BYU looking to fill unexpected hole at quarterback after Jake Retzlaff's offseason departure
Jake Retzlaff led the Cougars to an 11-2 record and an Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado a year ago while throwing for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns. With Retzlaff returning for his senior season, BYU was optimistic about building on that success in 2025. But he left the program in July.
Retzlaff was named as a defendant in a since-dismissed civil lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault. He acknowledged what he described as a consensual sexual relationship in his defense.
Following the lawsuit's dismissal, Retzlaff transferred to Tulane rather than face a potential suspension for violating a requirement in BYU's honor code asking students to abstain from premarital sex.
His departure left a major hole in BYU's offense heading into fall camp. Three quarterbacks — McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Bear Bachmeier — have emerged as serious candidates to be the new signal caller.
'Luckily this staff has been through quarterback competitions many times before,' BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. 'The goal is to try to get these guys in situations where we can play football and see how they can function.'
Hillstead and Bourguet have already spent a year in the program. Both players were buried on the depth chart behind Retzlaff and backup QB Gerry Bohanon after transferring into BYU last season. Each quarterback came to Provo with starting experience at their previous schools.
Hillstead appeared in eight games, starting four, as a true freshman in 2023. He threw for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns while completing 59.5% of his passes.
During his lone season with the Aggies, Hillstead set Utah State's freshman single-game passing record. He tallied 399 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-47 passing in a 45-38 loss to James Madison.
Hillstead is listed at 5-foot-10 and struggled to stay healthy at Utah State. But he's confident that his familiarity with the BYU playbook and his experience with the Aggies will help him overcome any perceived disadvantage with his height and smaller frame.
'You can't try to be anybody else other than yourself,' Hillstead said. 'Put that all on tape. Be your best self and try to go get it.'
Bourguet played in 10 games over two seasons at Western Michigan before transferring to BYU in 2024. He threw for 1,314 yards and six touchdowns while completing 52.4% of his passes.
The 6-foot-2 junior is feeling confident after having continuity for the first time in his football career. Bourguet had to adapt to new coaches and new offensive systems in all four years of high school football and both seasons at Western Michigan.
'This is most confident and comfortable I've been in a system my whole career,' Bourguet said.
Bachmeier did not play a snap for Stanford, transferring from the Cardinal to the Cougars after spring practices. The 6-foot-2 true freshman is trying to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Hank, who won the starting job as a freshman at Boise State.
Hank Bachmeier eventually made 48 career starts in stints at Boise State, Louisiana Tech, and Wake Forest, tallying 11,256 yards and 67 touchdowns over six seasons. The younger Bachmeier looks at his older brother as his primary mentor as he tries to make his own mark.
'He's obviously played a lot of ball, he's got a lot of experience,' Bachmeier said. 'So I'm just trying to be a sponge with him. Obviously, he's passing down a lot of knowledge to me and I'm trying to soak it up as much as I can.'
Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick split first-teams reps evenly between Hillstead, Bachmeier, and Bourguet in the first fall practice. Their preference is to name a starter quickly, but they also don't want to rush their evaluation period ahead of the season opener at home against Portland State on August 30th.
'I know that we can wait until the first game, but we'd like to get it sorted out as soon as we can,' Sitake said. 'You can't really put a deadline to it. It's not like we have to have this much done in day one, day two, or day three. I just like to see them go with the flow of the offense.'
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What do the big four need to progress in the Leagues Cup?
The group stage of the Leagues Cup is about to end, and Matchday 3 this Tuesday will be crucial in determining the fate of the Mexican teams. Today, at OneFootball, we tell you what América, Chivas, Cruz Azul, and Pumas need to advance to the next stage. América The scenario is not the best for the Eagles, as the defeat against Real Salt Lake and the penalty shootout victory against Minnesota did not leave them well placed in the standings. The team led by André Jardine must win in the established 90 minutes against Portland Timbers and, in addition, Juárez, Mazatlán, Toluca, and Pumas must not exceed six points and Puebla, Necaxa, and Pachuca must not win in regulation time. Chivas The outlook is no better for Gabriel Milito's team, as with similar stats to their eternal rival, they must win against Cincinnati and Juárez, Mazatlán, Toluca; Pumas, América, Puebla, Rayados, and Pachuca must not win or draw. Cruz Azul The 7-0 against Seattle Sounders was devastating for the cement producers, as it left them in fourteenth place in the standings. To advance to the next round, in addition to beating Colorado Rapids, they need the teams above them to lose or draw, but that's not all. If Toluca, Mazatlán, Pumas, and Juárez do not lose, the celestials would say goodbye to the competition before playing Matchday 3. Pumas The auriazules are the only ones of the big four who did their homework with honors, as they achieved two victories in two games, the first on penalties. Although they have more chances to advance, they must beat Inter Miami and Toluca, Juárez, and Mazatlán must not score points, in addition to Necaxa and Pachuca not winning. The big challenge will be to beat Mascherano's team without Keylor Navas. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Simon Barber - 2025 Getty Images
Forbes
