Ty Detmer on His New Football Camp, Heisman Trophy Front Runners (Exclusive)

Former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time All-America BYU quarterback Ty Detmer has a new gig. He’ll be one of the instructors at the first ever Pacific Pro Scrimmage, an invitation-only camp for free agent players that takes place Sept. 25-27 at Whittier College (where former President Richard Nixon played football by the way).

The camp is a joint venture of Pacific Pro Football and Austin Media Group’s sports division (American National Combines), and it will be led by prominent football men, including former San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Geep Chryst.

Ty Detmer was gracious enough to grant us an exclusive interview by phone, and we discussed Pacific Pro Scrimmage, as well as a multitude of NFL and college football topics.

“It’s a great opportunity for guys who’ve been with a team and released, and looking for another opportunity,” said Detmer of his new football camp venture.

“Most of the time guys go and they’re training with a trainer and more speed and strength work, and this is an opportunity to stay on top of the skill work part of it; get some film, some chalk talk. Now that they have been through a camp, or a mini-camp, they can ask questions and we can share experiences we’ve had.”

Scouts from a few NFL teams, as well Canadian and XFL teams, will be on hand to observe the prospects attending the camp.

“For the players it’s another chance to get in front of some pro personnel and hopefully get their foot in the door and stay in front of people,” said the man who threw for the fifth most passing yards in NCAA history.

After his NFL career was over, Ty Detmer served as Brigham Young’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2016-17. He was also a high school head football coach, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Austin, Texas 2009-2014.

He also sells a few hunts a year on a ranch that he owns in Texas, his home state.

In terms of what he’s most often recognized for by the general public, Detmer says it’s definitely his 1990 Heisman Trophy honor.

“As a Heisman trophy winner that kind of gets put at the front of your name a lot,” the 51-year-old said.

“A lot more than 14-year NFL veteran or anything like that.”

With that strong association in mind, we asked him to weigh in on the current contenders to take home the trophy from the Downtown Athletic Club this December.

“There’s a lot of guys who are playing well. The game and the quarterback position has changed,” Detmer continued.

“Guys are throwing it, running it, a lot more options with the ball in their hands now, back when I was playing.”

“You got to talk about Tua (Tagovaila, Alabama QB) and (Clemson QB Trevor) Lawrence, the kid at LSU (Quarterback Joe Murrow) who is playing great- they really changed their offense and opened it up.”

“I guess I’m a quarterback guy, most of the time, and those three right now are probably front-runners, but as the season progresses and the games start coming, tougher match-ups, people kind of stand out at that point.”

Odds Shark currently has Burrow and Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts as co-favorites (+300) while Tua is right behind at +400. It’s certainly a quarterback award these days, and the current most favorable odds for a non-signal caller belong to Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor (+650).

His likely opponent in the Big Ten championship game, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, is next at (+900).

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.