How important that fact is varies from fan to fan.

Up until a couple of months ago, returning starter Jake Retzlaff was the guy and expectations were high for the coming season. But anyone who follows BYU football knows about what’s happened since then. Retzlaff is gone, a casualty of a civil lawsuit (that was eventually dropped) and an Honor Code infraction. He withdrew from school last week and still hasn’t found a place to play in 2025.

Based on the reaction from some Cougar fans, Retzlaff will be easy to replace. He had his detractors last season, even though BYU finished 11-2, tied for the top of the Big 12 and won the Alamo Bowl in a rout of Colorado.

There are others that believe losing a senior quarterback less than two months before the season opener could be … problematic.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

Here’s what I think: Retzlaff is going to be very difficult to replace and it has more to do with intangibles than numbers.

In his first full year as a starter, Retzlaff’s output was good but not great: 57.9% completion rate, 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran for 417 yards and six more scores.

Pretty good, but room for improvement, right? A great college quarterback should be over 60% completions (maybe even 65%) and there should be less interceptions.

And hopefully, he’d learn to throw a proper end zone fade or offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick could maybe rip that page out of the playbook.

Compare those digits to what Jaren Hall put up in 2022 (66%, 3,171 yards, 31 touchdowns, six interceptions, 346 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns) or what Zach Wilson posted in 2020 (73.5%, 3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns, three interceptions, 254 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns) and you see what I mean.

Honestly, the BYU offense benefited greatly from a defense rated the best in the Big 12 (with 22 interceptions) and a special teams unit that featured a deadly kicker (Will Ferrin hit 24 of 27 field goal attempts) and two insanely good return men in Parker Kingston and Keelan Marion.

The offense had some really good moments but often struggled to put together a complete performance. They got picked up by the defense and special teams more than once.

OK, so those are the numbers.

Now, let’s talk about some other key factors that the loss of Retzlaff leaves in question.

The Big 12 is filled with returning quarterbacks. That experience doesn’t guarantee success but it’s a big part of winning games. Now BYU doesn’t have much experience at a key position.

And another thing: Whatever his faults, Retzlaff was fearless and brought a lot of moxie to the field.

Without his late-game heroics in 2024, BYU probably doesn’t beat Utah or Oklahoma State. Maybe not even SMU. Then your 11-2 mark becomes 9-4 or 8-5. Retzlaff was struggling at Arizona State but still managed to bring the Cougars to within a couple of yards of a huge comeback with a late drive.

Then there is the leadership angle, which cannot be overlooked. Coming into 2025, Retzlaff was the undisputed leader of the offense. But now he’s gone, as is another strong offensive leader in graduated center Connor Pay. In addition, one of the team’s top defensive leaders, Tyler Batty, also graduated.

That leaves a pretty big leadership void that must be filled.

I can hear Kalani Sitake and the rest of the coaches already. They’ll be asked in fall camp who has emerged as leaders and they’ll say, “We have seven or eight strong leaders” and tick off a list of names. While that may be true, there isn’t, at least not yet, an alpha leader like Retzlaff, Pay or Batty. Does there need to be an alpha leader (or several alpha leaders) to have a successful season?

Internally, there does, whether or not we outside the program see it. Who will the offensive players look to when they need to have a late drive to win a game? Who will the defense look to when they need a key stop? Who makes the impassioned pregame and halftime speeches?

Most of that happens organically on a team and over the course of a season. Just know that going into 2025, leadership is a process.

It’s probably unfair to ask any of the three main candidates to succeed Retzlaff — McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet or Bear Bachmeier — to handle the mantle of leadership in the same way, whoever wins the starting job. They’ve got enough to worry about learning the offense and  dealing with all the pressures that come with being a starter. Do they have leadership qualities? Sure, but again, something like that builds over time after they earn the trust of their teammates.

Retzlaff wasn’t perfect, by any means. But you can’t ignore his whole package as a starting quarterback. Over the next month, BYU coaches will need to find a way to replace or at least try to duplicate elsewhere what Retzlaff brought to the table.