Cougs Daily

BYU QB Treyson Bourguet Could be a Suitable Replacement if Jake Retzlaff Can't Play

Casey Lundquist

BYU quarterback Treyson Bourguet during BYU Spring practice
BYU quarterback Treyson Bourguet during BYU Spring practice / BYU Photo

Going into the offseason, the only question mark surrounding the BYU quarterback situation was the battle for the backup quarterback job. Jake Retzlaff was the undisputed starter going into his senior season in 2025.

The BYU quarterback situation is still in flux after a civil lawsuit was filed against Retzlaff, alleging sexual assault back in November of 2023. As of this writing, it's unknown whether Retzlaff will play football for BYU in 2025 or not.

If Jake Retzlaff is unavailable, Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet will be one of the leading candidates to take over the starting job. Bourguet is the lone upperclassman among the quarterbacks behind Retzlaff. Bourguet was battling McCae Hillstead for the backup quarterback job back in Spring camp.

Bourguet has starting experience from his time at Western Michigan. Over two years, Bourguet appeared in 10 games for the Broncos and started 8 games. He threw for over 1,300 yards and ran for over 200 yards over two seasons. He is entering his redshirt junior season in 2025.

The best game of his career came against Ball State. In that game, Bourguet threw for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. You can check out a few of his highlights below.

Bourguet doesn't have the highest ceiling compared to the other quarterbacks on BYU's roster, but you could make an argument that he has the highest floor. In a scenario where Retzlaff is unable to play, he could be the right choice to replace Retzlaff, espeically if BYU feels confident in the run game.

Treyson Bourguet Strengths

Treyson Bourguet throws a beautiful football. If all the quarterbacks participated in an accuracy contest with targets, we would probably pick Treyson Bourguet to win. When he has time to throw from a clean pocket, he can make most throws on the field. Deep throws are where he separates himself. Back in the Fall, Bourguet found Pokaiaua Haunga in a tight window where only Haunga could catch it. (Side note: Pokaiaua Haunga is absolutely a weapon in the passing game and should be used that way in 2025)

In Spring camp, Bourguet found true freshman LaMason Waller down the sideline on a deep throw. Bourguet has proven that he can throw effectively downfield in a game setting as well. That was his primary strength at Western Michigan. He had a PFF grade of 90.9 on throws of 20 yards or more. He completed 50% of his downfield throws and had three touchdowns in just 14 attempts.

While throwing down the field is his strength, he has also flashed the potential to make tight-window intermediate throws like this third-down conversion to Dom McKenzie.

Treyson Bourguet Weaknesses

Between the three quarterbacks that would contend for the starting job, Bourguet is the least mobile. While he's not a statue back in the pocket (he did scramble for 30 yards once back in Fall camp), he's not able to evade the rush like the other quarterbacks and punish defenses with his legs.

Quarterbacks don't need to be mobile. However, the most successful quarterbacks in Aaron Roderick's offense have been mobile. Bourguet's mobility, or lack thereof, would put more stress on the offensive line than a mobile quarterback otherwise would.

The offense that BYU would run for Treyson Bourguet would look more like the offense that BYU ran back in 2023 with Kedon Slovis. The offensive line under TJ Woods is more equipped to handle an offense like that, but it remains to be seen how good the 2025 offensive line can be. If the offensive line isn't able to dominate in the run game, the offense would stall out frequently like it did in 2023.

Lastly, inexperience would be a hurdle for Bourguet as well. He would be the most veteran quarterback among the three quarterbacks. However, he has only appeared in 10 games over the course of his career.

Published
Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.