BYU Players Lay Out Positives From Open QB Competition
Jul 23, 2024, 4:58 PM
PROVO, Utah – Who will start at quarterback for BYU football in 2024?
It’s the burning question around the program as fall camp kicks off in one week.
USF/Baylor transfer Gerry Bohanon and Jake Retzlaff are the leading contenders for the job.
Kalani Sitake on the QB Battle: "I can't tell you that there's a deadline. When we know, we'll know. We have four quarterbacks who have played college football. … All four of them have played CFB and started games."#BYU #BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) July 10, 2024
Retzlaff started the final four games last season but was winless in those four starts. Bohanon hasn’t played in a game since October 2022, when he suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to miss all last season.
Utah State transfer McCae Hillstead joined the QB unit after spring ball concluded this past May, and Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet rounds out the top four signal-callers.
“All four of them had played college football and started games,” said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. “That gives me a lot of confidence, knowing that a lot of things can happen in college football.”
Sitake hasn’t committed to a timeline for naming a starting quarterback. This could be a year when the competition goes into week one against Southern Illinois. Even then, one of these quarterbacks has to consistently perform at a high level in games to bring a close to the competition.
“Fire and accountability”
The late, great John Madden once said, “If you’ve got two quarterbacks, you have none.” Does that apply here to BYU?
The media would agree with Madden based on preseason predictions. BYU entered the 2024 season picked 13th in the preseason Big 12 poll.
However, BYU players who have watched Bohanon and Retzlaff compete this summer see positives from the competition that they believe have spread to the team.
“It’s the leader of the team. Your quarterback is the one who runs the whole offense and momentum of the whole game,” said BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts to KSL Sports. “Having that competition there has bled into every position group, even offense and defense. And it’s created this fire and accountability with each other. It’s been great for the team.”
BYU QB competitions bring out the best in Kalani Sitake’s teams
Since Kalani Sitake took over as head coach in 2016, he has always promoted daily competition for a position. There have been exceptions to that line of thought for Sitake at the quarterback position.
Half of Sitake’s previous eight seasons (2017, 2019, 2022, 2023) featured a week one BYU QB starter who didn’t go through a fall camp battle. Those four years led to underwhelming results.
BYU won a combined 24 games in those four years. Two of those four seasons ended up with no postseason play. And all four of those years had losing streaks at various points of three games or more.
Looking back at Sitake’s best teams (2016, 2020, 2021), they have thrived on competition at QB.
“It’s up there for the taking. I only know one way. That’s to play the best guys,” Sitake said to KSL Sports. “We’ve been in this position before where we’ve had quarterback battles. I think both players can benefit from it. All four players at quarterback can improve and get better. Whoever deserves the starting nod will be the guy.”
BYU QB unit is making strides entering fall camp
Going into fall camp, competition is being embraced by leaders such as senior center Connor Pay.
RELATED STORIES
“I just want them to make each other better. And I think that’s what they’ve done,” Pay said on the QB competition. “There’s competition at every position, and there should be. When someone is chasing you, you typically run a little faster. I think they’ve done a great job of handling it this whole offseason where it hasn’t been hostile, but they have been pushing each other very hard. On the field, doing sprints, in the weight room, they are always competing with each other. It’s making them better.
“They both have improved a ton not only during spring ball but as we go into fall camp now and just watching them throw the ball during our player-run practices. These guys are looking good, man. They are making strides.”
BYU football kicks off fall camp on Wednesday, July 31. The season’s first game is one month later, on August 31, against Southern Illinois in Provo.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
