Looking Back At BYU Football’s Last 20 Season-Opening Quarterbacks
Aug 15, 2024, 10:40 AM | Updated: 10:56 am
PROVO, Utah – BYU football will feature a new season-opening quarterback to kick off the 2024 season.
Whether it’s Jake Retzlaff or Gerry Bohanon, they will be the 10th different season-opening starter at quarterback for BYU since the 2004 season. It’s the third different season-opening quarterback in three years.
The last time that happened was from 2011-2013.
BYU has an impressive record in season openers over the past 20 seasons. The Cougars are 16-4. Among those 20 games, BYU has scored 24 or more points eight times.
Here’s a look at the past 20 season-opening QBs for BYU football.
2004: John Beck
BYU 20, Notre Dame 17 in Provo
The John Beck era officially kicked off for BYU in an ESPN primetime game against Notre Dame in Provo.
Beck beat out Matt Berry to win the starting job in 2004. The future NFL draft pick shined in fall camp. Every day, reporters were talking about how Beck connected with Todd Watkins on deep touchdown passes.
Early in the first half against the Irish, Beck displayed that big arm that had reporters raving in camp.
BYU jumped out to a 10-0 lead until Beck injured his shoulder in the second quarter. Matt Berry stepped in and BYU managed to hang on to secure a 20-17 win over the Irish.
Passing: 7-of-10 for 96 yards
Rushing: Three carries for 12 yards
2005: John Beck
No. 22 Boston College 20, BYU 3 in Provo
The Bronco Mendenhall era began in 2005 with John Beck as the starting quarterback. They started that 2005 season with a tough matchup against Boston College. Remember that Boston College fan with the wild helmet on his head?
Robert Anae was hired away from Texas Tech to become BYU’s offensive coordinator. Anae brought the late Mike Leach’s signature “Air Raid” offense.
There was a lot of action through the air for BYU on that hot afternoon against Mathias Kiwanuka and the Eagles.
The only problem was that it took place between the 20s. BYU didn’t find the end zone that entire afternoon.
John Beck tossed 60 passes in the game, and BYU finished with an underwhelming three-point performance.
Passing: 41-of-60 for 330 yards
Rushing: Six rushes for (-19) yards
2006: John Beck
Arizona 16, BYU 13 in Tucson
John Beck’s senior year in 2006 was one of the best individual quarterback seasons this century by a BYU Quarterback. However, like much of BYU football in the previous years, it started with adversity.
BYU lost a heartbreaker to upstart Arizona in Tucson.
Beck played with injured ankles in that loss.
Despite the setback, Beck and the BYU offense battled, which differed from the previous years. They later became one of the best offenses in program history.
Passing: 28-of-37 for 289 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: 5 rushes for (-15) yards
2007: Max Hall
BYU 20, Arizona 7 in Provo
Arizona State transfer Max Hall succeeded John Beck in the 2007 season. Hall beat JUCO Player of the Year Cade Cooper to win the job. It was a heated battle until Cooper suffered an injury in the spring game that season.
Max Hall never looked back, going on to become the winningest quarterback in BYU football history. Win No. 1 for Hall was a victory over the Arizona Wildcats in Provo.
Passing: 26-of-39 for 288 yards
Rushing: 4 carries for 4 yards
2008: Max Hall
No. 16 BYU 41, Northern Iowa 17 in Provo
Fresh off their second consecutive Mountain West Championship, BYU kicked off 2008 with Max Hall at quarterback for the second consecutive year.
BYU opened that season against Northern Iowa, which featured current Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman, who was on that Panthers coaching staff.
Hall was brilliant in the game as BYU cruised to a dominant victory.
An interesting tidbit on the quarterback situation in this game was that star receiver Austin Collie was a backup option for the Cougars.
Passing: 34-of-41 for 486 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing: 3 carries for 4 yards, 1 TD
2009: Max Hall
No. 20 BYU 14, No. 3 Oklahoma 13 in Arlington, Texas
BYU opened Dallas Cowboys Stadium with an epic upset that had the nation buzzing about Cougar football to kick off the 2009 season.
Led by third-year starter Max Hall, BYU took down No. 3 Oklahoma.
Hall, who was always passionate, guaranteed victory when he trotted into the locker room during the halftime break.
