Riley Nelson to start vs. Washington

Junior Riley Nelson will start for BYU when the Cougars open the 2010 season against Washington on Sept. 4.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Friday that Nelson will take the first snaps against the Huskies, but reiterated that true freshman Jake Heaps will also play.
“Against the University of Washington, Riley will take the first series and will be listed as the starter. The quarterbacks have been so similar in terms of production (in fall camp). They’re both excellent leaders and they both bring different styles of play. Ultimately, we’re going to need both quarterbacks to help us reach our goals this year.”
Offensive coordinator Robert Anae said of the two-quarterback system: “We have two starters.”
What made Nelson the starter?
“Basically, the maturity of life experiences,” Mendenhall said. “Not necessarily the performance on the field, because that was almost identical in leading our team with Jake. But when you consider now, again, being the quarterback at BYU, in this community, with these expectations, and the things people say and the things people do, and the exposure that one has, Riley is older. He’s served a mission. He’s had other life experiences. It’s a very unique position. I haven’t adequately been able to prepare any starting quarterback here for what that’s going to be like. Riley is the closest to being ready for that. Nor was I ready as a head coach to face what the expectations were like. So, it just made a lot of sense based on life experience.”
Mendenhall said he met with Nelson and Heaps to explain the situation, characterizing that meeting as “an awesome experience” and that both quarterbacks understand what the coaching staff is trying to get done.
Nelson characterized the two-quarterback system as “Nasty. Lethal. It’s going to be really hard to defend. I feel like it’s going make defenses take up more time preparing (for two quarterbacks), spreading themselves a little too thin rather than focusing on one aspect of our offense.”