Kalani Sitake had nearly nine months to name his starting quarterback, but he’ll keep everyone guessing until Saturday.
The BYU coach declined to announce a starter ahead of Saturday’s game against Southern Illinois.
On Monday, the Cougars’ first depth chart of the season listed the team’s QB1 as “Jake Retzlaff or Gerry Bohanon.” Sitake said he has a good idea of BYU’s plan at quarterback, but prefers to keep it private until game day.
The coach maintained that both Retzlaff and Bohanon could win games this season — and both could play.
“I think we kind of have an idea and know our plan. We know what we are going to be doing. Just not ready to tell everyone our game plan yet,” Sitake said Monday. “We have an idea of ... how we are going to execute our offense. We are excited about it.”
When asked if both Retzlaff and Bohanon could see snaps in week one, Sitake left the door open.
“We are planning to do a lot of different things. We have a lot of different options. The goal is to get the win. I can’t tell you how it is going to go yet,” he said. “But we know we have an opportunity to win with more than just one quarterback. We have a number of them that can play.”
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has said he would prefer not to play multiple quarterbacks in a single game, but he hasn’t ruled it out entirely.
“I don’t want to do that, but I would never say never. That’s not how I want it to go, though,” he said earlier in fall camp.
(Jaren Wilkey | BYU athletics) Quarterback Gerry Bohanon participates in BYU football practice in Provo, Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
BYU named Retzlaff and Bohanon co-captains on the offense. That only adds to the idea that there’s not a clear-cut leader at the quarterback spot right now. But Sitake said he wasn’t worried about that and called it a “good sign.”
“You keep asking the questions, [but] we have a plan, guys,” Sitake told reporters. “We know what we are doing. We have been through this before and we are going to be just fine.”
Still, Sitake agreed that this quarterback battle has been more drawn out than anticipated. Retzlaff is the incumbent quarterback in the room, but Bohanon has pushed him for the job behind newfound health in his shoulder.
Bohanon transferred in from the University of South Florida in the winter. Throughout spring camp, he was still learning the offense and recovering from a torn labrum. But he looked much stronger in fall camp and was able to move the offense. In the first few weeks of camp, Bohanon flashed the playmaking ability to push the ball downfield and be a threat with his legs.
But in the last two weeks of training camp, Retzlaff has looked more polished than Bohanon during media viewing sessions.
Retzlaff told The Tribune he wasn’t exactly sure what more he needed to show to win the job. He cut down on the turnovers throughout spring and fall camp. Interceptions plagued the quarterback in his four starts in 2023.
“Just keep the consistency going,” he said when asked what the coaching staff wanted to see from him. “Just keep playing good every day. Have no lapses. Just keep the consistency up basically.”
Still, he thought he had been consistent throughout spring and fall camp.
“I mean I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that. You can always do better. But yeah I think I’ve been pretty consistent overall,” he said.
Sitake said he originally wanted to name a starter sooner, but then told his staff it wasn’t necessary to name one as the battle dragged on.
“I think it wasn’t all by design [to not name a starter] until we realized we don’t have to,” Sitake said. “We were trying to respect the process of everything. We are in a really good spot. We have two really good quarterbacks. You guys will see it. I don’t think you need all the answers right now. You’ll get them when they come.”