QB competition at BYU is good for all involved
After BYU’s disappointing 5-7 season, including five straight season-ending defeats, no starting position should be safe, especially at quarterback. The signing of Baylor/USF grad transfer Gerry Bohanon is an indicator that this offseason in Provo is open season.
It has to be.
The 23.1 points the Cougars scored on average in 2023 is so below average at BYU that it cost two coaches their jobs (offensive line coach Darrell Funk and tight ends coach Steve Clark) and put the rest of the offensive staff on notice.
Head coach Kalani Sitake needs more and he’s not afraid to do something about it. Just ask the defense. After a dismal 2022, Sitake fired everybody but Jernaro Gilford. If needed, he will do it to the offense too, and that’s why Bohanon is here.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick learned two things last fall. First, a run-pass-option offense needs a quarterback who can run. This is not a dig on Kedon Slovis. The grad-transfer came to BYU to pass, but in the wake of such a poor ground attack, hampered by Aidan Robbins’ broken ribs, Slovis had to start running. As a result, he injured his shoulder and missed the last four games of the season.
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Second, Roderick cannot afford to have a quarterback make his first Division I snap against a Big 12 defense. When BYU announced Slovis was out for the West Virginia road game, the Cougars lost a quarterback with 42 DI starts and replaced him with Jake Retzlaff — who didn’t have any.
Retzlaff was a dominating junior college quarterback — the best in the nation according to ESPN’s recruiting experts. But under the gun, at this higher level of competition, and against West Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, he struggled mightily, especially when it came to protecting the football.
Under such circumstances, it might seem unfair to put Retzlaff back at the starting gate with Bohanon and the rest of the quarterback room, but football isn’t fair and winning is what matters most. After a 5-7 finish, everybody is a work in progress.
So, when spring practice kicks off in March, the quarterback battle will be on, and the interest will be sky high. Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet was added to the mix on Saturday. But if it’s a two-horse race between and Bohanon, here is how they match up.
Experience
Retzlaff, four DI appearances, two years at Riverside City College.
Bohanon, 34 DI appearances, 2021 Big 12 championship, 2022 Sugar Bowl championship.
Advantage: Bohanon
DI production
Retzlaff, 648 yards passing, 116 yards rushing, three touchdowns.
Bohanon 3,464 yards passing, 1,005 yards rushing, 41 touchdowns.
Advantage: Bohanon
Aaron Roderick’s offense
Retzlaff, full year in Roderick’s system, four starts.
Bohanon, full year in former BYU OC Jeff Grimes’ offense, 10-2 in 2021.
Advantage: Toss-up
Health issues
Retzlaff (6-foot-1, 205 pounds), no reported issues.
Bohanon (6-foot-3, 226 pounds) missed half of 2022 and all of 2023 with a shoulder injury.
Advantage: Retzlaff
What if?
The offseason narrative could have been so different if only BYU had run the ball on first-and-goal at the 2-yard line against No. 14 Oklahoma. Instead of taking a 24-17 third-quarter lead in a battle where the Sooners were already playing their backup freshman quarterback, Retzlaff made a rookie mistake and threw a 100-yard pick-six.
BYU didn’t lose the game on that play, but the Cougars gave away a big opportunity to win it before eventually falling short 31-24. The following week, the Cougars blew a 24-6 halftime lead at Oklahoma State and lost in double-overtime.
A win in either of those two games would have capped BYU’s first Big 12 season with a bowl game and probably crowned Retzlaff as the incumbent quarterback for 2024.
Wishful what-if thinking, however, is no strategy for a different outcome. Making necessary changes is, and signing Bohanon to trigger the quarterback battle is a necessary start.
Small world
Bohanon was Charlie Brewer’s backup at Baylor before Brewer transferred to Utah. The Utes started Brewer ahead of Cam Rising in 2021 when BYU beat them 26-17 in Provo. One month later, Bohanon was Baylor’s starter when the Bears beat the Cougars 38-24 in Waco. Both Bohanon and Rising missed all of 2023 with medical redshirts. Should Bohanon win the starting job and remain healthy, he could face Rising in a matchup of seventh-year seniors when BYU and Utah meet at Rice-Eccles Stadium this fall.
Small world (Part II)
Bohanon started for South Florida when the Bulls hosted BYU in the 2022 season opener. The former Baylor quarterback, who had reportedly been pursued by the Cougars while he was in the transfer portal, completed 17 of 30 passes for 172 yards. He also rushed for 28 yards and threw a pick-six to BYU’s Max Tooley in a 50-21 defeat. Three of Jaren Hall’s top targets in that game will be among the new weapons for Bohanon, including Chase Roberts, Kody Epps, and Keanu Hill.
