The BYU Cougars were the latest college football program to announce a starting quarterback this week.
With the college football season rapidly approaching, more and more programs around the country have been naming starting quarterbacks. Both Ohio State (Julian Sayin) and Notre Dame (CJ Carr) announced starters and were among the most notable to do so. A Big 12 contender has now followed suit on Tuesday.
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With Jake Retzlaff (Tulane) opting to leave the program after he violated the program’s honor code, the Cougars held a three-man battle for the starting quarterback role. When the dust from the battle settled, the program announced that Stanford transfer and true freshman Bear Bachmeier would be the starter.
Aside from the fact that he makes history as the first freshman quarterback to start for the Cougars, he has caught attention for his number selection.
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Why Bear Bachmeier Wears No. 47?
As Stanford fans briefly saw during spring and what BYU fans learned during fall camp, the former four-star recruit wears the No. 47. An unusual number for quarterbacks, as at the college level they typically wear numbers ranging from 0-19. There have been the occasional No. 20, like Shea Patterson wore at Ole Miss or No. 22 worn by Jared Lorenzen at Kentucky, but No. 47 is a number that isn’t all that popular in football in general.
In terms of why Bachmeier wears the number, he explained that it stems from the fact that he used to play running back and linebacker.
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“I used to play running back when I was younger…and then when I made the transition to quarterback, I just kept the number,” Bachmeier explained. “I continued to play, actually, middle linebacker up until eighth grade. So, I don’t know, I like the number, and it kind of brings you back to your primitive nature, I guess, when you’re playing.”
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Bachmeier and his older brother, Tiger, who also transferred from Stanford, will take the field as Cougars for the first time on Saturday, Aug. 30, against Portland State.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
