BYU quarterback downplays snub

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Even if he were not an Eagle Scout, Brigham Young quarterback Brandon Doman would not, could not, tell a lie.

Sure, he said, it is annoying that BYU — 12-0, with Saturday's regular-season game against Hawai'i remaining — has been shunned from the Bowl Championship Series guest list.

"That's a disappointment, just for the respect factor," he said.

But was the slight an injustice?

"It has to be put into perspective," said Doman, who has seen the inequity of life's distribution of good fortune.

Five years ago, he served a church mission to Bahia Blanca, Argentina, a port city of about 275,000 located 400 miles southwest of Buenos Aires.

Injustice, he said, was meeting "people who didn't have anything." Doman helped paint schools and build small houses.

Handing a set of house keys to a family, he said, brought indescribable joy. "They didn't know quite what to think or say," Doman recalled. "They were so grateful. They need a lot of help down there. People couldn't be more grateful for the help they were getting."

Doman said the mission taught him "what's important in life. You gain a perspective on what we're doing. You realize that, hey, football is not everything. There are relationships and people and other things that are much more important."

Such memories, he said, helped erase any potential bitterness of not being selected to the BCS.

"We're not disappointed, because no one expected us to do so well," Doman said. "We weren't expected to win the (Mountain West) conference. Right now, we have the goal of finishing undefeated. Hawai'i is just another step in our path to fulfill our goal."

Doman, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior, has done his part. The Cougars have not lost a game in Doman's 14 career starts.

Doman, who once was recruited by UH and has family in the Islands, has embraced first-year BYU coach Gary Crowton's multiple-scheme offense. The Cougars lead the nation in scoring, averaging 46.9 points per game.

At the start of the season, Doman said, "the only concern for me was to make sure I could do all I could possibly do to prepare and be ready for the new system and follow the Coach's lead. Once we were able to get a hold of the basic things he wanted to get done, it all fell into place."

As Doman continued to play well, the BYU marketing department concocted a campaign in which he was promoted as "The Domanator," a play on the "Gladiator" movie. "Domanator" posters, notepads and individually addressed highlight videotapes were sent to the media.

"The first time I saw (a poster), I felt awkward," Doman said. "I don't know what to think. It's been an absolute honor. I always say that, but it has been. 'The Domanator' and all of that stuff are just for fun, and we've enjoyed it."

He said his family makes "fun of me." The true test has been his in-laws, who are proud that their daughter is married to "The Domanator."

"They've been very supportive," Doman said. "We're all having a good time. We dreamed of having a good season like this, but we never expected it to be as exciting as it's been. We're taking it for the ride and, hopefully, it'll continue to be a fun ride."