Hall returns to tough job of being QB again

SALT LAKE CITY As BYU prepares for this week's Las Vegas Bowl, Max Hall seems noticeably laid back and at peace.

He's taking the approach that whatever he said about the University of Utah is over. He's not denying he said it. Hate happens. Sorry about that, but he had his reasons.

He went out with a boom against Utah on two counts. First, he threw the winning touchdown in overtime, which was big. Then he went on his well-chronicled rant against his rival university, which was bigger. Hall ended up issuing a public apology.

As they say in the damage control business, he's now moving forward.

Thus, on Tuesday night, he has a great chance to put it all behind him by playing spectacularly against Oregon State in Vegas.

It will be interesting to again see him in a game where his performance is the big story.

If it seems Hall did an unwise thing by speaking out last month, it should be remembered who he is — the quarterback at BYU. That's a weighty job. In fact, it might be the hardest job in Utah. When you're, say, governor, you tick people off. But there's only a small percentage that actually despise you. But if you're the BYU quarterback, you have many Ute fans and alumni who hate (there's that word again) you.

Your own fans aren't too happy, either, if you turn out to be just an average quarterback.

If the governor screws up, he can fix things by lowering taxes. But if you're BYU's signal-caller, and you lose to Utah, you're doomed to misery until your next chance.

I didn't think Hall's outburst back on November 28 was especially outrageous. Sure, a senior should have known better, but a quarterback has to release the pressure somehow. Hall had been brooding over mistreatment of his parents the previous year at Rice-Eccles Stadium, probably planning his response for months. Asked if he hated Utah, he said, in essence, Yeah, 'course he did. So what's the problem?

Utah fans immediately branded it a hate crime.

When you think about it, the steam had to come out in some form. Hall spent three years starting at BYU and never said anything even remotely controversial. He was composed, complimentary and a tad boring.

Finally, after the last regular-season game of his career, he sprung a leak.