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Q&A: Trent Hosick talks transfer, Honor Code, and ‘unwavering desire to win’

Trent Hosick dishes on his faith, his transfer from Missouri, his decision to play junior college football, and his goals for BYU.

BYU doesn’t have a long history of taking transfers from Power 5-conference schools. So when Missouri quarterback Trent Hosick announced his intention to transfer to BYU by January 2015, it sent ripples through the Cougar community.

Hosick will play for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in the fall of 2014, then join BYU in January and in time for spring camp. The unique move will allow him to play for an entire junior college season with the Golden Norsemen while “sitting out” his required one season of Division-I football, per NCAA transfer rules.

The 2013 Staley High (Kansas City, MO) graduate enrolled early at Missouri to be involved in spring camp with the Tigers. He was rated the No. 19 dual-threat quarterback and No. 35 pocket passer in the country by Rivals and ESPN.com, respectively. Hosick was also one of 12 finalists for the Wendy’s High School Heisman, which is given annually to the student-athlete who meets various criteria in athletics, academics and community service.

Hosick will enroll at BYU as a redshirt sophomore and have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Loyal Cougars caught up with Hosick to talk about his decision to leave Mizzou, play a semester’s worth of junior college football, and what he thinks about BYU’s Honor Code and the unique place that is Provo, Utah.

 

LOYAL COUGARS: A lot of Mizzou fans were surprised when you announced you were transferring. What went into your decision to leave the Tigers?

TRENT HOSICK: Obviously, when I committed to Mizzou, I never expected to be making the decision to transfer. These decisions are never easy. Though some people speculate that my leaving Mizzou was due to depth, that really was not the case. When I met with (Missouri coach Gary) Pinkel to tell him I would be transferring, he mentioned to me that I was on pace to be the No. 2 quarterback in the fall and would be getting playing time. So depth wasn’t the issue.

Mizzou wasn’t the right fit for me, and it was best to leave.

LC: It’s a lot of stress for high school players to go through the recruiting process; you’ve done it twice now with the transfer. What was it like the second time?

TH: There is a very fun and exciting part of the recruiting process, and that is when several schools are, in a sense, fighting over you to come to their school. As a young man, that can be a very flattering, and ultra-humbling, thing. But personally, I have never liked the recruiting process — only because I am someone who puts a lot of myself into relationships with people. One of the hardest things for me to do is to tell someone, “No.” To develop relationships with coaches, and then to tell them “no,” is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. And like you said … I’ve had to do it on two occasions now. I am just glad I won’t have to do it again.

LC: Did the unique decision to transfer to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College help in your decision? How did you make that decision, which is rarely been done in college football?

TH: The decision to go to NEO was well thought out, but was an easy decision to make. Transferring from Mizzou to another BCS program, I would have to sit out of play for another year. To be honest, as a competitor, that didn’t sit well with me, so my desire to get on the field played into the decision. But to take emotion out of it, it came down to the question of “what would be best: play scout team for my university for a season in order to be around the system, or spend one semester getting actual game time reps in preparation for playing in 2015?”

When it came down to it, both my family and Coach Mendenhall felt it was best for my preparation, and BYU’s future, for me to spend a semester preparing for 2015. Now I’m just excited to get the chance to really improve for a few months, and make sure I am the very best I can possibly be for my coaches and teammates at BYU when I get there in January.

LC: Describe your experience visiting BYU. What did you most enjoy about the school and the football program?

TH: My visit in Provo could not have been any better. My parents, my brother and I got to experience the spoils of being on an official visit — but for us, the best part was getting to know the people in and around the BYU program. We were looking for a community of like-minded people, and finally finding one was the most rewarding part of our trip. For me, getting to meet Terrance (Alletto), Mitch (Mathews), and Nick (Kurtz) was the most telling part about the BYU community. To see what solid men they were reassured me that BYU was the place that I needed to be in order to be built up in all areas of life, and not just in football.

LC: BYU is unique in its mission and atmosphere. Did the religious nature of the school affect your decision in any way? What about the Honor Code; how was it explained to you?

TH: As someone who has been very outspoken about my faith all throughout my life, the so called “uniqueness” of BYU was a very attractive quality to me and my family. My entire life I have walked different paths, thought in different ways, and done different things than people around me — which happens to be why BYU was a great fit for me. The Honor Code may be something that is claimed by the LDS community, but other than not drinking tea and coffee, my parents have had me living by that code my entire life.

The Honor Code was not something that scared me as it may have others. It was something that made BYU stand out as a wonderful place to live.

