Jake Retzlaff Puts BYU QB Battle To Rest With Strong Week One Performance
Sep 1, 2024, 3:29 PM | Updated: Sep 3, 2024, 1:56 pm
PROVO, Utah – Going into BYU’s season opener against Southern Illinois, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said the Cougars had a “clear-cut” starter at quarterback.
That clear-cut starter was redshirt junior Jake Retzlaff.
Jake Retzlaff signing autographs for young #BYU fans after his first career win as a starter. 💙 #BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/XWcld5YyD8
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 1, 2024
The former No. 1 Junior College quarterback recruit in the class of 2023 had one of the best opening week performances by a BYU quarterback in over a decade.
Jake Retzlaff throws for 348 yards against Southern Illinois
Retzlaff finished with 348 passing yards on 20-30 passing with three touchdowns and, most importantly, no interceptions. It was the most passing yards by a week one BYU starter since Max Hall tossed 486 yards against Northern Iowa from the FCS ranks.
The performance supports Roderick’s “clear-cut” comment and concludes the quarterback competition against former Baylor/USF transfer Gerry Bohanon. Tougher competition is on the horizon, starting with SMU this week, so Retzlaff and this BYU team must continue improving. Still, it was a strong start for an offense that never exceeded 400 yards in a game last season.
On Saturday, BYU’s offense put up 527 total yards.
“It was a lot of fun to play football again. That’s what I got to say about it,” Retzlaff said on his performance. “The guys around me played incredible at every position. The running backs ran the ball really well today. … We had 527 yards of offense. That’s a total team effort if I’ve ever heard of one. So I thought I played pretty well.”
The win gave Retzlaff his first career victory as a BYU starting quarterback. He improves his record as a starter to 1-4.
Winning the starting quarterback job in camp
Because of the struggles last season, Retzlaff had to earn the job again in a battle with Bohanon.
“It was back and forth with both of those guys. I think I said it to you guys during camp. We feel really good about both of them. When we put it out there, Jake won the spot,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “The special thing about it is that Gerry was so supportive. He’s a special, special human being. I mean, he’s awesome and they have a great relationship. So we needed both of them to compete like that because I thought it made them both better. Then we went with what we felt was right and who earned it.”
Retzlaff added, “When you win any job, when you win any competition, it makes you feel good about yourself. But you can’t just sit there and feel good about yourself. We had a game to win. So it really just got down to preparation. Having a guy like Gerry in the room is awesome for that. He’s a veteran and he’s done it so many ways. He’s a heck of a ballplayer, and having him in that room is so valuable to me.”
Jake Retzlaff on BYU’s offense: “We’re confident in ourselves”
During the 41-13 victory over the Salukis, who boasted the No. 4 defense in the FCS last season, BYU’s passing attack had eight big plays in the air. The most notable was a 57-yard completion to freshman Jojo Phillips to put BYU up 14-0 in the first quarter.
Jake Retzlaff when asked if this offensive performance validates the progress the offense has made since last year.#BYU #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/im5s6NoUIl
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 1, 2024
BYU’s key offensive players, including Retzlaff, all played last season. Does their performance against SIU validate that they have turned a corner and are progressing as an offense?
“It is, I would say, but we knew who we are. We’re confident in ourselves,” Retzlaff said. “Everybody in that offense knows what we can do. I think it’s a validation more for you guys (media) than anything because we’re confident in our abilities, and those guys went out there and played just as good as they knew they would play. So I’m super proud of those guys to be able to do that.”
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.
