Predicting the Winners of Every Major Position Battle for BYU Football

Casey Lundquist | Aug 20, 2024

BYU quarterbacks Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon / BYU Photo

This week, the BYU football program is turning the page from Fall camp to game prep for Southern Illinois. As of this writing, there are still multiple position battles that have not been officially announced. Today, we're calling our shot and predicting the winners of every major position battle based on what we observed during Fall camp.

Quarterback

Prediction: Jake Retzlaff

Others in the mix: Gerry Bohanon

This quarterback battle has been too close to call and my thoughts on this have gone back and forth. First, a caveat: the media availability has only been twice a week for 20-40 minutes. What I'm seeing is only a sample of their full body of work. To take you through what has been the rollercoaster of my thoughts - let's look at a timeline:

Before Fall camp: I thought Jake Retzlaff had a 60%-70% chance to be the starter. He was the better quarterback during Spring camp, and I questioned whether Gerry Bohanon would be healthy enough to make this a true competition.

Week 1 of Fall camp: Gerry Bohanon showed up to camp with a healthy shoulder. He was throwing the ball much better on day one of Fall camp compared to Spring camp. That immediately increased his chances of winning the job, at least in my mind, to 40%-50%. Meanwhile, Jake Retzlaff was looking like a much-improved player. He was making the layups and protecting the football - the two areas that cost him the most in 2023. However, there were still moments where he got sped up and that caused some off-target throws downfield. Once Retzlaff had a few misfires during week one of camp, it looked like a 50/50 battle.

Week 2 of Fall camp: This week might as well be called the Gerry Bohanon week. Bohanon was spectacular. On day seven, Bohanon was the star of the day. He led multiple scoring drives and he had the first real "wow" moment in camp. No play was better than a long run from Gerry Bohanon down the sideline. Bohanon dropped back to pass and didn't find anyone open, so he scrambled to his left and found some open grass. Bohanon flashed a speed that we hadn't seen during media availability. He was 30 yards downfield in the blink of an eye. He made it 50-55 yards before Micah Harper tagged him down. If Bohanon was live, he's probably not getting tackled on that play.

That play from Bohanon epitomized his unique physical gifts. Retzlaff is a good runner, for sure, but Bohanon is a freaky athlete that can be a superb runner. He is all of 6'3 and 225 pounds and he runs like a deer. Watching him run down the sideline was a "wow" moment. He flashed the kind of ability that could make him the best running quarterback at BYU since Taysom Hill.

It's important to note that while Bohanon was the star that day, Retzlaff had a good day in his own right. Retzlaff led a drive with multiple third-down conversions. The only thing that stopped the drive was the timer - the segment ended and Retzlaff's turn was over. Retzlaff played well enough that day to keep himself in the mix while Bohanon was in the spotlight.

At this point, I gave Bohanon a 60%-75% chance to win the job.

Week 3 of Fall camp: Gerry Bohanon wasn't bad in week three, but Jake Retzlaff looked a little better. Retzlaff had a pair of really nice days. In one practice, Retzlaff didn't have an incompletion in the media portion of practice. His throws were headlined by a dart to Kody Epps to set up a game-winning field goal (situational portion of practice). Meanwhile, Bohanon had a pair of misfires.

The next practice, Retzlaff was good again. He wasn't perfect like the day before, but he was good.

Retzlaff's performance closed the gap a bit, but I still through Bohanon had a 50%-60% chance to win the job.

Week 4 of Fall camp: Week 4 kicked off on Monday. Both quarterbacks were great, but Jake Retzlaff was lights out. In the 20 minutes of media availability, Retzlaff was 4/4 for approximately 55 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both of Retzlaff's touchdowns were big-time throws.

Bohanon didn't have an imcompletion either. He was 5/5 for approximately 28 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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.

It's so close that a two quarterback system to start the season can't be ruled out. That would be the last resort for Aaron Roderick who has told the media that he wants to pick one guy and stich with him.

Tight End

Prediction: Keanu Hill

Others in the mix: Mata'ava Ta'ase, Ethan Erickson, Mason Fakahua, Ryner Swanson, Jackson Bowers

You will see multiple tight ends in the season opener. Keanu Hill has been the tight end getting the most consistent run with the ones. We give him the nod.

Left Guard

Prediction: Austin Leausa

Others in the mix: Sonny Makasini

This one has gone back and forth throughout camp. Similar to the quarterback battle, this could go either way. I'm giving the slight edge to Southern Utah transfer Austin Leausa due to his experience.

Free Safety

Prediction: Micah Harper, Tanner Wall

Others in the mix: Tommy Prassas, Faletau Satuala,

I cheated a little bit on this one. Micah Harper is going to play whether that's at nickel or free safety. He's been playing a lot of nickel and Tanner Wall has been the one running with the ones. Wall is not the sexy pick when you have heralded recruits behind him, but he hits hard, he knows the defense, and he's one of the brightest players on the team. Wall is going to see a lot of playing time this season. On one play during Fall camp, Wall came up to the line of scrimmage and stopped Keelan Marion in his tracks on a jet sweep.

Wall is a converted wide receiver that became the starter last year before suffering a season-ending injury.

True freshman Tommy Prassas will also get playing time. Fellow true freshman Faletau Satuala will probably emerge as the season goes along - his talent and potential is evident.

Strong Safety

Prediction: Talan Alfrey

Others in the mix: Crew Wakley, Raider Damuni, Ethan Slade

Talan Alfrey looks like the day-one starter at strong safety. There will probably be multiple players that rotate in at this position. Raider Damuni has been getting some more reps and could become the guy later on.

Defensive End

Prediction: Logan Lutui

Others in the Mix: Isaiah Bagnah

This is another close one that has gone back and forth. It doesn't really matter who wins this job because both will play a lot, but we're giving Logan Lutui the slight edge over Isaiah Bagnah.

Cornerback

Prediction: Mory Bamba

Others in the mix: Marque Collins, Nate Johnson, Tre Alexander

Mory Bamba is one of the top two or three athletes on the roster. He is a freaky athlete and he has looked more comfortable in Jay Hill's defense. We're giving him the slight edge over Marque Collins who is coming off a knee injury.