Quarterbacks loom large in Big 12 — except at BYU, where another competition awaits

FRISCO, Texas — Quarterback depth has turned the 16-team Big 12 Conference into a league that its commissioner touted multiple times during Tuesday's football media days as the deepest in college football.

Hyperbole or not, the collection of signal callers starting with All-Big 12 preseason quarterback Sam Leavitt at Arizona State, league newcomer of the year Devon Dampier from Utah, and the collection of strong-armed veterans more entertaining — at the very least.

The league boasts nine teams that return quarterbacks who threw for 2,400 yards or more a year ago, nearly twice the total of any other power conference.

It's a nice stat, but it's not everything, Kansas State's Avery Johnson said.

"I think competition is a great thing," he added. "We only look game-by-game, but it pushes me to work harder. I think I can not get so caught up in who has the most yards or the most touchdowns. ... At the end of the day, the stat that matters the most is how many games you win this year. That's all I'm really worried about."

Arizona's Noah Fifita. Baylor's Sawyer Robertson. Iowa State's Rocco Becht. Kansas' Jalon Daniels. Texas Tech's Behren Morton and TCU's Josh Hoover.

The list of returning starting quarterbacks in the Big 12 is long — but doesn't include BYU.

After a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault that was dismissed in Utah's 3rd District Court, that list will no likely no longer include Jake Retzlaff. The rising fifth-year senior quarterback who accounted for 66% of the Cougars' offense during an 11-2 campaign a year ago plans to transfer to complete his college eligibility.

"I'm not sure we have to play catch-up on anything," BYU coach Kalani Sitake admitted bluntly. "The conversation will be, who deserves to play? There's competition at every position. We just happen to be in a position where we have to choose a quarterback that is going to be ready to roll."

Say what you will about Retzlaff — and much has been, whether it be his 2,947 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, 536 rushing yards or 12 interceptions — Retzlaff was an experienced quarterback with over a year in Aaron Roderick's offensive scheme. And that is better than not, other Big 12 signal callers agreed.

Retzlaff hasn't entered the transfer portal yet due to NCAA rules. And while Sitake opted to respect Retzlaff's decision to announce his own future — one that would include a multi-game suspension for violating the school's honor code if he did return to BYU, per multiple sources — he also didn't hide the heavy odds that the Cougars are moving.

The next move involves a quarterback competition between McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and true freshman Bear Bachmeier during training camp.

"If they're in our program, I have confidence that they should be able to handle (being the starter)," Sitake told KSL.com. "I mean, why bring them on to your team if you don't think they can play?

"My goal, though, is to create a system to see who earns the spot," he added. "I only know one way: I play the best. If you want to know how I play favorites, whoever is the best will start for us. That's every position. And if you're a starter, then you have to be ready for the guy behind you who is going to be hungry to take your spot — and then you also have to be nice to them, to love them, and be a mentor to them while fighting them off to take your spot. It's a pretty cool dynamic."

Hillstead, a Skyridge High product, was electric when healthy as a freshman at Utah State. The 5-foot-10 redshirt sophomore started four games for the Aggies in 2023, throwing for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns that included a 399-yard, four-touchdown performance against James Madison.

Bourguet was equally valuable in spot duty at Western Michigan, playing in 10 games including a 328-yard, three-touchdown effort in a win over Ball State.

Both are dual-threat quarterbacks, which is becoming more of a requirement to play in Roderick's uptempo system.

"Our coaches do a great job of recruiting; everyone is here for a reason," said BYU running back LJ Martin, who ran for 718 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing parts of four games due to injuries a year ago. "If they didn't fit it, they probably wouldn't be here. … I feel good about whoever is playing quarterback back there."

Bachmeier is the wild card, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound former four-star recruit from Murrieta, California, who transferred to BYU alongside older brother Tiger after enrolling at Stanford for spring practices earlier this year.

Former Bountiful quarterback Emerson Geilman, the 5A Player of the Year for the state-champion Redhawks, will also enroll at BYU in the fall before leaving to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"They're all great," Martin added. "I'm not worried at all. I have full belief in those guys to get the job done; I think they can go out there and get the job done, do what they need to do."

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