How BYU Quarterbacks Stack Up Against Big 12 Peers Ahead of Critical Position Battle

McCae Hillstead was among the more aggressive quarterbacks and his accuracy rate suffered as a result. The quarterback that is most similar to McCae Hillstead in 2023? BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff in 2024. LIke Hillstead, Retzlaff was aggressive and his accuracy was impacted by that.

Treyson Bourguet's numbers were outliers, and unfortunately, not in a good way. Bourguet's adjusted completion percentage was 58.2%. That was worse than 99% of college football quarterbacks in 2024. Bourguet didn't push the ball downfield either, his average depth of target was in the 10th percentile. Despite being more conservative, Bourguet struggled with accuracy in short and intermediate throws. The end result was bad offense.

Like we mentioned earlier, bad offensive lines can negatively impact accuracy rates. Here is the Big 12 quarterbacks ranked by accuracy rate from a clean pocket.

1. Josh Hoover - 80% (87th percentile)
2. Behren Morton - 79% (82nd percentile)
3. Brendan Sorsby - 77% (67th percentile)
4. Sam Leavitt - 76% (56th percentile)
5. Jake Retzlaff - 75% (51st percentile)
6. Conner Weigman - 75% (49th percentile)
7. Noah Fifita -73% - (38th percentile)
8. Avery Johnson - 73% (36th percentile)
9. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 73% (34rd percentile)
10. Kaidon Salter - 73% - (34rd percentile)
11. Sawyer Robertston - 73% (32nd percentile)
12. Rocco Becht - 72% (28th percentile)
13. Devon Dampier - 71% (21st percentile)
14. Jalon Daniels - 68% (11th percentile)
15. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 61% (2nd percentile)
    
    

From this perspective, McCae Hillstead is in the middle of the pack compared to his Big 12 peers.

Moving the Chains

Which quarterbacks were best as moving this chains? On paper, that's the skill that Jake Retzlaff possessed that BYU will struggle the most to replace. When Jake Retzlaff dropped back to pass, he converted a first down 38% of the time. When he dropped back to a clean pocket, he moved the chains 44% of the time. That ranked in the 93rd and 97th percentile, respectively. Retzlaff's primary strength, at least according to the data, was finding ways to get first downs.

First Downs Per Dropback (Clean Pocket)

1. Jake Retzlaff - 97th percentile
2. Sawyer Robertston - 95th percentile
3. Jalon Daniels - 88th percentile
4. Conner Weigman - 81st percentile
5. Brendan Sorsby - 81st percentile
6. Sam Leavitt - 77th percentile
7. Josh Hoover - 70th percentile
8. Rocco Becht - 62nd percentile
9. Behren Morton - 52nd percentile
10. Kaidon Salter - 46th percentile
11. Avery Johnson - 44th percentile
12. Devon Dampier - 43rd percentile
13. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 21st percentile
14. Noah Fifita - 16th percentile
15. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 1st percentile
    
    

Jake Retzlaff led the Big 12 in first downs created per dropback last season. This is where BYU will need a consistent rushing attack and veteran skill players to step up and help the young quarterback that wins the job, whether it's Hillstead, Bourguet, or Bachmeier.

First Downs Per Dropback (Under Pressure)

1. Avery Johnson - 97th percentile
2. Rocco Becht - 89th percentile
3. Sam Leavitt - 87th percentile
4. Sawyer Robertston - 86th percentile
5. Noah Fifita - 80th percentile
6. Devon Dampier - 7d2nd percentile
7. Josh Hoover - 69th percentile
8. Brendan Sorsby - 64th percentile
9. Conner Weigman - 63rd percentile
10. Jake Retzlaff - 58th percentile
11. Kaidon Salter - 49th percentile
12. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 31st percentile
13. Jalon Daniels - 25th percentile
14. Behren Morton - 8th percentile
15. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 2nd percentile
    
    

Avery Johnson, Rocco Becht, and Sam Leavitt were the best quarterbacks in the conference in terms of creating first downs when plays broke down. This is an area where the new BYU quarterback will need to improve.

This metric also signals the effectiveness of the offensive coordinator. In Aaron Roderick's offense, it's fair to assume that both McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet more often than they did at their previous stops.

Protecting the Football

A critical ingredient to a successful quarterback: can they protect the football, especially when they are under pressure? This list looks at the rate of turnover-worthy plays. A turnover-worthy played is defined as "a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling." Jake Retzlaff's turnover-worthy play rate, for example, was in the 16th percentile when he was under pressure.

We will look at turnover-worthy plays instead of interceptions. Interception totals can be misleading as they rely on defenders to complete the interception. Turnover-worthy plays effectively measure how often quarterbacks put the ball at risk, whether through the air or on the ground.

This is an area where both BYU quarterbacks will need to improve.

