Jake Retzlaff to Start at Quarterback for BYU Against Southern Illinois

The quarterback battle has finally come to an end at BYU

Nov 4, 2023; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) drops back for a pass during the second quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

PROVO, UT - The quarterback battle at BYU has finally come to an end. In his pregame interview leading up to the Southern Illinois game, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake announced that junior Jake Retzlaff will start at quarterback against the Salukis. Retzlaff beat out senior Gerry Bohanon who transferred into the program from USF back in January. Bohanon was also the quarterback at Baylor in 2021 when the Bears won the Big 12 championship.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake says in our pregame interview that Jake Retzlaff has won the starting quarterback competition; Gerry Bohanon is the backup.

WR Darius Lassiter will miss tonight’s game—and only tonight’s game—to satisfy terms of a granted NCAA eligibility waiver.…

— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) August 31, 2024

Retzlaff started the final four games of the 2023 season for BYU, going 0-4 including narrow losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to end the season. Retzlaff certainly had ups and downs during his first season in Provo. He helped the BYU offense move the football, specifically on the ground.

The competition between Retzlaff and Bohanon went back and forth throughout Fall camp. below is an excerpt from an article that we wrote about the quarterback battle at the end of Fall camp.

Coming out of that practice, it truly felt like it could be anyone's job. At this point, I see this competition as a 50/50 deal. Either quarterback could start and it wouldn't surprise me. However, Retzlaff has been surging over the last few weeks. I looked back at my notes from the last two weeks. Retzlaff completed 11/13 passes for approximately 150 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also didn't have a turnover during the media portion of practices throughout Fall camp.

It's a coin toss, but it feels like Jake Retzlaff has more momentum on his side. For that reason, I'm going to bet on him continuing to surge and winning the job by the season opener. I've gone back and forth on this. On Sunday, I gave Bohanon a slight edge due to his running ability and leadership. Today, I'm picking the quarterback who has been trending up.

If Retzlaff can avoid the critical mistakes that plagued him a year ago, that will be the first step to improvement in 2024. If he can make the throws he was making in camp, he will lead BYU to a convincing win.