It's been almost two weeks since a civil lawsuit was filed against BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff that claimed the senior sexual assaulted a woman in November 2023.
Little to nothing has been revealed about the case since news broke that Wednesday afternoon in May, and it's unlikely that any more information will be revealed in the upcoming weeks.
Unsure of Retzlaff's football future in Provo, the BYU offense will have to turn to some inexperienced players at quarterback if he is not ready to play on Aug. 31, when the Cougars host Portland State in the season opener.
Let's take a look at the rest of the quarterback room, and see which players could lead the Cougar offense in 2025.
McCae Hillstead, RS Sophomore
Hillstead is likely the most familiar face to BYU fans. In 2022, he won the Utah 6A state championship with the Skyridge Falcons, before joining fellow in-state school, Utah State, the next fall.
After an injury to the Aggies' then starting quarterback, Cooper Legas, Hillstead split time with Levi Williams as Utah State's QB1, starting four games in 2023.
In his true freshman season, Hillstead threw for 1,062 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He transferred to BYU the following offseason, redshirting in 2024.
Hillstead is fast and has good mobility. In a spring practice, he broke off for a 70-yard rushing touchdown. He wasn't able to showcase much of his running ability at Utah State, but offensive coordinator, Aaron Roderick, loves a running quarterback.
Where concerns come in for Hillstead is his size. The redshirt sophomore only comes in at 5-foot-10, and is noticeably smaller on the practice field.
Treyson Bourguet, RS Junior
Bourguet saw action in two separate seasons at Western Michigan before transferring to BYU in 2024.
In six games across two seasons in 2022 and 2023, the Arizona native threw for 1,314 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 219 yards and a touchdown.
Bourguet is a lot bigger than his returning backup counterpart, Hillstead, standing at 6-foot-2, but didn't appear to be as mobile as Hillstead during spring practice.
He only completed 52.4% of his passes during his time at Western Michigan, but was also only picked off twice over 212 passing attempts.
Bear Bachmeier, Freshman
Committed!!! #GoCougs 💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/bzWHL91RW7
— Bear Bachmeier (@bearb47) May 4, 2025
Perhaps the most unexpectedly important signings that happened this cycle was getting true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier to commit to BYU after attending spring practice at Stanford.
Bachmeier, who was ranked as the 11th-best quarterback in the country this past fall, transferred to BYU with his brother, Tiger, who has a legitimate shot at becoming BYU's WR2 behind Chase Roberts.
Bachmeier is as dual-threat as they come, as he averaged 10.6 yards per carry as a quarterback at Murietta Valley High School in Murietta, CA.
The 18-year-old is already the biggest quarterback in the room, measuring at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds.
On Tuesday's episode of BYU Sports Nation on BYUtv, 247 Sports' Jeff Hansen compared Bachmeier to a young Taysom Hill, saying he is "more athlete than quarterback," at this point in his career.
While signing Bachmeier was a massive get for the BYU program, he might not be ready to take over a power-four offense just yet.
Consensus
If Retzlaff is not the starter day one for the Cougars, Hillstead will likely be named QB1. While yes, Hillstead is small for the position, he has the most experience of anyone in the room, and fits well with Roderick's scheme.
It is still very early, as Bachmeier has yet to play with BYU in a full practice. If fall camp comes along and Bachmeier has developed more as a quarterback, the Cougars could roll the dice on the freshman.