Cougs Daily

BYU Quarterback Jake Retzlaff Answered the Bell Against Southern Illinois

Casey Lundquist

Jake Retzlaff takes a snap in the third quarter against Southern Illinois
Jake Retzlaff takes a snap in the third quarter against Southern Illinois / BYU Photo
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Up until a couple hours before kickoff, BYU had not announced a starting quarterback for the game against Southern Illinois. The quarterback battle between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon lasted until the end of Fall camp. Retzlaff, who was finally named the starter externally in Kalani Sitake's pregame interview, wasn't named the starter internally until BYU started game prep four Southern Illinois.

Retzlaff needed to play well to stop the great quarterback debate and secure his position as the starting quarterback. An up-and-down performance would have raised questions about whether BYU should turn to backup Gerry Bohanon or not. In three and a half quarters of action on Saturday night, Retzlaff answered the bell and cemented himself as the starter going into SMU.

Retzlaff threw for a career high 348 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, Retzlaff took care of the football and didn't throw any interceptions.

Retzlaff started out well, going 4/5 on the first drive and leading BYU down the field for the score. On that drive, he converted a 3rd & 5 to Keelan Marion, a 4th & 3 to Chase Roberts, and a 4th & 4 to Chase Roberts to put BYU inside the five yard-line. He moved the chains with his arm and got BYU in scoring position.

On the next drive, Retzlaff had his first "wow" throw of the season. Retzlaff threw a bomb to Jojo Phillips for the 57-yard touchdown. The pass traveled 60 yards in the air. It was put in a place where only Phillips could get it, and it hit Phillips in stride.

Retzlaff was also quick and accurate getting the ball to the backs coming out of the backfield. He had a quick throw to LJ Martin for a score - that was the kind of throw he struggled to throw consistently last season. He made a similar throw to Miles Davis in the fourth quarter for a long gain.

There were a few throws where he flashed his pure arm talent. His third touchdown of the night was a seam route to tight end Mata'ava Ta'ase - Retzlaff threw a laser that arrived before the safety could get there. There was another throw on a deep comeback route to Chase Roberts. Retzlaff was rolling to his right and hit Roberts on time and on target. Those were the kind of throws in camp that allowed Retzlaff to separate from Gerry Bohanon.

Retzlaff wasn't perfect. There were a few throws he would like to have back, most notably a potential touchdown to Ethan Erickson that was overthrown. He also struggled to get on the same page as Keanu Hill on a few RPOs. That could be attributed to taking only half the first-team reps in Fall camp.

Still, he did enough to answer the quarterback debate going into SMU. He has to continue to take care of the football in order to keep his job - but he was a much-improved quarterback all around.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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