Rivals.com ran a story earlier this week stating Jake Heaps was a strong BYU lean. However, this story was published without speaking to Heaps or his family; it was purely speculation based on the individual writer's preference.
In truth, there are only two ways for complete accuracy when predicting where an athlete is going to commit: either 1) speaking directly with the kid or 2) his parents.
Heaps has a top five and is sticking with that publicly. According to my friends at Dawgman.com, he hasn't eliminated anyone from that group. My sources believe it will ultimately boil down to two contenders, UW, where his parents attended, or BYU, where his sister is currently enrolled.
Had Washington not been emerging from the depths of an 0-12 campaign, and had a coaching staff been in place longer than 6 months, I believe the Huskies would be a lock for Heaps' services. A tremendous first spring from the coaching staff hasn't erased the simple fact that UW must completely rebuild its offensive line over the next few years.
BYU, on the other hand, isn't rebuilding right now. They have positioned themselves to annually compete for the Mountain West Conference championship. That said, they were a botched PAT from going to overtime against an 0-12 Washington team last season. Let's just say that the level of play in the MWC isn't the same as the Pac 10.
I think in the end the lure of competing in a BCS conference is going to outweigh the prospect of Provo. BYU is very attractive to Jake for obvious reasons; however, I believe in the end he opts for the opportunity to play against the best competition in the country week-in and week-out.
Did he dream growing up of facing off against Wyoming, Colorado State, and New Mexico every week? Or rather, would he prefer to stare-down the likes of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Cal?
i honestly believe that competing against the best is one of his top priorities.