Cougs Daily

A Breakdown of BYU's Most Important Quarterback Battle in Recent Memory

Joe Wheat

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BYU has had quarterback competitions before, but the one between Gerry Bohanon and Jake Retzlaff feels especially important as BYU tries to determines their heading as members of the Big 12. Surely a bowl game and coaches job security is on the line, but it feels like the future of the program hinges on who is chosen to lead the Cougars in 2024.

With that in mind, lets get to know the two quarterbacks battling for the soul of the program. What are the arguments for and against each player, and is the situation at quarterback really as bleak as it seems?

Gerry Bohanon

Gerry Bohanon
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The Argument Against

The argument against is pretty simple. The last time we saw Bohanon, he was leading an abysmal USF team to a 1-6 record while only managing 14 points against one of the worst BYU defenses in recent memory. He also hasn’t played a football game in 661 days due to major shoulder surgery, leading some to speculate that Bohanon would retire rather than make one last go as an FBS quarterback. At his best, he led Baylor to a Big 12 title in 2022, but he was immediately asked to move on in favor of Blake Shapen, who ultimately proved to be a mediocre college quarterback in his two seasons as the Baylor starter.

On the surface, Bohanon is a limited passer who has a 59.6% completion percentage and a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio for his career. Based on his tape at Baylor and USF, he displayed a somewhat inefficient throwing motion, which limited his ability to layer throws in a crowed defensive secondary. This tendency only raises more concerns if his shoulder is not fully healed.

By the most cynical view, Bohanon is Kedon Slovis with less NFL upside: a journeyman quarterback on his third school in six years who got worse as his career progressed. Coming off BYU’s worst passing season since 1975, its easy to wonder why Aaron Roderick and co. couldn’t parlay three years of NFL quarterback play into a transfer QB with more pedigree.

The Argument For

BYU has not seen Bohanon’s athleticism at QB since Taysom Hill. Bohanon received a 4-star rating in the 2018 class and has prototypical size and strength at 6’3 225 lbs. He even squatted 610 pounds at Baylor, more than current Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts. He has elite speed and rushing ability which BYU has not seen in perhaps ever. His 1,086 career rushing yards would rank 4th all-time at BYU for quarterbacks, which only gets more impressive when diving deeper into the numbers.

After removing sacks, Bohanon has averaged 6.9 yards per carry for his career. According to Pro Football Focus, 24.5% of Bohanon’s rush attempts in 2022 went for 10 yards or more. For reference, Jaren Hall’s 10+ rush rate was 16% in 2022, while Taysom Hill had a 24.3% 10+ yard rush rate in 2014. Perhaps his most impressive quality, though, is what happens when the pocket starts collapsing. Bohanon has been sacked just 12 times in his career on 472 career drop backs. Bohanon has been able to avoid sacks on over 90% of his career pressures faced, compared to Jaren Hall’s 85.1% and Zach Wilson’s 77.7%.

Even as a passer, Bohanon is better than most give him credit for. After adjusting for drops, Bohanon’s career completion percentage is 70.3% with an average depth of target of over 10 yards per throw. Bohanon wasn’t asked to carry that 2021 Baylor team through the air, but when he did throw, he averaged 8.1 yards per attempt and had a better touchdown/attempt ratio (6.7%) than Zach Wilson did in his career (6.4%). At USF, Bohanon had a brutal start to the 2022 season, but finished his final 3 games (2 of which were against ranked opponents) with a 63% completion rate, 9 yards per attempt, 6 touchdowns, and no interceptions. If that is the Bohanon BYU is getting in 2024, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about him leading the BYU offense.

Jake Retzlaff

Jake Retzlaff
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The argument against

There's no sense in sugar coating it: Jake Retzlaff was not good in 2023. His 97.1 passer rating ranked 395th nationally among players with at least one pass thrown. His 5.9% turnover-worthy play rate is the worst by a BYU quarterback since Tanner Mangum in 2018 (6.3%). Rushing was arguably his greatest strength last season, and he had twice as many fumbles (6) as touchdowns (3). Retzlaff’s inconsistency and ball security likely cost BYU two top 20 wins and a bowl berth.

Based on his tape, Retzlaffs biggest weakness is his mechanics. Retzlaff has a unique sidearm delivery reminiscent of his days as a high school shortstop. At times it appears he throws off platform just to do it, and not because the play necessitates it. Those deliveries caused him to regularly miss on passes to the flat that otherwise should be layups. Retzlaff clearly has the arm strength to make any throw on the field, but he rarely made those throws twice in a row.

That is the crux with the Jake Retzlaff experience: consistency. He showed flashes of brilliance last season, like on a 50-yard dime to Keanu Hill in double coverage or when he followed a pick-6 with an 8 play, 75-yard game-tying touchdown drive against Oklahoma. However, those flashes were interspersed by head-scratching moments like the interception against Iowa State to start the game and the second half against Oklahoma State where he completed 6/17 passes. Four games is not a referendum on a quarterback’s career, but it’s hard to feel confident on this season's outlook unless Retzlaff makes major improvements in year two.

The argument for

For all his struggles in 2023, Retzlaff’s potential is easy to see. He is still the same player that threw for 4,596 yards and 44 touchdowns during his last year of Junior College. He wasn’t supposed to play last season, and his practice reps reflected that. Retzlaff hardly took snaps with the first-team offense until week nine because the struggling first team offense needed all the practice they could get with Slovis. Anyone who watched that team knew the 2023 BYU offense had bigger problems than Jake Retzlaff, and the offense objectively got better when Retzlaff was leading it. BYU’s average yards per play rose from 4.5 to 5.0 after he took over, leading to three of BYU’s four highest yardage outputs of the season against four of the five top teams in the conference.

There is also an argument to be made that Retzlaff’s struggles resulted from him needing to play backyard football as a new starter in a new offense in a new division of college football. Continuity matters at quarterback. Taysom Hill, Zach Wilson, and Jaren Hall all took massive strides in their second and third seasons as starters, and it stands to reason that Retzlaff can and will do the same with a full offseason of first-team reps and time training with “QB Whisperer” John Beck. Retzlaff has more to clean up than Bohanon, but he also has more upside than Bohanon in terms of arm talent and experience in the offense. Fans are not privy to the progress every quarterback makes in practice, but based on the limited clips shared from practice, Retzlaff’s footwork and arm angles are much more consistent, and he is shining off-script like on this touchdown throw to Keelan Marion.

Retzlaff’s flaws are fixable with time and practice, and if he can improve his ball security, he has more upside than anyone on the roster.

Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon
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Who should BYU start week one?

BYU likely doesn’t have their next NFL quarterback on the roster, but BYU doesn’t need one to win games in 2024. As losses to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State attest, BYU just needs a quarterback who isn’t the reason they lose games.

For that reason, Gerry Bohanon is likely BYU’s best bet to make a bowl game in 2024. Bohanon is the best athlete BYU has had at Quarterback in nearly a decade and has a history of playing winning football in the Big 12. No one is going to confuse Bohanon for Jaren Hall or Zach Wilson, but he also doesn’t need to be for BYU to go bowling in 2024. BYU needs a quarterback that can get the ball out quick, avoid negative plays, create 3rd down offense with his legs, and hit on the occasional play-action deep ball. All those descriptors fit Bohanon. He may not be the quarterback BYU fans wanted out of the transfer portal, but if he is healthy, Bohanon may be exactly the quarterback BYU needs.

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Joe Wheat

JOE WHEAT

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