The college football offseason is perhaps the most interesting one in all of college athletics. You have highly touted quarterbacks getting paid more than some NFL quarterbacks to come to a certain school, and not to mention, everyone is trying to solidify their roster by bringing in players.
As fast as players can come in, they can go out.
As we turn the calendar to July, Big 12 media days are right around the corner, and kickoff is approaching. Typically, everyone has their roster settled by now. Well, not everyone exactly. In a shocking turn of events, it appears that BYU is going to have to turn to another direction at quarterback.
Starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff has officially entered the transfer portal. This came after news surfaced that he faces a seven-game suspension under the university’s Honor Code.
Back in May, Retzlaff was facing accusations of sexual assault, and whether or not he was found guilty, it violated BYU’s Honor Code, which prohibits premarital sex. I understand that rules are rules, but not everyone waits until they are married, if you know what I mean. After all, he’s a college kid.
Whether I agree with the Honor Code or not is irrelevant because all that matters is that Jake Retzlaff’s time at BYU is over. There was no way he was going to sit out over half a season in his final year of college, so I don’t blame him one bit for leaving Provo.
So what does this mean for BYU? Well, I actually don’t think it is as bad as some people think. BYU had a heck of a season in 2024. They were picked to finish near the bottom of the conference, and seemingly came out of nowhere and became a Big 12 title contender.
If you go back and look at Retzlaff’s stats, you probably aren’t going to be blown away by them. He finished the 2024 campaign throwing for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdown passes, and 12 interceptions. Those numbers are pretty average or even below average when you look at the rest of the quarterbacks in the conference. Plus, he completed less than 58% of his passes.
As successful as BYU was in 2024, it was clear that Jake Retzlaff wasn’t the reason why they were so good. Just take a look at their defense from last year. They had the best defense not just in the Big 12 but maybe in all of college football. The Cougars finished in first in total yards and scoring, holding opponents to just 19.6 points per game.
When you combine a great defense with solid special teams play and a decent rushing attack, you are going to have a chance in just about every game you play. In fact, I believe the one thing holding BYU back was Jake Retzlaff.
I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’m not overly impressed with BYU this year. They lost a lot of key pieces on defense, and their offensive line is still very much a work in progress. This was a team that won some wild games last year, and I don’t think that they would be able to replicate that again in 2025 with a lot of new faces in key sports.
While Retzlaff wasn’t the best quarterback in the conference, he certainly wasn’t the worst, and who knows how much he could have improved this season? But the one thing he did have was experience, and that is something you can’t replace.
When you look at BYU’s roster, they have two quarterbacks with college experience, Utah State transfer McCae Hillstead and Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet. Last month, freshman Bear Bachmeier transferred to BYU after participating in spring practices at Stanford.
Last week, I wrote a column about BYU potentially being a hidden powerhouse in the Big 12 after landing five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons. Unfortunately for the Cougars, he won’t be there until a while down the road. So the question for this season will be, how will they hold up until then? We will have our answer in less than 60 days.
