Who is Jake Retzlaff? Meet Jewish BYU QB leading 5-0 Cougars in undefeated season

Sarah Effress

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Who is Jake Retzlaff? Meet Jewish BYU QB leading 5-0 Cougars in undefeated season image

Jake Retzlaff is more than the quarterback leading BYU to an undefeated start to the 2024 season.

The 22-year-old arrived in Provo after a successful junior college career. He considers himself the best ping pong player on the team. He also happens to be Jewish.

Retzlaff's Jewish faith stands out at BYU. More than 98% of BYU's undergraduate student body is Mormon. Of the other 2% of the student body, just five students practice Judaism.

One of them is Retzlaff, who is starting under center for BYU after beating out Gerry Bohanon, a dual-threat transfer who spent his previous five seasons at USF and Baylor.

It's safe to say BYU head coach Kalani Sitake—a devout Mormon himself—made the right decision in Retzlaff. The Cougars are off to their first 5-0 start since 2021, when the team peaked at No. 10 in the AP Poll. Before defeating Baylor on Saturday, BYU sat at No. 22 in the standings.

That will likely change after the Cougars' 34-28 win in Waco, a game that Retzlaff & Co. entered as 3.5-point underdogs. Here's everything to know about the Jewish BYU quarterback leading the undefeated Cougars.

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Who is Jake Retzlaff, BYU's Jewish quarterback?

Retzlaff hails from Corona, California, and played football at Centennial High School. The year before his senior season in 2020, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he threw for 1,067 yards and eight touchdowns, and he scored three more on the ground.

His collegiate career began at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. Retzlaff started for the junior college right out the gate, losing just once his freshman year after tossing 3,302 yards and 23 touchdowns and earning National Southern League Offensive Player of the Year.

His performance in 2021 with Golden West contributed to a 3-star rating by 247Sports, who named Retzlaff the No. 2 junior college quarterback when he entered the transfer portal. He received offers from UTEP and New Mexico in December that year but opted to attend Riverside City College for his sophomore year.

There, he threw for 4,596 yards and 44 scores, including six games with five or more passing touchdowns. Retzlaff re-entered the transfer portal at the end of his 2022 campaign, receiving an offer from Hawai'i before committing to and then enrolling at BYU a little over two weeks later.

Retzlaff is vocal about his religious identity and is often spotted wearing a Jewish star necklace in press conferences. He spoke about his experience as a Jewish athlete at BYU in an interview with CBS Sports earlier this month.

"Me and my two brothers were really the only two Jewish athletes (in my town) growing up," Retzlaff said. "I love to be able to be a beacon and just to inspire somebody. If it's one, then it's enough. ... Everything is so faith-oriented. You would think everyone is doing their own thing, but it's the opposite. Everyone is so embraceful of every faith on campus."

Jake Retzlaff stats

Retzlaff started BYU's final four games of the 2023 season as a junior, and the limited playing time allowed him to maintain his redshirt status. He made his first start in Week 9, replacing an injured Kedon Slovis against West Virgina. The Cougars went 0-4 with Retzlaff under center to end the season and did not appear in a bowl game with just five wins on the year.

In 2024, though, Retzlaff has been nothing but impressive after earning the position over the more experienced Bohanon. Retzlaff was named a co-captain and passed for a career-high 348 yards, three touchdowns and 197.1 passer rating in the team's season-opening win over Southern Illinois.

Since then, the Cougars have continued winning, including wins over Power Four opponents SMU, No. 13 Kansas State and Baylor. Here's how Retzlaff has fared through five games.

YEARGPCOMP-ATTCOMP%PASS YDSTDINTCARRUSH YDSRUSH TDS
2023463-12550.464833511163
2024589-14661.01,206115341561

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Jake Retzlaff highlights

With 11 passing scores and one rushing touchdown so far this year, Retzlaff has produced plenty of highlights. Here are some of his best moments from 2024.

Sarah Effress

Sarah Effress Photo

Sarah Effress is an editorial intern for The Sporting News. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, and loves to talk soccer and women's college sports.