BYU Greats John Beck, Max Hall Training With Next Wave Of Cougar QBs
Jun 22, 2021, 11:44 PM | Updated: 11:53 pm

BYU quarterbacks, from left, Jaren Hall, Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover answer questions during BYU Football Media Day at the BYU Broadcasting Building in Provo on Thursday, June 17, 2021. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – During last year’s 11-1 BYU football season, Zach Wilson’s off-season work with John Beck at quarterback was one of the big storylines.
When Wilson linked up with Beck at 3DQB in 2018, Beck taught him things about velocity on his passes. But the biggest thing was to continue putting in high-level work for a given season.
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Remember, college coaches are limited in the time they actually get to spend with players. So if athletes want to put in that extra work, turning to a trainer is an attractive option.
All three of BYU’s quarterbacks vying to replace Zach Wilson in 2021 have been working with QB trainers this off-season.
Jaren Hall is training with BYU Football great John Beck
Jaren Hall has always worked with Dustin Smith from Quarterback Elite. But along with Smith, Hall is also following Wilson’s steps by working with BYU great John Beck.
“So I still train with Dustin Smith,” Hall said to KSL Sports. “He’s kind of the coach that really gave me my foundation in quarterbacking. He’s the one that got me to college and I thank him for everything he’s taught me. So I still work with him … and I’m training with John Beck now as well.”
Beck has become one of the top quarterback coaches in the country. Along with training with Zach Wilson, he’s worked with Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields and a long list of current starting NFL QBs that includes Dak Prescott of the Cowboys and Matt Ryan from the Falcons.
#BYU QB Jaren Hall is now working with John Beck at 3DQB, along with continued work at @qbelite.
Hall isn't the only #BYU signal-caller to work with QB trainers this off-season.
More at @kslsports:https://t.co/LvZ2fJPDA0#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/iAkekKq0P2
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) June 23, 2021
Hall hasn’t rubbed shoulders with any of the NFL guys Beck works with, but he’s enjoyed the chance to work with one of the rising quarterback trainers in football. Just don’t ask if Hall is making the long drives to California as Wilson did, Hall prefers flying out to Huntington Beach.
“I’ll head out there every couple of weeks. Just having the opportunity to learn from him and his plethora of knowledge of football and how to be a better quarterback. Just using those two and learn as much as I can and it’s been really helpful. And it’s kept me focused on the goal.”
Baylor Romney is putting in work with Rudy Carpenter
Baylor Romney has trained with former Arizona State and NFL quarterback Rudy Carpenter. Romney worked with Carpenter last year and has worked with the former Sun Devil when he’s had chances to get to Arizona this off-season.
“A lot of it is just brushing up. You can get into some bad habits on your own, things that you don’t really notice,” said Romney on the value of training with Carpenter. “So a lot of it just brushing up on some mechanics and techniques. Then overall, the mental part of the game. Really making it realistic with defenses and just breaking down different things as you’re working out. Just so you’re not out there just throwing a ball around, but just making it really mental instead.”
Jacob Conover works with Max Hall
While Romney hits up Carpenter in Arizona, freshman QB Jacob Conover turns to some BYU football legends in the Grand Canyon State. Conover has been training with former BYU QB Max Hall and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer.
Great training sesh last night! @HighlandHawksFB @gage17dayley and @BYUfootball @JacobConover17 competing and getting better!! https://t.co/Owm6P93fmt
— Max Hall (@mxrd15) April 13, 2021
“Max is my guy right now,” Conover said. “We created a pretty cool relationship with him, Ty, and Dennis Pitta down there. They all coach together [at American Leadership Academy in Arizona]. Just going down there to work out with the guys who’ve done it, who have been here before, who have played in the biggest games, it’s given me help to realize what it takes.”
All three guys will put their off-season work to the test when they begin fall camp starting on August 5th, with hopes of being the starting quarterback for the Cougars in the opener against Arizona on September 4th.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.