BYU has reportedly decided on a starting quarterback.
According to ESPN, freshman Bear Bachmeier will start vs. Portland State in Week 1. Bachmeier was competing with Treyson Bourguet and McCae Hillstead to replace Jake Retzlaff. Bachmeier will also be the first true freshman to start a season-opener for the Cougars.
BYU had entered the season assuming that Retzlaff would be the team’s starting QB again. However, he left the school after he was facing a suspension for honor code violations. Retzlaff, now at Tulane, had been sued by a woman who claimed that the QB sexually assaulted her in the fall of 2023.
The suit was dismissed in June and Retzlaff had insisted that what happened between the two was consensual. However, premarital sex is an honor code violation at BYU, and Retzlaff would have been suspended for more than half the season if he stayed. Retzlaff threw for over 2,900 yards and rushed for 417 as BYU started the 2024 season 9-0 before finishing it 11-2 after beating Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
Bachmeier transferred to BYU from Stanford in the spring. He initially committed to the Cardinal in February of 2024 and enrolled early to participate in spring practices at Stanford. He transferred from Palo Alto less than two months after Stanford fired coach Troy Taylor. BYU hosts Stanford in Week 2.
Bachmeier, the brother of former Boise State, Wake Forest and Louisiana Tech QB Hank Bachmeier, was a three-star recruit in the class of 2025. He ranked as the No. 33 player in the state of California and the No. 28 quarterback in the country.
Fans tuning into see BYU and Bachmeier may also do a double-take when he’s on the field. Bachmeier wears No. 47, a number more often associated with a linebacker or fullback than a quarterback. He wore that number while in high school in Murrieta, California.
