‘I’m riding with him’: BYU players, coaches express confidence in starting QB Jake Retzlaff

BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff doesn’t have to be looking over his shoulder this week as the Cougars prepare for their Big 12 opener against No. 13 Kansas State , Cougars coach Kalani Sitake said Monday during his weekly press briefing.

Retzlaff got off to a shaky start in last Saturday’s 34-14 win at Wyoming by throwing an interception on the Cougars’ first possession, and also made a couple other throws that probably should have been picked off. But the junior “settled in,” Sitake said, and played so well that backup Gerry Bohanon was able to get some reps and throw his first pass in a game in nearly two years.

“Well, he seems to be more comfortable, not just with the scheme but playing on the field and being the starter. I think that’s (apparent),” Sitake said. “He is starting to settle in a little bit. Being a quarterback at BYU, you get a lot of attention, good and bad. If it doesn’t go well, everyone gets mad at the quarterback. But then on the other side if things go well he gets a lot of credit, too. That’s just part of being the quarterback here.”

Retzlaff’s performance earned him Pro Football Focus’ fourth-highest grade among Power Four QBs from Week 3, behind only Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel , Georgia Tech’s Haynes King and Miami’s Cam Ward. That will probably come as a surprise to a few BYU fans who took to social media Saturday night calling for Retzlaff to be benched.

“The efficiency on offense is on everyone. Everyone has gotta do their part. Everyone has to do their 1/11th so the quarterback can make the right reads,” Sitake said, alluding to the Cougars’ issues on third down. “So we need Jake to be at his best. But I like his comfort level and that he is feeling a little bit more settled. We will be fine. I think we will be in a really good spot with him there.”

As has been thoroughly documented, BYU has not been good on third down the past two games, and some of that falls on the quarterback. They’ve converted on only four of 24 third-down opportunities against SMU and Wyoming. Overall, they are 11 of 39 (28.2%) on third down in three games.

The flip side is that they have been great on fourth down, converting on eight of 10 tries.

“Jake is doing a great job at everything we are asking of him as a coaching staff. It is not perfect. There are probably only a few quarterbacks out there who are playing perfect football right now. But he is getting there. He is improving. He is understanding, and he is learning.

Kalani Sitake on Jake Retzlaff

“Jake is doing a great job at everything we are asking of him as a coaching staff. It is not perfect. There are probably only a few quarterbacks out there who are playing perfect football right now,” Sitake said. “But he is getting there. He is improving. He is understanding, and he is learning. That’s what I love about it.”

Receiver Parker Kingston also gave Retzlaff a vote of confidence, saying the seven-game starter is growing into the position.

“It has been awesome seeing him really grow and develop from last year to this year,” Kingston said. “We were with him all offseason throwing. We went down to California with him and John Beck, and it is just good to see all the hours he put in in the offseason paying off right now.

“I mean, he’s throwing the ball well, he’s running the ball well, and he’s playing great all around,” Kingston continued. “Obviously, there’s still some (errant) throws, right? But every quarterback has those. He’s looking good, and I’m riding with him.”

The real test comes Saturday, as No. 13 Kansas State (3-0) comes to town with an outstanding quarterback of its own in sophomore Avery Johnson, who carved up Arizona with his arm and his legs last Friday. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. MDT and the Big 12 opener for both squads will be televised by ESPN.

Retzlaff went 0-4 as a starter last year against Big 12 foes, and will be looking to guide BYU to its first conference win since it downed Texas Tech 27-14 at LaVell Edwards Stadium last October with Kedon Slovis at the controls.

Last year I think (Retzlaff) was in a really difficult spot. We had a lot of reps that we spent on Kedon to help build him,” Sitake said. “Now we are in a position where Jake is the guy who is getting the bulk of the reps. That means he is getting the bulk of the learning, which will be helpful for us.”

As for the third-down struggles (BYU was 2 of 11 against Wyoming on third down, but 3 of 3 on fourth), Sitake said the bottom line is that points are being scored.

“So I am not really concerned about the last two weeks as much as I would like to see us perform better this week,” he said. “We know how to fix it. We will get working on it. Hopefully we will be better this weekend. I have seen our offense be really (efficient). Look at our fourth-down conversions. So let’s just treat third down like fourth down, and I think we will be fine.”

What’s the status of the injured RBs, safeties?

BYU played without its top three running backs against Wyoming as LJ Martin, Hinckley Ropati and Enoch Nawahine were injured. Junior Miles Davis, freshman Sione I. Moa and freshman Pokaiaua Haunga got the carries, combining for 67 yards on 19 carries. Retzlaff ran for 62 yards on six totes, and was not sacked.

Sitake they are “still evaluating” the three injured backs and “there is still a chance this week that we could see those guys.”

However, he said he was “happy” with how the backups played and is confident they can continue to improve while the starters heal up.

“I feel good about the group overall,” he said. “It was nice to get some of those true freshmen those opportunities. They did a great job.”

Sitake said senior safety Micah Harper will be “ready to go” against the Wildcats after sitting out against the Pokes. Raider Damuni co-led BYU with four tackles, while Talan Alfrey added three.

“We have a deep safety group. Crew (Wakley) did great. I thought Raider came in and played really well. Looking at all the safeties, Tanner (Wall) and Tommy (Prassas) and Faletau (Satuala), those guys are doing a great job,” Sitake said. “I know I am leaving somebody out.

“I trust Jay (Hill) and Gavin (Fowler) in getting the safeties ready. They will be ready to go by the time we get to the game. Micah is doing great, too, so we have a number of players that can help us out.”