A few years ago, I teased Husky fans about the celebrated signing of Jake Locker, jokingly calling him the messiah. (He may well yet prove to be that; if he can get the Huskies to a bowl game this year, there will be no doubt that he is, in fact, capable of raising things from the dead ... HEYO!)
Alas, I'll get to do no such teasing today, as all-everything Skyline (Issaquah) H.S. quarterback Jake Heaps confirmed he has chosen BYU over UW and will sign his letter of intent with the Cougars this fall. Heaps is Mormon, and according to some reports, was offered by BYU years ago. New UW coach Steve Sarkisian just couldn't make up enough ground in such a short amount of time.
I have mixed emotions about this. The Cougar in me is exceedingly happy he's not going to the UW, but the Pac-10 fan in me is disappointed a great talent is leaving the conference. Alas, since the Pac-10 will march on with other talented players, I think the Cougar in me wins out and takes pleasure in Husky fans' misery.
One last thing to keep in mind -- it could be some time before Heaps ever sees the field in Provo. It's likely he'll go on a two-year mission, which means unless he starts a true freshman in 2010, he likely won't play for the Cougars until 2013. That's a long time from now.