The senior quarterback pointed to fans and said, “We’re gonna win this game!”
BYU entered the game against the national runner-up Sooners as a three-touchdown underdog. But in the end, they backed up Hall’s confidence with a signature victory that put BYU on a path to another 11-win season.
Passing: 26-of-38 for 329 yards, 2 TDs & 2 INTs
Rushing: 6 carries for (-8) yards
2010: Riley Nelson
BYU 23, Washington 17 in Provo
Once Max Hall graduated after three seasons as the starter, it dawned a new era for BYU.
The Cougars had a heated QB battle between former Utah State transfer Riley Nelson and freshman Jake Heaps.
It was a too-close-to-call battle. To use both quarterbacks, former head coach Bronco Mendenhall alternated drives between Nelson and Heaps throughout the season opener against Washington.
Riley Nelson led the first drive of the 2010 season, so he was the starter against the Washington Huskies from the Pac-10.
The unique quarterback setup worked, as BYU knocked off the Huskies, coached by former BYU QB Steve Sarkisian.
BYU’s two-quarterback approach led to both signal-callers finishing with 131 passing yards apiece in the win.
Passing: 11-of-17 for 131 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing: 8 carries for 45 yards
2011: Jake Heaps
BYU 14, Ole Miss 13 in Oxford
Ten years after being a season-opening quarterback for BYU, Brandon Doman became the Cougars’ offensive coordinator for the first time in 2011.
The goal? To bring back the BYU offense of the 80s and 90s and maximize the talents of heralded prospect Jake Heaps.
That didn’t materialize between Doman and Heaps, especially on the trip to SEC Country to face Ole Miss.
BYU’s defense, led by Kyle Van Noy, spearheaded BYU’s comeback win. However, Heaps’ touchdown pass to Ross Apo was an excellent ball.
Passing: 24-of-38 for 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: 2 rushes for (-18) yards
2012: Riley Nelson
BYU 30, Washington State 6 in Provo
Riley Nelson had BYU dreaming big in 2012 after spoiling Mike Leach’s coaching debut at Washington State. The 30-6 win before a nationally televised opening night audience placed BYU immediately into the national conversation.
Passing: 25-of-36 for 285 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing: 12 carries for 18 yards
2013: Taysom Hill
Virginia 19, BYU 16 in Charlottesville
The beginning of the “Go Fast, Go Hard” offense at BYU was not pretty.
Taysom Hill’s first season-opening start was a struggle as BYU caused self-inflicted wounds with their fast pace, causing miscues.
Passing: 13-of-40 for 175 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT
Rushing: 11 carries for 42 yards, 1 TD
2014: Taysom Hill
BYU 35, UConn 10 in Storrs, Connecticut
As the starting quarterback in year two, Taysom and BYU’s offense under former offensive coordinator Robert Anae began to find its groove. BYU crushed UConn, 35-10, setting the stage for a 4-0 start and national ranking.
Passing: 28-of-36, 308 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing: 12 carries for 98 yards, 2 TDs
2015: Taysom Hill
BYU 33, Nebraska 28 in Lincoln
To this day, I believe Taysom Hill was making his case to become a Heisman Trophy candidate with his play at Nebraska.
Hill was performing at a high level. But then, like many seasons for Taysom Hill at BYU, it ended early.
Hill suffered a lisfranc injury in the game. What’s remarkable is that he still scored a rushing touchdown on the injury. The toughness of Taysom Hill was on full display in Lincoln.
Passing: 21-of-34 for 268 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: 9 carries for 72 yards, 2 TDs
2016: Taysom Hill
BYU 18, Arizona 16 in Glendale, Arizona
Taysom Hill returned to BYU for one final season after receiving a medical redshirt from the NCAA. He beat out Tanner Mangum in the preseason quarterback battle.
Kalani Sitake was now the head coach, while BYU legend Ty Detmer was the offensive coordinator.
Detmer brought with him a Pro-Style attack. It was great for Taysom to learn an NFL-style playbook, but the scheme wasn’t the best fit for the do-it-all athlete.
BYU’s offense struggled at times against Arizona, but they put together a late drive to set up Jake Oldroyd’s game-winning field goal.
