Jake Retzlaff has BYU off to 3-0 start. So why is the starting QB so polarizing?

PROVO — Jake Retzlaff probably won't be in a Dos Equis commercial as the most interesting man in the world, but around Utah County he may be one of the more polarizing public figures.

On paper, the redshirt junior quarterback is one of the top 20 passers in the Football Bowl Subdivision — seven of which are from the Big 12.

After completing 22-of-36 passes for 291 yards, three touchdowns and an interception (and adding a team-high 62 rushing yards on six carries) in a 34-14 road win over Wyoming, Retzlaff was the highest-graded quarterback among the Big 12's 15 starters that played in Week 3 with a score of 91.8 by Pro Football Focus.

Yet there remains a stigma about BYU's starter, likely stemming from his 0-4 record as a starter a year ago in BYU's 5-7 inaugural season in the Big 12 — even as head coach Kalani Sitake praised Retzlaff's familiarity with his role in Aaron Roderick's offense.

"I think he's starting to settle in a little bit," Sitake said Monday. "Being a quarterback at BYU, you get a lot of attention for good and bad. If it doesn't go well, everyone gets mad at the quarterback — but then, on the other side, when things go well he gets a lot of credit, too. That's just part of being a quarterback here.

"But the efficiency on offense is on everyone; everyone's got to do their part, do their 1/11th so the quarterback can make the right read. We need Jake to be at his best, but I like that his comfort level and he's feeling a little more settled. I think we're in a really good spot right there. He's doing a great job with everything we're asking him to do; it's not perfect, but there are probably very few quarterbacks out there that are playing perfect football right now. He's getting there, he's improving, he's understanding and he's learning."

The Cougars open Big 12 play Saturday night against No. 13 Kansas State (8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN), and — with respect to the Pokes, SMU or FCS Southern Illinois — will face a significant step up in opposition.

After last weekend's win, Retzlaff was the fourth-highest graded passer among power conference quarterbacks with a rating of 90.3, per PFF. That's higher than names like Colorado's Shadeur Sanders (89.0), Oklahoma State's Alan Bowman (86.7) and Texas' Arch Manning (86.3, in a more limited sample size).

Only Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (92.8), Georgia Tech's Haynes King (92.1) and Miami's Cam Ward (90.3) rank high among power conference quarterbacks.

That doesn't mean he's been perfect. Through three wins with two on the road, Retzlaff has completed 60.6% of his passes for 841 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

Add those picks to last year's tally and a handful of fumbles, and he's committed 10 turnovers to go with 10 touchdowns in his first seven starts in a BYU uniform that has earned him a reputation as a gunslinger, wild card and occasional "agent of chaos," to borrow a few of the terms used to describe Retzlaff on social media.

But he hasn't been usurped, and wasn't taken from Saturday's game until just before backup Gerry Bohanon Jr. was kneeling in victory formation. That was after a pick by Wyoming's Wrook Brown near the BYU goal line, until the Cougars' final series when Bohanon completed 3-of-3 passes for 27 yards.

To paraphrase R&B great Ashanti and rapper Fat Joe: It's about trust, babe — and Retzlaff has it from Roderick.

"It's fun to have A-Rod's trust in this offense, to be able to go out there and execute the pass plays to the guys around me," Retzlaff said Saturday night in Laramie. "The O-line blocked it up really nicely, and guys went and made plays down field. It made for a fun night."

Immediately after Retzlaff threw his lone interception, the Cougars rallied around their quarterback. He ended up hitting 12 targets, led by Chase Roberts' six catches for 129 yards.

Even the defense simply strapped up the helmets and did what it's done for three straight games: force Wyoming to punt on eight of its 12 possessions, with an interception and a turnover on downs.

If Retzlaff — or any other player — was going to be less than perfect, the BYU defense had his back, linebacker Jack Kelly noted.

"I think what was said was just how much we trust him, how much we know what kind of player he is, and the ability that he has," said Kelly, who had three tackles and a sack against Wyoming.

Parker Kingston recalled watching Retzlaff progress from last year's 0-4 as a starter through offseason workouts, including traveling with the quarterback to California to work with ex-BYU star John Beck and 3DQB.

"I think we all trust him; we all know he can get us the ball and make those throws," said Kingston, who caught two passes for 30 yards. "We've just got to make the plays for him. Obviously, there's a little controversy with Darius and Jake (on social media), but I think they were just fine. That's just what the outside projected on to them.

"We're all ride-or-die with Jake and we know he can make all of the plays."

For a second consecutive year, BYU's starting quarterback has led the Cougars to a 3-0 start. But Retzlaff knows what that means when the season is over and you're not going to a bowl game.

"Our message is on the field," he said. "I don't think I can put into words what we want to say to the world. We're just going to keep getting better. This week, the defense played their butts off and offense played their butts off.

"We're just going to keep showing up on the field and make a statement with our play."

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