- BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff plans to withdraw from school amid controversy.
- Retzlaff faced a civil lawsuit alleging rape, which was later dismissed.
- His transfer bypasses the NCAA portal, a rare exception to common rules.
PROVO — Jake Retzlaff's time at BYU is coming to a close.
Last year's starting quarterback plans to withdraw from the university, opening up a path to transfer without using the NCAA transfer portal, ESPN first reported Friday. Retzlaff will simply enroll at another school, as he confirmed several minutes later on social media.
"BYU has meant more to me than just football," he wrote on Instagram. "It's been a place of growth — spiritually, mentally, and physically. I'm grateful for every teammate, coach, staff member, and fan who's supported me along the way. The relationships and memories I've made in Provo will always be a part of me.
"That said, I'm excited to turn the page and embrace the next chapter. My journey is far from over — and I'm more motivated than ever to keep chasing my goals."
BYU responded with the following statement, its first official comment about the matter Retzlaff was the subject of a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault in May.
"We are grateful for the time Jake Retzlaff has spent at BYU," the university told KSL.com. "As he moves forward, BYU Athletics understands and respects Jake's decision to withdraw from BYU, and we wish him all the best as he enters the next phase of his career."
Retzlaff, 22, was the named defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in May wherein a Salt Lake woman alleged he raped, strangled and bit her in his Provo apartment.
No criminal charges were filed against Retzlaff, but the quarterback denied "each and every allegation" to the complaint in a 14-page response that included text messages between himself and the alleged victim and claimed the lawsuit was an extortion attempt for what the BYU signal caller referred to as a "pleasant and entirely consensual evening together."
Within a few days, the lawsuit was dismissed by both parties. But Retzlaff began informing his teammates that he planned to transfer; and when he was not included on the Cougars' list of available players at Big 12 football media days in Frisco, Texas, the program began making arrangements for him to move on.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was asked several times about it by both local and national reporters during Big 12 media days in Texas this week.
"I love Jake Retzlaff," Sitake said. "We love Jake Retzlaff, and appreciate all that he has done for our program. I think it'll be inappropriate for me to make a statement on his situation first. I think that's his right. ... I'm going to give him the opportunity to do that."
"Every school has their standards, we have [our standards] too"
— BYUtv Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) July 8, 2025
BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake comments on coaching at a school with an honor code. pic.twitter.com/5d3QITsHyy
Transferring from one school to another without using the transfer portal — a codified mechanism by the NCAA that allows coaches and schools to contact players who are moving on since the fall of 2018 — is not unprecedented, though the All-Big 12 honorable mention signal caller would be a rare exception in the modern transfer world.
Former Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas withdrew from school back in January and enrolled at Miami, though he never entered the transfer portal. Lucas' representation said on social media that Wisconsin refused to put Lucas' name in the portal, though he had previously announced in early December his intention to do so.
The NCAA issued the following statement related to Wisconsin:
"NCAA rules do not prevent a student-athlete from unenrolling from an institution, enrolling at a new institution and competing immediately," it read.
The Badgers alleged that Miami had "impermissible contact" with the cornerback — largely because he never entered the portal, according to The Athletic.
CBS Sports reported that the deal was one of the highest revenue-sharing agreements on the team.
Of course, transferring without the use of the portal can impact one's ability to receive an athletic scholarship. But an athlete can transfer as a walk-on.
In the case of Retzlaff, his admittance to consensual sex in response to the civil lawsuit represented a violation of BYU's honor code, which, among other things, requires all students to "live a chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from sexual relations outside marriage between a man and a woman."
The violation resulted in a multi-game suspension for Retzlaff, with some sources claiming as many as seven games for the fifth-year senior quarterback from Corona, California.
Sitake also acknowledged a quarterback competition during training camp between incumbent backups McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet and true freshman Bear Bachmeier, the former four-star recruit who transferred to BYU after participating in spring practices at Stanford.