Passing: 21-of-29 for 202 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: 11 carries for 37 yards
2017: Tanner Mangum
BYU 20, Portland State 6 in Provo
Once Taysom Hill completed his eligibility, Kalani Sitake handed the keys to BYU’s QB position to Tanner Mangum.
Mangum, who was a freshman sensation two years prior, passing for over 3,000 yards in 2015, was BYU’s QB1. There was no competition, no uncertainty; the job was Mangum’s.
BYU struggled against an FCS team to kick off the 2017 season, sending signs of what was to come for BYU that season.
Passing: 16-of-27 for 194 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: 4 carries for (-3) yards
2018: Tanner Mangum
BYU 28, Arizona 23 in Tucson
BYU entered the 2018 season-opener at Arizona as a double-digit underdog. Arizona QB Khalil Tate was all the talk of the college football world, even gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated. Tanner Mangum had a hard-fought QB battle in camp with freshman Zach Wilson.
However, Mangum emerged as the starting QB to open another season.
Mangum took care of the football, and BYU’s low-risk game plan worked against a Wildcats that entered that season with too much hype.
Passing: 18-of-28 for 209 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: 3 carries for 0 yards
2019: Zach Wilson
No. 14 Utah 30, BYU 12 in Provo
There was a lot of buildup for BYU’s season opener against rival Utah in 2019, most of which was due to Zach Wilson’s play.
Wilson took over as BYU’s starting quarterback the year prior, leading the Cougars to a 27-7 lead on the road against Utah. But the Cougars couldn’t finish the job, squandering a 20-point lead.
That same level of play didn’t carry over in 2019. Wilson, returning from offseason shoulder surgery, and the BYU offense struggled against a Utah team that entered the season in the Top 15 of the rankings.
Passing: 21-of-33 for 208 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing: 8 carries for 43 yards
2020: Zach Wilson
BYU 55, Navy 3 in Annapolis
BYU was initially supposed to open the 2020 season against Utah again. However, the COVID-19 pandemic took that away.
Despite being an Independent, BYU was able to scramble and put together a schedule. The first game was a cross-country trip to Navy in Annapolis.
Wilson and the BYU offense had a field day against a Navy squad that didn’t tackle in fall camp to uphold social distancing.
BYU went on to win 11 games in 2020, in large part due to the play of Wilson.
Passing: 13-of-18 for 232 yards, 2 TDs & 1 INT
Rushing: 2 carries for 7 yards
2021: Jaren Hall
BYU 24, Arizona 16 in Las Vegas
Jaren Hall beat Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover in a fall camp battle to succeed Zach Wilson as BYU’s next starting quarterback.
Hall was always viewed as the favorite as he had previous starts in the 2019 season.
In the season opener against Arizona at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Hall played a turnover-free game and showcased his dual-threat style.
Passing: 18-of-28 for 198 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing: 5 carries for 36 yards
2022: Jaren Hall
No. 25 BYU 50, USF 21 in Tampa
After a 10-win season in 2021, BYU was in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2009. They looked the part of a nationally-ranked team in week one as Hall and the Cougars thumped USF in Tampa after a long weather delay.
Hall was in his first game back after suffering an ankle injury the year prior against USC.
In his first start back, he shined as BYU cruised to one of the most dominant season-opening wins for the program.
Passing: 25-of-32 for 261 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing: 5 carries for 15 yards
2023: Kedon Slovis
BYU 14, Sam Houston 0 in Provo
Former USC and Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis transferred to BYU for his graduate transfer season. He made the move official after Jaren Hall declared for the NFL draft.
Slovis stepped in as the starting quarterback the moment he arrived on campus. BYU coaches officially named him the starter in the spring.
Despite all of the first-team snaps, the week one performance against a first-time FBS team was a struggle.
Slovis finished the game with a 28.1 QBR and BYU didn’t have a passing touchdown. On the positive side, Slovis showed his ability to run scoring two touchdowns on the ground.
Passing: 20-of-33 for 145 yards
Rushing: 5 carries for 2 yards, 2 TDs
2024: Jake Retzlaff or Gerry Bohanon
BYU vs. Southern Illinois, August 31st, in Provo
The quarterback competition for BYU’s 2024 season continues between returning quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who started four games last year, and former Baylor/USF QB Gerry Bohanon.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
