‘Those are my brothers over there’ — Jake Retzlaff praises BYU, Kalani Sitake following his departure from the program

While he left BYU in abrupt, controversial fashion, Jake Retzlaff harbors no hard feelings toward the Cougars.

In fact, the current Tulane quarterback dished out plenty of praise for his former teammates and coaches in Provo during his first interview at his new school on Friday.

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“The circumstances are what the circumstances are when I left, but like, I told those guys when I left, ‘If any of you call me, anytime, I’ll pick up. I don’t care what I’m doing, I’ll pick up no matter what.’ They’re my brothers over there till the end, and they all know that. So I’m excited to see their future and see their success.

“I guarantee you, if I got a chance after one of our games to throw on a BYU game, I will. … I’m excited to watch them play. I’m excited to watch whatever quarterback gets out of that quarterback battle to lead those guys on that team. I just got a lot of love for that program over there.”

Retzlaff announced his departure from BYU on July 11, electing to play elsewhere rather than serve a seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code. Retzlaff was accused of sexual assault and battery in a civil lawsuit in May, with the case being dismissed on June 30.

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Due to the timing of Retzlaff’s situation, he was unable to enter the NCAA transfer portal, thus formally withdrawing from BYU and enrolling at Tulane as a walk-on, where he will compete for the Green Wave’s starting quarterback job.

“Yeah, it is awesome (that Retzlaff found a place to play),” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake told reporters Wednesday. “I am happy for him. Obviously, you guys know that I love Retzlaff and appreciate all that he has done for us. We will be cheering for him and wishing him the best. We love him.”

For Retzlaff, the feeling is mutual.

“I’ve talked to Coach Kalani a lot,“ he said. ”He’s not just a coach to me, he’s a real mentor, a true friend. He’s a loved one in my eyes, he’s family. I have so much respect for that coach.”

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Retzlaff threw for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns for the Cougars in 2024, helping the team earn an 11-2 record, No. 13 final national ranking and Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado. He was affectionately known by fans as the “BYJew” due to his being one of a handful of Jewish students at the Latter-day Saint-sponsored institution.

“BYU is an amazing place, it made me an amazing human being,” Retzlaff said. “I feel like it helped me grow in so many ways, on and especially off the field. It helped me connect stronger with my faith than ever before.

“… That place, it was transformative for me. Like I said, I got family there. That is a family place. I’m (really) rooting for their success, I can’t wait to see what they do. But at the same time, like I said, I am where my feet are and I’m excited to be at (Tulane) and win a lot of ball games this year.”