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Springboard to '99 BYU's Feterik wants to shine in Liberty Bowl spotlight
Posted: Sunday December 27, 1998 05:51 PM
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- Kevin Feterik wants to use the Liberty Bowl for his personal coming out party as Brigham Young's latest pass-happy quarterback. Some might say that mission already is accomplished. The junior quarterback played so well in leading the Cougars to a seven-game winning streak this season that his competition, sophomore Drew Miller, plans to transfer after Thursday's game with No. 10 Tulane (12-0). That isn't enough for Feterik, a player who wants to live up to a BYU tradition that includes Jim McMahon, Steve Young and Ty Detmer. "Next year is my year," said Feterik. "Hopefully, we'll start with the Liberty Bowl and go on. I think we're going to be an offensive power." That is a big change for a player who found himself intimidated by the paintings and monuments to BYU quarterbacks past. Fans booed him early as he struggled in the position. BYU coach LaVell Edwards wishes his quarterbacks could worry only about beating opponents on the fields and not Cougar legends. "The expectation level there and the pressure is unreal. It's higher than it really ought to be," he said. Feterik got some helpful advice from BYU's quarterbacks coach, Robbie Bosco who led BYU to its 1984 national championship. "We weren't losing, but we weren't moving the ball well, either. I came out with the story of how it happened to me. We kind of had a little laugh about it on the sidelines, and it seemed to calm everybody down," Bosco said. Feterik settled down and saw his passing-efficiency rating rise from 104.9 to a Western Conference Athletic best 140.21. BYU now is 9-4 heading into Thursday's Liberty Bowl. The left-handed quarterback will get to match himself against one of the most prolific passers in the country in Tulane's Shawn King. But that is nothing compared to living up to BYU tradition. "You always hear about those guys. Every media guide, every book always mentions the great quarterbacks. The paintings ... "I look at the expectations as a challenge to be like one of them, maybe even better," said Feterik.
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