LC: How would you describe your style of play? In other words, what do you expect to bring to BYU every Saturday?

TH: As a player I feel I bring a few things I hope the BYU fans will love to see: an absolutely unwavering desire to win; a work ethic that will not be matched by any quarterback in the country; a passion and love for BYU and football that will hopefully bring joy to all the fans who decide to cheer us on to our next national championship.

To the tangible things, there is no doubt I play quarterback in a unique way. But BYU fans have already seen part of what makes me unique in watching Taysom Hill play. I am someone who can make any throw a quarterback needs to make. My ability to throw is often overlooked because of my ability to run and extend plays with my feet. I am very hard to bring down, so plays often last longer for the offenses I have been a part of. And hopefully I can follow in Taysom’s steps in the area of leading an offense that puts up a lot of points. I will continue to work and train and become a quarterback that will help BYU win, and one that BYU fans will love to watch.

9 Comments

  1. Gary DIal

    June 4, 2014 at 12:33 pm

    Trent seems to have a lot of confidence. Reminds me a bit of Heaps or McMahon. I like most of what I hear from him. The concern might be with a bottleneck of talent at the QB position coming in the next couple of years is that it begs the question of possible future transfers. Can’t keep them all.

  2. Gary DIal

    June 4, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    On another more disconcerting topic…. Sean how do you weigh in on the conference vs independence issue? Does anyone (don’t really care about u fan opinion here) really believe that any success can be derived long term from our current path of independence. The glaring questions then become whether or not the powers that be in Cougar administration are willing to concede TV rights and if the other side is going to allow it despite the strong case of national presence and history that the Cougars have produced in all major sports programs. I understand that they feel compelled to draw a line somewhere to protect their agendas and so that ultimately may speak to the obvious end result, unless it is challenged

    • Justin Whiting

      June 4, 2014 at 2:50 pm

      Casual BYU fan in Bloomington, Indiana here, and I will be honest, I have very little desire to see BYU in a conference anytime soon. First off, we are coming off some very mediocre seasons and we need to get back to some 1 or 2 loss seasons before we could reasonably hope to be in the top 2 or 3 of the Big 12 (I see no other conferences as viable options for BYU, so why bother with them). Having said that, I think that 2014 and 2015, will be extremely disappointing if we can’t finish above 10-2 or 11-1. And BYU MUST beat either Texas or UCF to give me any hope that they should compete with a Power 5 conference from top to bottom. Maybe in 2016, if we have had a couple great years, I would be more bullish on pushing to get into the Big 12. I have big hopes for the next two years in football though, and they could really be pretty special if a few things fall into place and some of the key players continue to improve (Hill, Williams, Blackmon, Leslie, Kurtz, Warner, Kafusi, etc). I think the pieces are very close for BYU to be very good this year and next.

      If BYU can have a 1 or 2 loss season this year and then run the table next year (wishful thinking, I know), they should absolutely be in consideration for a playoff spot. But Bronco is totally right that they likely need to have back to back years of no losses, or 1 loss seasons to be in that discussion.

      Finally, I really don’t have a very high hopes for BYU to ever win a national championship, and that doesn’t bother me. Absolutely, I want them to be successful, and it would be incredible if they could make it to a playoff spot, but seriously, how difficult would that be?! There are so many great programs out there with way more resources for their players and teams, and as long as BYU can play fun, exciting games, and pick up some wins over great schools in the next few years, I will be extremely happy. I was at the 2013 BYU – ND game and it was an incredible experience. The atmosphere was awesome, and clearly we can compete and should have won the game if Nelson finds a wide open Hoffman for a TD, but we have had too many ‘what ifs’ in recent years and not enough wins. Scheduling will continue to be a big challenge, but with games against Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, Houston, Cincinnati, UCF and others in the upcoming seasons, I see no reason to push for joining a conference. They have more games on TV and the internet now than ever before, and BYU TV does a really incredible job of broadcasting football and many other sports, and I love that. Since I don’t live in Utah, I have way better access now to games than ever before in my life and that is a pretty big deal for me. Joining the Big 12 would likely require me to buy some hugely expensive cable plan, which isn’t going to happen.

      This is all just for me personally, but I love independence and hope it continues for another 3-5 years at least.

  3. Justin Whiting

    June 4, 2014 at 3:00 pm

    Nice piece about Hosick too. Definitely doesn’t lack for confidence, but that is probably a good thing if he can back it up. I watch Mizzou destroy Indiana this year, and getting a talented QB from a solid program to come to BYU is great. Having too many great players is hopefully going to be a bigger problem for both the Football and Basketball programs. I really don’t know much about Tanner Mangum, but it will be nice to have a legitimate QB battle between a couple of good players. Excited to see what the next two years hold.

