But the basic fundamental for a quarterback in this system, and it’s a phrase that we use all the time, is ‘completions, completions, completions equal first downs, which equal touchdowns.’ I want to see them fulfill that statement throught the Spring. I want to see them learn and understand and grasp that concept so that our offense can progress. If they can understand how to do that inside the scheme we have, a young quarterback can be as successful as he wants to be.”