BYU coach addresses Jake Retzlaff situation amid transfer rumors

BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake would not confirm whether quarterback Jake Retzlaff will transfer after violating the school’s honor code, avoiding questions about the controversy that gave his team an unwelcome surprise heading into the 2025 season.

“First of all, I love Jake Retzlaff. We love Jake Retzlaff, and appreciate all that he’s done for our program,” Sitake said at Big 12 Media Days.

“I think it would be inappropriate for me to make a statement in his situation first. I think that’s his right. I think it’s a private matter that he can speak for himself, and I’m going to give him the opportunity to do that.”

Retzlaff is expected to leave BYU as a transfer before the 2025 season after it emerged he violated the school’s honor code by having premarital sex, an act forbidden by the strict standards set by the university connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The quarterback faces a suspension of up to seven games for that violation, amounting to more than half the regular season.

Retzlaff had been sued by a woman in May who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2023, an allegation that was denied by the quarterback’s attorney.

His attorney said their relationship was consensual. The lawsuit was recently dismissed.

“Every school has their standards. We have ours, too,” Sitake said.

“And we expect our students to live, to live according to what they signed up for.”

While the Cougars’ head coach didn’t confirm Retzlaff would leave the program, he strongly implied it by saying the quarterback position will be open to competition.

“Let’s settle it on the field,” he said. “Let them compete.”

“My job as a head coach is to get the team ready to go, no matter what the end result is going to be,” Sitake said of his future plans.

He added: “The program is fine, no matter the situation. It’s not about one coach. It’s not about one player, either.”

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