This is a coaching staff who is notorious - for 22+ years now - to NEVER want to put the ball in a freshman / RS freshman's hands unless they see them as a freak of nature with talent. Furthermore they've always felt this way about the QB. Only twice, when forced only by injury, did they trust an RS Frosh to be QB. Justin Hartman for one game against Idaho, and Cole Bergquist in 2005 when Jason Washington got hurt. That was is. Usually, when even faced with the probability of having an RS Soph QB, they'd make sure to bring in a transfer to compete and (usually) win the job. That has been their MO forever.
Until last year & this year. Then suddenly they give Ah Yat some games and some meaningful reps. They proceed forward to give him the chance to actually win the job and start the season with him in at QB1. Even after Fife played lights out for a few games, they went back to the rotation in hopes have Ah Yat rise up and take the job.
That tells me that either this staff, who is generally a little stubborn in their ways, had suddenly decided to adapt to the way they do things with young QBs, or they see something in Ah Yat that they've never seen in other young QBs.
Ah Yat is a very good athlete too, he can be a very well rounded QB if he can improve on vision / reads and probably work on his outward leadership of others as well.
We've seen some great throws from him and some good running too.
I think he's the future, Fife is the right now.