11 minutes ago
- Forbes
Tapology Delivers New Ranking System That Is Better Than The UFC
Tapology has just left no doubt which combat sports site sits atop the mountain. On Monday, the site introduced a new rankings system that will immediately become a reference point for the MMA world, and it is already better than the system the UFC uses that even Dana White admits is flawed. As a journalist covering MMA for 15 years, I'm personally ecstatic to see an official ranking system with no human bias and one that after some deep examination has all the rhyme and reason I need to refer to it regularly. Tapology's new proprietary ranking system for fighters eliminates human subjectivity, media opinions, and fan voting. In place of 'vibes,' as Tapology founder Gregory Saks puts it in an article by Ben Fowlkes of the Uncrowned, the new model uses a data-driven algorithm to evaluate every active UFC fighter based solely on performance metrics. This system, five years in the making, measures each fighter's last six UFC bouts, taking into account strength of schedule, short-notice fights, and the quality of wins and losses. Let's look at the upcoming middleweight bout between Joe Pyfer and the UFC's current No. 14 185-pounder, Abus Magomedov. It feels like Pyfer should be close to being ranked, but because the UFC's ranking system stops at No. 15, it is hard to know how close he is to having a number next to his name–as Jon Anik would say. Well, according to Tapology's rankings, Magomedov is ranked No. 18 and it is Pyfer with the higher ranking at No. 16. What does this tell us–especially those who are normally a slave to the UFC's system? It tells us this is an even matchup and one that is even more intriguing now than it was when it was first announced. The new ranking system also introduces a new way to look at upcoming events. We can use the rankings to see how many Top 50 fighters are set to compete. According to Tapology, the upcoming UFC Fight Night headlined by Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez, has mostly guys and girls ranked in the Top 50. Specifically, all but five fighters set to compete are ranked inside of the Top 50 fighters in the world in their weight class. That's partially deceiving considering one of those fighters is former men's flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg. He's making his bantamweight debut in a bout against veteran Ode Osbourne. Erceg is certainly one of the 50-best bantamweights, but to the ranking system's credit, he'll have to prove it first. As White has mentioned, the UFC's current system has room for human error as it is susceptible to bias and the inevitable prisoner-of-the-moment factor. This system, while bound to have its critics, doesn't have those same flaws. That's at least refreshing. You have to wonder if White will be asked about this in Chicago at UFC 319 or before if someone has the opportunity. And if he is asked, it'll be interesting to see how he responds. Historically, White hasn't shied away from acknowledging issues with his promotion's own rankings, once calling them 'a pain in the ass.' But he's also known to resist outside influence, especially when it comes to public-facing tools not made in-house. Tapology's independent framework could quietly gain traction, even without the UFC's blessing, especially if fighters start referencing it for callouts and resume building. The more it's used to justify matchups or contender status, the harder it will be to ignore. It'll also be interesting to see if real-life circumstances will influence an evolution of Tapology's ranking system. Take it from someone who has tried to create their own MMA metrics; you sometimes think you have everything accounted for and then something unexpected happens. In any case, bravo Tapology.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Zverev to meet Khachanov in ATP Toronto semi-finals
Alexander Zverev reached his 21st Masters 1000 semi-final on Monday by ending the Canadian title defence of Alexei Popyrin 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 6-3 at the ATP Toronto Masters. The final game, with Zverev serving at 5-3, was interrupted by shouts from an unruly fan who was tossed out by security. The distraction ended a run of 14 consecutive points on serve, with the seed double-faulting once he was able to continue serving. He finished off the evening with a sharp volley winner at the net on his first match point. Zverev completed his 40th win of the year in just over two and a half hours. The world number three won the tournament in 2017 but had not been past the quarter-finals in Canada since. "After losing the first set, I had to tell myself we were both playing well," the holder of seven Masters trophies said. "I had one or two mistakes at the end of the first, but it was a high-level match. "I felt that if I kept playing well, I would get my chances -- and I did. I can't complain about the second and third sets." Zverev will bid for the oddly scheduled Thursday final against three-time semi-finalist Karen Khachanov, who dismissed young American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-6 (7/3). "It was a very close, competitive match," Khachanov said. "I had to come back from some tough situations. "How you handle that mentally is important. I was glad to close it out in the second set. "I had to try and not give him the opportunity to step in and attack; that's what I did today." Zverev has won five of the seven matches he has played against Khachanov. Popyrin and Zverev duelled throughout the evenly matched 71-minute opening set as it went into a tiebreaker. Zverev was unable to convert on two winning chances, but Popyrin came good on his own second opportunity with a net cord winner that caught his opponent stranded at the baseline. The German began to turn the tables in the second set, taking a 4-1 lead only to see the Aussie level at 4-all. Zverev pulled away to level the match at a set apiece, breaking for 6-4 as Popyrin sent a volley wide. The top seed began the final set with a 3-0 lead on his way into the tournament final four at the pre-US Open event. Popyrin remains winless against Zverev after losing all four of their matches. str/js