  4. Old Man

    June 5, 2014 at 9:28 am

    Your Question is incomplete. is not “Conference vs Independant” it is “MWC vs Independant” and I shouldn’t need to dignify that “question” with an answer, but I will anyways.

    Indepandance Pros:
    1) Scheduling freedom. We read about all of the challenges, but do you really want to solve them by playing 8+ MWC teams each year? As an independant we already play argueably the top 2 teams from the MWC, BSU and USU, on an annual basis.

    Even when BYU needs to fill out its schedule with mid majors, it gets to pick which ones. Lets look at the ones they have on the schedule. 1) UCF. The reigning Fiesta Bowl Champions. 2)Houston finished the season 8-4. 3) BSU. A reguilar in the top 10 over the past decade. 4) USU. MWC runner up and beat # 23 N Illinois in their bowl game. 5) Middle Tennesee finished 8-4. 6) UNLV finished 7-5 and is within easy driving distance (5-6 hrs). 7) Nevada is a close (logistically) game.

    So yes, BYU does play 7 mid majors this year, but 6 of them had winning records last year, 2 of them have won BCS games (including UCF winning the Fiesta bowl last year), and one has a legitimate, though longshot, Heisman candidate (USU and Chuckie Keaton).

    2) Exposure. BYU’s games vs UCONN, USU, UCF, and Houston are all on ESPN this year. The Boise St game will be on ESPN or ESPN 2, and one more gmae yet to be determined (probably vs Virginia) will also be on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN 2 (probably ESPN 2). Either BYU’s game vs Nevada or UNLV will be on ESPNU. The Texas game will be on Fox Sports 1 (like ESPN, this is a channel virtually all Cable and Satelite packages include). The Middle Tennessee State game will be on CBSSN. The Savannah State game will be on BYU TV (in HD). If BYU’s last remaining home game not on an ESPN network (UNLV or Nevada) is not picked up by espn, then it will be on BYU TV. The game that is likely to be difficult to see is the Cal game since that will probably be on the Pac 12 network.

    MWC Pro:
    1) Easier path to a BCS (or equivilent) game. The highest ranked non big 4 conference champion get to go to a big money bowl. This would be easier to do in the MWC, since the schedule would be significantly easier. However, Making it to the playoffs would be easier as an independant, because they have the freedom to schedule more good teams.

  5. Old Man

    June 5, 2014 at 9:34 am

    I don’t think this guy is going to start. He will be here at the same time as Tanner Magnum. Even if Hosick gets the #2 spot in 2015 while Magnum redshirts and runs the Scout team, there is no (or at least very little) way that he beats Tanner out for the starting position in 2016.

    I like the kids confidence and toughness. I think it is awesome that he was a state wrestling champion AT The 285 lb weight class despite weighing no more than 220. I love that he is a big fan of the honor code, but from watching his highlights (admittedly from highschool) he simply doesn’t have an arm nearly as strong or as accurate as Magnum.

    • Brett Hein

      June 12, 2014 at 11:16 am

      Maybe, but comparing high school tape is almost apples to oranges for Mangum and Hosick. While Mangum is on a mission, Hosick will have spent 1 year in a successful SEC program, 1 season as the starting QB of a junior college, and will be at BYU by January. Hosick’s got quite the leg up.

  6. Matt

    June 30, 2014 at 9:40 am

    I glanced over the above comments and the one consistent observation made by all of you was this young mans confidence. I have known Trent since he was was 6 years old. You have NO IDEA what a precious gift has just landed in Provo. He is 1 in a million. Along with confidence is wisdom beyond his years AND a humilty that will shock you. His physical skill set is off the charts–literally (he broke many SEC records for speed, strength and agility) and that was as a true freshman. This 220 kid was a heavyweight champion wrestler who commonly made short work of young men 60 punds heavier. The physical talent he posseses is truly a gift from God but it pales in comparison to the intangible qualities that WILL make him a Heisman contender in 2 years. I am a die hard Buckeye fan and tried desparately to hook him up with Coach Meyer. Ohh well…I guess now I’m a BYU fan. Can NOT wait to watch this young man make you all proud.

    • Troy

      July 1, 2014 at 9:54 am

      Thanks for your comments Matt. BYU fans are thrilled Trent choose BYU to play for and are excited to watch him play.