On Sunday, the BYU Cougars roster suffered a massive blow as Quarterback Jake Retzlaff entered the transfer portal. The decision comes after Retzlaff was facing a 7 game suspension for breaking the program's Honor code amidst an ongoing civil lawsuit. Retzlaff will enter the transfer portal looking to land at a program he can start at right away while avoiding the potential suspension.
Sources: BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff plans to transfer from the school and has begun informing the staff and players of his plan to leave. He’d been facing an Honor Code suspension tied to a civil suit that alleges he raped a woman. pic.twitter.com/YO5ZfooLCf
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 29, 2025
Now just weeks before the start of BYU’s Summer practices the Cougars have a massive hole at the quarterback position. Last season Jake Retzlaff passed for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions helping the Cougars compete for a College Football Playoff bid.
Heading into the Summer, BYU will now have a competition with McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Bear Bachmeier competing for the starting quarterback job.
McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet come with the most experience as both players played at their prior stops. Hillstead passed for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns with 8 interceptions in 2023 for Utah State. Bourguet played two seasons Western Michigan with 212 career attempts for 1,314 yards and 6 touchdowns with 2 interceptions.
This Spring, the Cougars used the transfer portal to bring in Stanford Quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier was a member of the 2025 recruiting class signing with Stanford but decided to make the move this Spring.
Depending upon who wins out in BYU’s quarterback battle it’ll likely determine the program's future for the next few seasons. BYU has 5-star Quarterback Ryder Lyons on board in the 2026 recruiting class but he won’t arrive on campus until 2027 as he’ll serve an LDS Mission.
Replacing a Quarterback this late in the offseason is less than ideal for BYU especially as they hoped to contend for the Big 12 championship. If the Cougars can’t find competent quarterback play from one of their backups, losing Retzlaff could prove to derail the season.
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