Cougs Daily

Next Steps for the BYU Quarterback Situation Leading Up to Fall Camp

Casey Lundquist|
BYU quarterbacks during Spring camp
BYU quarterbacks during Spring camp | BYU Photo

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BYU Cougars

For the first time since the civil lawsuit was filed back in May, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff responded to the allegations of sexual assault. Retzlaff, through his attorney, denied all allegations of sexual assault in a response filed on Friday afternoon. However, Retzlaff did admit to breaking the school's honor code.

Given the admittance of the honor code violation and the public nature of the situation, a suspension became the expectation. The duration of the suspension, however, was still to be determined.

On Sunday, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Retzlaff will receive a seven-game suspension and, as a result, "is likely to leave the program". ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Retzlaff has started telling people around the program of his plans to transfer.

While the situation is fluid and nothing is officially final until either Retzlaff or BYU make an official announcement, we will look to the future and the next steps for BYU at quarterback.

Fall camp is just one month away. Assuming Jake Retzlaff can't play, BYU will have three options to choose from at quarterback. A battle for the starting quarterback job would become the headline of Fall camp.

Three Options at Quarterback

Behind Retzlaff, there are three quarterbacks that BYU could turn to: McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Bear Bachmeier. The three quarterbacks bring three different skillsets and levels of experience to the BYU offense.

On one hand, you have two players in McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet that are entering their second seasons with the program. They have knowledge of the playbook, but they have never taken first-team reps. When there was a quarterback battle during Fall camp of 2024, the first-team reps were evenly split between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon. Hillstead and Bourguet split reps with the third-team offense.

During Spring camp a few months ago, Jake Retzlaff took all the first-string reps. Hillstead and Bourguet were battling for the backup quarterback job at the time, but Spring camp ended without the backup quarterback battle being decided. Both Hillstead and Bourguet would compete for the starting job.

After Spring camp, BYU added Stanford transfer and true freshman Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier, a former four-star recruit, spent just a few weeks at Stanford. Shortly after signing with Stanford over competing offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami, Michigan, and Oregon among others, Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was fired.

That prompted Bachmeier to enter the transfer portal. Bachmeier was recruited by BYU out of high school, and he signed with the Cougars as the potential quarterback of the future after Retzlaff exhausted his eligibility.

Bachmeier's opportunity to play will come much earlier than anticipated when he committed to BYU. He has the talent to win the job, but he is the least experienced of the three quarterbacks both in BYU's offense and as a college football player.

The Case for McCae Hillstead

Utah State transfer quarterback McCae Hillstead committed to BYU in the Spring of 2024. After entering the transfer portal, Hillstead was recruited by schools in the Big Ten, SEC, and he was also recruited by Utah. He has talent and he flashed that during his true freshman season at Utah State.

Hillstead was thrust into action in the third game of his true freshman season at Utah State in 2023. In that game against Air Force, Utah State's offense was struggling before Hillstead came in for his first real college football action. The Aggies' offense came to life once Hillstead entered the game. In limited action, he threw for 202 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He was making anticipatory throws and quick decisions - two things that typically take time to develop.

After that game, Hillstead was named the starting quarterback for the following week against James Madison. The Aggies got off to a horrible start in that game against JMU, trailing 24-0 at the end of the first quarter. Hillstead and the offense came roaring back. The Aggies came all the way back from 24 down to tie the game at 38 in the fourth quarter. Hillstead ended the game with 399 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

Once the game was tied at 38, the wheels fell off for the Utah State offense and the Aggies lost 45-38. Despite the loss, Hillstead looked like the quarterback of the future for the Aggies. The next week, Hillstead left the game against UConn with a concussion.

After that injury, Hillstead didn't look like the quarterback that he was in September. He was sidelined for three weeks, then he was in and out of the lineup once he came back and the results were lackluster. He finished his true freshman seaon with 1,062 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.

As a true freshman, Hillstead was elite when he was throwing for a clean pocket. When he was pressured, he was bad. Very bad. In fact, his PFF grades under pressure vs when he was kept clean were almost identical to Jake Retzlaff's in 2024. Hillstead was only a true freshman, so perhaps a year at BYU could help him overcome those mistakes he made in 2023.

