How Jake Retzlaff learned he had won the battle to be Cougars’ QB1

A quarterback competition that goes deep into fall camp runs the risk of creating an even deeper divide on the team. BYU didn’t decide on a signal caller until a week before the opener.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick called Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon into a room and announced his decision. Retzlaff had just gone 0-4 to end the 2023 season and Bohanon, due to shoulder surgery, hadn’t played a game since the middle of 2022.
Even with a little more experience with the playbook, Retzlaff knew the competition was wide open.
“Anybody who goes 0-4 and thinks they are the guy is a little bit delusional,” Retzlaff told BYUtv’s “GameDay” pregame show. “That’s not how I felt. I had to get a lot better to play.”
Bohanon transferred in from South Florida ahead of spring practice. Prior to playing for the Bulls, he was Baylor’s starter in 2021. The Bears not only defeated BYU that season, but also won the Big 12 championship and the Sugar Bowl.
“Bringing in Gerry was incredible for me. It was incredible for Gerry, and it was incredible for the team,” Retzlaff said. “When you are in a competition, you are forced to play better every day. I truly believe that iron sharpens iron. He made me better and I hope I made him better in some ways. Having a guy like that is incredible, his leadership is second to none.”
As both quarterbacks sat with Roderick, each felt they had done enough to win the job, but they knew only one would be getting the call.
“Maybe I thought in my mind, ‘Oh, it would have been nice if I could have just walked into the starting job,’ sure, anybody would say that,” Retzlaff said. “But, c’mon, that’s not where growth comes from. Being comfortable is not where the good stuff happens. Getting used to being uncomfortable was something I learned early on in my high school career.
“Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is something I’ve been able to do. Being pushed and stressed about winning a quarterback competition is a good thing because that means I’m getting better.”
Roderick looked both quarterbacks in the eyes and announced Retzlaff had won the job. The two confident athletes, one happy and one disappointed, got up and left the room. Once outside, they shared a moment together.
“I just told him how much I appreciated him and everything he has done since being here and everything (he) is going to keep doing,” Retzlaff said. “There is real love between me and that guy. I would go to war with him if I needed to. I’m just grateful to have a guy in the (quarterbacks) room like that. His character is second to none. Anybody who has a chance to be a friend with (Gerry) — go do it.”
With Bohanon watching from the sideline, Retzlaff threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers as BYU routed Southern Illinois 41-13. With the game in hand, they traded places late in the fourth quarter.
Retzlaff will lead the Cougars against SMU on Friday (5 p.m. MDT, ESPN2), where the Cougars will try to snap a five-game road losing streak that began at Kansas last September.
“We were a really good team last year. We had a lot of really good players, we just hadn’t come together,” Retzlaff said. “I think that’s the No. 1 thing we did extremely well this offseason. When you do that, you are not playing for yourself, you are playing for the guy next to you. That’s how we learned to play this offseason because together we are strong and alone, we are weak.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.