Jake Retzlaff reportedly set to transfer out of BYU

PROVO – The Jake Retzlaff era at quarterback for BYU football has reportedly come to an end.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Sunday that Jake Retzlaff is planning to transfer from BYU. Thamel added that Retzlaff “has begun informing the staff and players of his plan to leave.”

Sources: BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff plans to transfer from the school and has begun informing the staff and players of his plan to leave. He’d been facing an Honor Code suspension tied to a civil suit that alleges he raped a woman. pic.twitter.com/YO5ZfooLCf

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 29, 2025

This report comes on the heels of a civil lawsuit from an anonymous woman accusing Retzlaff of sexual assault. The civil lawsuit was filed on May 21, 2025.

As of Sunday afternoon, there has been no official word from BYU or Jake Retzlaff on his status with the program.

The civil lawsuit from the alleged victim who is listed as Jane Doe A.G. alleged that Jake Retzlaff raped her in November of 2023.

On Friday, June 27, 2025, Retzlaff and his defense team filed a response to the civil lawsuit in Utah’s 3rd District Court, where he “specifically and categorically denies each and every and all allegations that he bit, raped or strangled” Jane Doe A.G.

In his response filed on Friday, Retzlaff and his defense team acknowledged the November 2023 sleepover was a “fully consensual sexual interaction.”

BYU, the flagship institution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has a long-standing Honor Code that students are expected to adhere to.

Among what BYU refers to as “important parts” of the Honor Code are “live a chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from any sexual relations outside a marriage between a man and a woman.”

Thamel notes that Retzlaff was “facing an Honor Code suspension” since the civil lawsuit was filed. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Retzlaff is facing a seven-game suspension for the 2025 season.

Brigham Young University issued a statement on May 21 and has primarily referred to it when answering follow-up questions from the media regarding the status of Retzlaff heading into the 2025 football season.

That statement read, “BYU became aware today (May 21) that a civil lawsuit involving Jake Retzlaff had been filed this morning. The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”

Before the civil lawsuit was filed in May, Retzlaff, the redshirt senior signal caller from Corona, California, was BYU’s clear-cut leader at the quarterback position exiting spring practices this past March.

Last season, Retzlaff was the starting quarterback in all 13 games during BYU’s 11-2 season that was capped off by a win over Colorado in the 2024 Alamo Bowl.

Retzlaff, a former Junior College transfer, has spent the past two seasons at BYU. In 2023, he appeared in four games, all of which were starts, while counting that year as a redshirt season.

Before his time at BYU, he was a junior college prospect at Golden West College, later transferring to Riverside City College, where he emerged as the No. 1 JUCO quarterback in the country for the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Retzlaff graduated from Brigham Young University in April, majoring in Exercise and Wellness.

When examining BYU football’s potential quarterback situation in 2025 following Retzlaff’s reported departure, they have three options.

Those players include returning lettermen McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet. Both are former transfers that BYU added in the 2024 portal cycle. Each of them competed for the backup position during spring practices.

The backup quarterback battle was expected to carry into fall camp, but now those two players reportedly have a chance at the No. 1 quarterback spot.

Bourguet and Hillstead have started games at previous stops in their college careers at Western Michigan and Utah State, respectively, but neither has taken a snap in a game at BYU.

During the spring transfer portal, before the civil lawsuit against Retzlaff was filed, BYU added Stanford transfer quarterback Bear Bachmeier, a former four-star quarterback in the 2025 high school recruiting class.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.