Junior College Quarterback Jake Retzlaff Signs With BYU Football
Jan 10, 2023, 9:31 AM | Updated: 9:38 am
BYU football adds JUCO quarterback Jake Retzlaff. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football announced the signing of junior college quarterback Jake Retzlaff.
Retzlaff, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback from Riverside City College, will join the BYU program for the 2023 season.
Home 📍 pic.twitter.com/UhVSr3Xo5R
— Jake Retzlaff (@jretz11) January 10, 2023
Jake Retzlaff had a record-setting year at Riverside City College
During his one season at RCC, Retzlaff began rewriting the record books. On September 3, 2022, against Mt. San Jacinto, Retzlaff set a school single-game passing record with 529 yards in his first start. In addition, Retzlaff set a school record for touchdown passes in that same game with six.
In 13 starts, Retzlaff passed for 4,596 yards, 44 touchdowns, and completed 63% of his 493 passing attempts. Retzlaff led RCC to the California Community College championship game against San Mateo.
Path to BYU Football
ESPN’s recruiting rankings for junior college prospects ranked Retzlaff as the No. 1 JUCO quarterback in the 2023 cycle. However, the industry-standard 247Sports did not rank Retzlaff in their Top 100 JUCO prospects.
Retzlaff prepped at Centennial High School in California. He graduated in the class of 2021.
#BYU adds heralded JUCO quarterback Jake Retzlaff for 2023 season.#BYUFootball @kslsports https://t.co/M3fHQ18qkq
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 10, 2023
Coming out of high school, Retzlaff didn’t report any FBS offers. His senior season was impacted by injury and the state of California not permitting high school football amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
So he enrolled at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, for his first collegiate season. He emerged as the starting quarterback for West College, throwing for 3,302 yards in 12 starts.
Retzlaff has three years to play two in his collegiate career.
Busy quarterback room
BYU is preparing for its first season in the Big 12 Conference this fall. As a result, the quarterback room that Retzlaff will be joining is a busy one.
BYU’s quarterbacks for the 2023 season are expected to include USC/Pitt graduate transfer Kedon Slovis, true freshman Ryder Burton from Springville High School, and returners Cade Fennegan, Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters, and walk-ons Nick Billoups and Cole Hagen.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU moving to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
