One of the best storylines in college football as the midway point of the 2024 season approaches has been the hot start by BYU. The Cougars sit at 5-0 in their second year of Big 12 play heading into a Week 7 home showdown against Arizona.
BYU was no stranger to success as an independent, and in fact this is the Cougars third time in the last five seasons beginning the season 5-0, but the 2024 season strikes a different note considering BYU went 5-7 last year. Much of its early success can be attributed to the standout play by quarterback Jake Retzlaff, the only Division l starting quarterback of Jewish faith.
Retzlaff’s path to becoming the starting signal caller for the Cougars has been anything but conventional. Earlier this week, Retzlaff and those closest to him sat down with CBS Sports Network for an Inside College Football feature to discuss a variety of topics, including his Jewish faith and why he transferred to BYU.
“I didn’t know what to think, to be honest with you,” Retzlaff said when asked about coming to BYU as someone with Jewish faith. “Like I didn’t know what I was getting into. … And what I didn’t realize is how much the faith would actually benefit me. I thought it was just something that would be lingering around, but how much it benefited me is something that was like a great surprise that I got to really, you know, embrace when I got to BYU and my time at BYU is just because everything is so centered around faith, it just allows you to become stronger and grow in your faith.”
Retzlaff’s road to BYU has been unique. The Los Angeles native attended two junior colleges in Southern California before transferring to the Big 12 program ahead of the 2023 season. He finally got his chance as an FBS starting quarterback last…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jake-retzlaff-qb1-for-resurgent-byu-knows-his-mission-hopefully-somewhere-theres-a-jewish-kid-watching/
Author : Cameron Salerno
Publish date : 2024-10-10 15:06:18
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