Hillstead certainly flashed potential as a true freshman. He made some big-time throws and he injected some life in an otherwise bad Utah State offense. He also struggled with some turnovers, something that's expected from a true freshman in his first game action.

In Spring camp, Hillstead flashed the potential that he showed as a true freshman. On one occasion, he pulled the ball on a read option and beat the BYU defense to the sideline. Hillstead showed off his track speed on the 50+ yard touchdown run. He also made big plays with his arm throughout camp. That has been a theme for Hillstead in the two camps we've seen him: explosive plays. Hillstead is capable of making explosive plays, but he has also forced a few throws and turned the ball over.

We predicted Hillstead to win the backup quarterback job in Fall camp. If the starting job becomes availalble, Hillstead would probably be the favorite to win the quarterback competition.

The Case for Bear Bachmeier

If Jake Retzlaff is unavailable, true freshman and former four-star recruit Bear Bachmeier would be the wildcard in the battle for the starting quarterback spot. Even if you include Retzlaff, there is an argument to make that Bachmeier is the most talented quarterback on the roster.

According to reports coming out of Stanford Spring camp, Bachmeier was splitting first-team reps and competing for the starting job. If he finds himself in the battle for the starting job at BYU, Bachmeier will be at a disadvantage. He would battle against two quarterbacks in McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet that have been at BYU for more than a year. Additionally, both Hillstead and Bourguet have started games at the FBS level.

Still, there is a path to starting as a true freshman for Bear Bachmeier if Jake Retzlaff is unable to play. Bachmeier is all of 6'2 and 225 pounds. He 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 a reason why so many big-name programs wanted to bring in Bachmeier.

He has the talent to be an ideal fit in Aaron Roderick's offense. He fits the mold of dual-threat quarterbacks that have had a lot of success in Aaron Roderick's offense like Jaren Hall, Jake Retzlaff, and Zach Wilson.

Bachmeier could step in right away and help the BYU offense as a runner. However, he will be brand new to college football and BYU's playbook. Historically, that's not a recipe for success. Bachmeier is intelligent and if anyone has the mental capacity to learn a system quickly, it's him. But his inexperience might be too much to overcome in just one month of Fall camp. It's worth noting that Aaron Roderick has publicly complimented Bachmeier's ability to learn the offense over the last few weeks.

Perhaps there could be a scenario where Bachmeier doesn't start right away, but BYU could turn to him midseason. That's what Aaron Roderick did with Zach Wilson in 2018.

The ideal situation for Bachmeier would have been a full year of development under Jake Retzlaff. BYU would like to avoid throwing Bachmeier into the fire before he's ready. However, they won't hesitate to start him if he proves to be the best option.

For a true freshman at quarterback, turnovers are usually what keep them off the field. Bachmeier protected the football throughout his high school career. His career TD/INT ratio (including rushing touchdowns) was 92/14. 33 of his 92 touchdowns came on the ground. He never threw more than 8 interceptions in a single season.

If Bachmeier can grasp the playbook enough, his talent is enough to get him on the field right away. He is a gifted playmaker off-script, so there would be upside to playing him even if the entire playbook wasn't at his disposal. Additionally, we expect him to be the best running quarterback as soon as he steps on campus. He ran for over 1,700 yards and averaged 10.6 yards per carry in high school. Perhaps BYU could lean on the run game for the first 4-5 games while Bachmeier gets up to speed.

Regardless, Bachmeier is facing an uphill battle to start at quarterback right away. It seems more likely that either McCae HIllstead or Treyson Bourguet would get the starting nod before Bachmeier given their time in the system. There's potentially a scenario where BYU could turn to either Hillstead or Bourguet before turning to Bachmeier later in the season, kind of like they did with Zach Wilson as a true freshman. Still, there is a path to Bachmeier starting right away. He will need to be good right out of the gates in Fall camp. First-team reps are incredibly value by the time Fall camp rolls around. He will only be given first-team reps if the staff thinks he has a chance to win the job. If he is, he will get more and more opportunities to prove that he's ready.

The Case for Treyson Bourguet

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 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 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.

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.

Of the three quarterbacks, Bourguet is the least mobile. He's certainly not a statue in the pocket, but he isn't a gifted runner like Bear Bachmeier and he isn't as fast as McCae Hillstead. 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.

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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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