For the first time since the civil lawsuit was filed back in May, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff responded to the allegations of sexual assault. Retzlaff, through his attorney, denied all allegations of sexual assault in a response filed on Friday afternoon. However, Retzlaff did admit to breaking the school’s honor code.
Given the admittance of the honor code violation and the public nature of the situation, a suspension became the expectation. The duration of the suspension, however, was still to be determined.Three Options at Quarterback
Behind Retzlaff, there are three quarterbacks that BYU could turn to: McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Bear Bachmeier. The three quarterbacks bring three different skillsets and levels of experience to the BYU offense.
On one hand, you have two players in McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet that are entering their second seasons with the program. They have knowledge of the playbook, but they have never taken first-team reps. When there was a quarterback battle during Fall camp of 2024, the first-team reps were evenly split between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon. Hillstead and Bourguet split reps with the third-team offense.
During Spring camp a few months ago, Jake Retzlaff took all the first-string reps. Hillstead and Bourguet were battling for the backup quarterback job at the time, but Spring camp ended without the backup quarterback battle being decided. Both Hillstead and Bourguet would compete for the starting job.On Sunday, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Retzlaff will receive a seven-game suspension and, as a result, “is likely to leave the program”. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Retzlaff has started telling people around the program of his plans to transfer.
While the situation is fluid and nothing is officially final until either Retzlaff or BYU make an official announcement, we will look to the future and the next steps for BYU at quarterback.
Fall camp is just one month away. Assuming Jake Retzlaff can’t play, BYU will have three options to choose from at quarterback. A battle for the starting quarterback job would become the headline of Fall camp.After Spring camp, BYU added Stanford transfer and true freshman Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier, a former four-star recruit, spent just a few weeks at Stanford. Shortly after signing with Stanford over competing offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami, Michigan, and Oregon among others, Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was fired.
That prompted Bachmeier to enter the transfer portal. Bachmeier was recruited by BYU out of high school, and he signed with the Cougars as the potential quarterback of the future after Retzlaff exhausted his eligibility.
Bachmeier’s opportunity to play will come much earlier than anticipated when he committed to BYU. He has the talent to win the job, but he is the least experienced of the three quarterbacks both in BYU’s offense and as a college football player.The Case for McCae Hillstead
Utah State transfer quarterback McCae Hillstead committed to BYU in the Spring of 2024. After entering the transfer portal, Hillstead was recruited by schools in the Big Ten, SEC, and he was also recruited by Utah. He has talent and he flashed that during his true freshman season at Utah State.
Hillstead was thrust into action in the third game of his true freshman season at Utah State in 2023. In that game against Air Force, Utah State’s offense was struggling before Hillstead came in for his first real college football action. The Aggies’ offense came to life once Hillstead entered the game. In limited action, he threw for 202 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He was making anticipatory throws and quick decisions – two things that typically take time to develop.
