It’s not a conversation that fans of BYU are used to having. Who is the quarterback and are they up to the task of winning? Not from a program that has had a signal caller lead the NCAA in passing yardage seven different times in their history. The quarterback position at BYU has produced a Heisman Trophy winner (Ty Detmer), an NCAA championship (Robbie Boscoe), two Super Bowl winning starters (Jim McMahon and Steve Young) and as of training camp of the time of this writing, there are four on NFL rosters vying for jobs in Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, Kedon Slovis and Taysom Hill.

It’s a situation that has generally garnered some of the best talent in the country over the last 50 years.

“Usually BYU has a dude at QB,” said Cody Tucker, beat writer and founder of 7220Sports.com in an interview with SVI Media. “Then they have a dude behind that dude and sometimes even another one behind that one. That’s why this is such a crazy thing to hear.”

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What is the word about the current state of the BYU quarterback room?

“It’s a dumpster fire,” Tucker said he was told by a fellow writer during his travels for media days. “That might be music to Wyoming fans’ ears.”

The Wyoming Cowboys host the Cougars on September 14 in Laramie. A place somewhat infamous for being a tough place to win for larger schools. In the last 20 years the list of casualties includes Ole Miss, Virginia, Utah, Boise State, San Diego State, Missouri and most recently Texas Tech just last season.

BYU insider for KSL Television and KSLsports.com, Jeremiah Jensen, had a more neutral answer to the current state of the quarterbacks room, calling it “unsettled.” But he also didn’t shy away from the perception of where those players stand in terms of public opinion.

“If you were going to rank the quarterbacks room of the Big-12, the BYU room would be ranked #16,” he said of the 16-team league. “Until someone steps up and proves they can do the job.”

Jensen went on to detail those vying for the job including Jake Retzlaff, a junior who appeared in four games for BYU last season, Gerry Bohanon, a grad transfer from Baylor, McCae Hilstead, who changed his Utah address from Logan to Provo in a transfer from Utah State and Treyson Bourget, a transfer from Western Michigan.

The Cougars open up their season on August 31 on the home field of LaVell Edwards Stadium before a trip to Texas to face Southern Methodist University on September 6. They would then be in Laramie on September 14 to face a Cowboys program that has not defeated them since 2003 but is expecting a sellout to face their old rivals from the Mountain West and the WAC.

BYU then opens up their second season in the Big-12 with a home game against Kansas State before another trip to Texas to face Baylor followed by a pair of home contests against Arizona and Oklahoma State. After a trip to Florida to play the Knights of UCF, they are scheduled to be  at Rice-Eccles Stadium to square off against the Utah Utes on November 9.

Who will be the quarterback for that game that will add a conference game flavor back into the rivalry is anyone’s guess at this point.

“We don’t even know who the quarterback will be for that Week 3 game in Laramie,” Jensen added. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

History says that someone will come out of the team’s battle under center, but until then, doubt, anxiety and anticipation will surround the next four weeks until the Salukis come to Provo and whether the Cougars can outplay pre-season perceptions of being ranked near the bottom of their new conference.