Jake Retzlaff is ready for liftoff, with Gerry Bohanon as his booster rocket — and backup

Jake Retzlaff will start at quarterback tonight when BYU kicks off the season against Southern Illinois (6 p.m., ESPN+). BYU revealed the decision Saturday afternoon. If South Florida transfer Gerry Bohanon wants to blame someone for losing the quarterback battle — he can stand in front of the mirror and curse the good young man staring back at him.
That’s the guy who did him in — but not for the reasons you might think.
Bohanon’s vast experience and an uncanny willingness to share it may have had more to do with Retzlaff winning the job than it did with him losing it. The battle was tight, but in close competitions, even the smallest tweak can be a game-changer, and Bohanon unselfishly helped his short-term rival change his game and win the job for tonight’s opener against the Salukis.
The first thing Retzlaff noticed was Bohanon’s movement.
“His footwork opened my eyes to the way footwork is supposed to be,” Retzlaff told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this summer. “He is as smooth as he is fast. He simplifies it for himself. In the past, I’ve tried to do too much in the pocket. That’s something I picked up. He stays in his base really well. He doesn’t overextend.”
With his mobility, Bohanon has amassed 3,469 passing yards and 1,005 rushing yards while accounting for 41 touchdowns during stops at Baylor and South Florida.
Secondly, Retzlaff, who enjoyed an 18-month head start in the playbook, recognized Bohanon’s leadership, and he is still leaning on it.
“He is incredible to have in the room. He’s awesome. The dude is on his 13th year of college football,” Retzlaff said with a laugh. “It’s cool to have a guy in the room who has done it before. A guy who has been in the pocket when stuff doesn’t go good, and when it does.”
Bohanon led Baylor to the 2021 Big 12 championship and defeated Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Along the way, he also beat BYU. However, prior to the 2022 season, Bohanon lost his starting job with the Bears and transferred to South Florida. While with the Bulls, he injured his shoulder and sat out all of 2023.
After Retzlaff’s 0-4 finish last November, including a devastating 100-yard pick-six during in a nail-biter against No. 14 Oklahoma, the youngster needed a mentor who was both a player and a psychologist. BYU flew to Florida to convince Bohanon to fly to Provo.
“It’s interesting to have the perspective of another quarterback who has been in it — and is sitting right next to you,” Retzlaff said. “He’s seen a lot of ball. He’s an old guy. I make that joke with him plenty enough, but he’s cool with it.”
The fact that BYU, a program made famous by its quarterbacks, doesn’t employ a coach who played quarterback makes Bohanon’s veteran presence on the roster even more valuable.
“I love having him in the room. We will be able to feed off each other so much,” Retzlaff said earlier this summer. “We can back each other up with so many thoughts and feelings about what’s going on.”
Not everybody can pull off what Bohanon is being asked to do. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound former high school star from Earle, Arkansas, transferred to BYU with one year of eligibility and no guarantees. He showed up determined to win the starting job, but to also make the quarterbacks around him better — including Retzlaff.
No competitor likes finishing second and Bohanon is wise enough to know his football isn’t over. The punishing nature of the game has a way of creating opportunities for quarterbacks and he vows to be ready. His Cougar debut could still come against the Salukis, but as the backup.
Retzlaff, as a starter, threw for 648 yards and three touchdowns last year at BYU after tossing the ball around for a stunning 4,596 yards and 44 touchdowns at Riverside City College the year before. But unlike many DI newcomers, the nation’s top JC quarterback didn’t get any non-Power Five tuneups before being thrown into the fire. Instead, Retzlaff faced four bowl-bound Big 12 programs — at West Virginia, Iowa State, No. 14 Oklahoma and at No. 21 Oklahoma State.
Nearly 10 months later, with Southern Illinois in Provo tonight at LaVell Edwards Stadium, he is ready for a reboot and with Bohanon as his booster rocket Retzlaff has been cleared for takeoff.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.