When Jake Retzlaff transferred to Tulane this offseason, it left the BYU Cougars football team with a glaring hole under center less than two months before the start of the 2025 college football season. Retzlaff, who was facing a seven-game suspension, led the Cougars to an 11-2 record, including a 7-2 mark in Big 12 Conference play.
Suddenly, the Cougars’ starting quarterback job is wide open and there are three quarterbacks on the roster vying for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart.
At the start of camp, all three of the quarterbacks in BYU’s QB room got an equal number of reps against the first-team defense, making this a truly wide open competition, but one quarterback provides the highest ceiling for the Cougars to take the next step in the Big 12 Conference.
McCae Hillstead Expected To Begin Season As BYU’s Starting QB
According to Locked On Cougars host Jake Hatch, the BYU quarterback competition could be settled by the end of next week. While most college football analysts are expecting McCae Hillstead to be the successor to Retzlaff, another QB could steal the starting job before the season is over.
Hatch spoke on the issue on Monday, saying “I do believe at this juncture that McCae Hillstead is the odds-on favorite to be BYU’s starting quarterback this fall.”
But that doesn’t mean Hillstead will be able to hold the job throughout the season, especially with expectations in Provo higher than ever. BYU is coming off of one of its best seasons in the 21st century.
“Does that mean he holds the job all season long?” Hatch continued. “Absolutely not.”
Hillstead Could Be On A Short Leash At BYU
Hillstead is expected to have every opportunity to end the competition before it even begins. Aaron Roderick, Matt Mitchell, Kalani Sitake, and other top decision makers will give Hillstead, the former Utah State transfer, a chance to seize the job during training camp.
Former Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet is also expected to be in the mix but has limited experience, especially against Power Four competition. Hillstead and Bourguet did not appear in a game last season, so while they might be veterans in the Cougars’ QB room, they are both unproven commodities who could struggle in Big 12 play.
Hillstead has also had trouble limiting turnovers during his college football career. He has as many games with multiple passing touchdowns (three) as he does games with multiple interceptions (three). Despite being labeled as a dual-threat quarterback, he’s never rushed for a touchdown at the college level and has had only one game with more than 20 rushing yards.
Bachmaier Could Be BYU’s Starting QB Before The Season Is Over
Enter Bear Bachmaier, a true freshman transfer from Stanford, who joined the program this summer and has a late start compared to his teammates. Bachmaier is a three-star recruit, who originally chose Stanford over offers from Oregon, Michigan, and Notre Dame. The younger brother of Boise State and Wake Forest QB Hank Bachmaier, he has the type of pedigree that Cougars fans can get excited about at the position.
“I think by midseason, we’re talking 6-7 games deep when maybe that Utah game rolls around… a guy like Bear Bachmaier,” Hatch admitted. “…at that point it feels like he’d be more ready to step in should BYU be scuffling along or struggling at the quarterback position.”
“Much like many many moons ago, a guy like Zach Wilson did that.”
Ranked as the No. 12 quarterback and No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class by ESPN, Bachmaier is a blue-chip prospect. He transferred from Stanford, along with his brother, WR Tiger Bachmaier, who is expected to be an immediate contributor in the BYU receiver rotation after catching 46 balls for 476 yards last season.
Not only does Bear Bachmaier have the highest ceiling of any quarterback enrolled at BYU this season but he might be the best overall player in the QB room before the season is over.
With games against Stanford, Colorado, West Virginia, and Arizona on the schedule early, Bachmaier could get on the field even sooner than BYU’s date with rival Utah on Oct. 18.
Bachmaier told Desert News that his brother has been helping him learn the playbook and grasp the complexity of Roderick’s offense. “Yeah, so (Tiger) is smart. I like to think I’m smarter, but we kind of (disagree on that). He’ll quiz me and I’ll quiz him. That’s kind of helping us, and even expedites our learning process within the playbook.”
If Bachmaier can gain a better understanding of the playbook, he might be able to overcome his late arrival and steal the QB1 job ahead of BYU’s season opener against Portland State on August 30.
A true freshman QB has never started the season opener at BYU, but Bachmaier might be in line to be the first.
BYU Coaches Give Updates On BYU’s QB Competition
Kalani Sitake and Aaron Roderick have said all the right things at the start of camp and they’ve handled the competition as diplomatically as possible, giving each quarterback an equal number of reps with the first-team offense.
But it was associate head coach and defensive coordinator Jay Hill who, after a recent practice, gave some insight as to who the Cougars’ QB1 should be. He was asked what he looks for in a recruit and seemed to point at one player in particular to lead the QB room, “I look for ceiling, what is the ceiling that we can get that guy to. And then our job is to get him there. … It’s our job to put [athletes] to where they can be efficient.”
Bachmaier undoubtedly has the most potential of any quarterback at BYU, not just for 2025 but for the future as well. While the freshman worked with the second team offense on Tuesday, this was likely part of BYU’s regular rotation, so it wouldn’t be wise to count the 18-year-old out of the mix just yet.
Assistant quarterbacks coach Matt Mitchell gave a glowing review of Bachmaier and what he brings to the table in a recent interview, saying “With Bear you see dual-threat abilities, thrower first, which is what we want. Really good athlete but he has the ability to throw from a traditional pocket and go out and make plays with his legs and throw off platform… and he’s really smart.”
With BYU set to scrimmage this weekend, it’s possible that Bachmaier could seize control of the job with a strong showing and have Cougars fans buzzing about the future of the program.
