Cougs Daily

BYU Quarterback Battle: Every Quarterback's Odds to Win the Job

Casey Lundquist|
BYU quarterbacks McCae Hillstead (left) and Treyson Bourguet (right) at BYU Spring camp
BYU quarterbacks McCae Hillstead (left) and Treyson Bourguet (right) at BYU Spring camp | BYU Photo

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BYU Cougars

The BYU quarterback situation for 2025 has been flipped upside down over the last two months. Until a civil lawsuit was filed against him alleging sexual assault, it was a foregone conclusion that Jake Retzlaff would lead the BYU offense in 2025. Now, Retzlaff has left the team and the BYU quarterback job is wide open.

Today, we're breaking down the odds for each quarterback to win the job. There are three contenders for the job: McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Bear Bachmeier. However, splitting the first-team reps three ways is not something BYU will want to do during Fall camp, at least not for very long.

BYU is not afraid to let a quarterback battle last throughout Fall camp. The current coaching staff has done it more than once already. However, it's unlikely for a true three-way battle to last throughout camp.

McCae Hillstead

BYU quarterback McCae Hillstead at BYU Spring Camp
BYU quarterback McCae Hillstead at BYU Spring Camp | BYU Photo

After Spring camp, BYU declined to name a backup quarterback behind Jake Retzlaff. That's not too surprising since there wasn't really a need to name a backup at that time. While BYU didn't make any official decision, the rep distribution in Spring camp point to McCae Hillstead having an edge in the backup race.

In every practice we observed, it was McCae Hillstead that ran with the second-team offense. When Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon were battling for the starting job back in Fall camp of 2024, the first-team reps were evenly distributed and every practice. That wasn't the case for Hillstead and Bourguet in terms of the backup reps in Spring camp. Hillstead ran with the second-team offense most often while Bourguet ran with the third-team offense.

Hillstead fits the mold of quarterbacks that have been successful in Aaron Roderick's offense: he throws strikes from a clean pocket, he is mobile, and he can hit deep shots downfield. He was particularly effective from a clean pocket.

However, he was a backup for a reason. He is inexperienced and he put the ball in harm's way too often in 2023. That's to be expected from a true freshman, but it's something he will need to improve on if he hopes to win the job. When the pressure got home, Hillstead really struggled. He is also undersized and staying healthy has been an issue.

Hillstead is the fastest quarterback on the roster, but he's probably not the most elusive. At Utah State, he was sacked on 23% of pressures (and boy did he face a lot of pressure at Utah State). He's not as good at escaping pressure as most quarterbacks with his speed. For comparison, Jake Retzlaff was sacked on 15% of pressures last season.

Before Fall camp kicks off, we give Hillstead a slight edge to win the starting job. If Hillstead has cleaned up the freshman mistakes he committed in 2023, he can win games for BYU.

BYU On SI chances to win the starting job: 45%

Bear Bachmeier

Between his size, his running ability, and his arm talent, Bear Bachmeier has the highest ceiling among these quarterbacks. He was coveted by big-name programs for a reason. Bachmeier has the body to play right away. He is all of 6'2 and 230 pounds.

However, he goes into this quarterback battle at a double disadvantage:

  1. He is a true freshman with no prior college football experience
  2. He has only been at BYU for a month, while the other quarterbacks have been on campus for over a year

Still, his ceiling is high enough that he could overcome the odds. It's been done before. Tanner Mangum returned home from his mission in June of 2015 before throwing for nearly 3,400 yards as a freshman. Bachmeier is really intelligent, and Roderick has publicly praised his ability to learn the playbook quickly. If Bachmeier can keep the competition close at the beginning of camp and prove he's not too far behind, he could surge at the end and win the job (similar to Retzlaff a season ago).

According to reports coming out of Stanford Spring camp, Bachmeier was splitting first-team reps and competing for the starting job. He got a taste of what a quarterback battle is like at the college level already - he can use that limited experience to his advantage at BYU.

Bachmeier moves incredibly well for his size and his playmaking ability makes his ceiling very high. Bachmeier can make plays with his legs, extend plays and throw on the run, or sit back in the pocket and deliver the football. There's so much to like about his game and so little time to get him up to speed.

In this writer's estimation, Bear would elevate the run game more than any quarterback on this list. On the other hand, the floor of the passing game would be lower with Bachmeier under center. It could come down to Aaron Roderick's preferred offensive style and what he believes he can scheme around.

BYU On SI chances to win the starting job: 40%

Treyson Bourguet

Like we said earlier, there are not enough first-team reps to split three ways. For that reason, Bourguet will need to really impress early in camp to give himself the opportunity to win the job. He has the arm talent to do it, but we give him the lowest odds among the three quarterbacks.

A Western Michigan transfer, Treyson Bourguet has starting experience. Bourguet joined the program in January of 2024. At Western Michigan, Bourguet threw for over 1,300 yards over two seasons. He is entering his redshirt junior season.

Bourguet is not as fast as Hillstead and he is more of an opportunistic runner rather than a consistent rushing threat. From an escapability standpoint, he is similar to McCae Hillstead. He was sacked on 24% of pressures in 2023 at Western Michigan. If Bourguet is under center, the BYU rushing attack will need to be independently effective. If BYU feels confident in the run game, Bourguet could be the right choice to hit downfield opportunities and manage the game.

In a season where BYU will need to run the football, Bourguet might limit the BYU offense in that regard. It was for that reason that we projected Hillstead to win the backup job after Spring camp.

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.

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.

BYU On SI chances to win the starting job: 15%

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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.

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