Turnover-Worthy Play Rate (Kept Clean)

1. Sam Leavitt - 1.1% (96th percentile)
2. Devon Dampier - 1.7%
3. Avery Johnson - 2.3%
4. Behren Morton - 2.3%
5. Brendan Sorsby - 2.4%
6. Josh Hoover - 2.5%
7. Jake Retzlaff - 2.6%
8. Kaidon Salter - 2.6%
9. Noah Fifita - 2.7%
10. Sawyer Robertston - 2.7%
11. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 3.2%
12. Rocco Becht - 3.7%
13. Jalon Daniels - 4.3%
14. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 5.3%
15. Conner Weigman - 7.7% (5th percentile)
    
    

Turnover-Worthy Play Rate (Under Pressure)

1. Sam Leavitt - 1.3% (97th percentile)
2. Conner Weigman - 1.8%
3. Noah Fifita - 2.8%
4. Devon Dampier - 3.5%
5. Rocco Becht - 3.5%
6. Brendan Sorsby - 4.0%
7. Jalon Daniels - 4.2%
8. Behren Morton - 4.3%
9. Avery Johnson - 5.6%
10. Josh Hoover - 5.9%
11. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 6.5%
12. Sawyer Robertston - 6.5%
13. Kaidon Salter - 7.6%
14. Jake Retzlaff - 7.8%
15. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 8.3%
    
    

Big-Time Throws

PFF defines as big-time throw as "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window." This is an area where both Hillstead and Bourguet exceled. Hillstead was in the 95th percentile from a clean pocket, leading the group.

Big-Time Throw Rate (Kept Clean)

1. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 7.6% (95th percentile)
2. Kaidon Salter - 6.4% (89th percentile)
3. Jalon Daniels - 6.3% (88th percentile)
4. Conner Weigman - 4.7% (67th percentile)
5. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 4.5% (63rd percentile)
6. Devon Dampier - 4.5% (63rd percentile)
7. Avery Johnson - 4.5% (63rd percentile)
8. Behren Morton - 4.2% (58th percentile)
9. Rocco Becht - 4.1% (53rd percentile)
10. Josh Hoover - 4.1% (53rd percentile)
11. Sawyer Robertston - 4.1% (53rd percentile)
12. Jake Retzlaff - 4.0% (49th percentile)
13. Sam Leavitt - 3.8% (43rd percentile)
14. Brendan Sorsby - 2.6% (17th percentile)
15. Noah Fifita - 1.9% (8th percentile)
    

Big-Time Throw Rate (Under Pressure)

1. Jalon Daniels - 9.6% (98th percentile)
2. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 9.1% (96th percentile)
3. Kaidon Salter - 7.9% (91st percentile)
4. Noah Fifita - 7.9% (91st percentile)
5. Rocco Becht - 5.4% (68th percentile)
6. Devon Dampier - 5.3% (65th percentile)
7. Behren Morton - 3.7% (40th percentile)
8. Sam Leavitt - 3.0% (28th percentile)
9. Conner Weigman - 2.7% (20th percentile)
10. Sawyer Robertston - 2.5% (20th percentile)
11. Avery Johnson - 2.1% (14th percentile)
12. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 2.0% (12th percentile)
13. Brendan Sorsby - 1.1% (7th percentile)
14. Josh Hoover - 1.0% (5th percentile)
15. Jake Retzlaff - 0.0% (Last)
    

One of the most interesting findings in the data was Treyson Bourguet's ability to make big-time throws under pressure. Bourguet was in the 96th percentile in big-time throw rate under pressure. Bourguet consistently made his best throws under pressure. That is Bourguet's greatest strength in the data by a wide margin. When he completed a long throw, it was usually a high level of difficulty.

This was an area where Jake Retzlaff really struggled. He did not have a "big-time throw" under pressure last season.

Escaping Pressure

A common theme among Big 12 quarterbacks? They are athletic and they can consistently escape pressure. Utah quarterback Devon Dampier was one of the best nationally at avoiding sacks when he was pressured.

1. Devon Dampier - 4.1% sack rate under pressure
2. Avery Johnson - 9.2%
3. Jalon Daniels - 10.1%
4. Rocco Becht - 10.3%
5. Josh Hoover - 11.8%
6. Sam Leavitt - 13.3%
7. Jake Retzlaff - 14.7%
8. Brendan Sorsby - 15.2%
9. Behren Morton - 16.5%
10. Conner Weigman - 16.7%
11. Sawyer Robertston - 16.7%
12. Noah Fifita - 17.1%
13. Kaidon Salter - 21.1%
14. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 22.7%
15. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 24.2%
    
    

While McCae Hillstead is the more athletic than Treyson Bourguet, both Hillstead and Bourguet were below average in terms of escaping pressure.

We don't have data on Bear Bachmeier in college yet, but this is an area where Bachmeier could separate himself. Bachmeier is a gifted athlete and he possesses the natural ability to run effectively and escape pressure like Retzlaff. Bachmeier will be the best rushing quarterback on the roster.

PFF Grades

PFF total offense grades from a clean pocket. From a clean pocket, McCae Hillstead was above average in the eyes of Pro Football Focus evaluators.

PFF Offense Grades (Clean Pocket)

1. Josh Hoover - 90.6 (92nd percentile)
2. Jake Retzlaff - 90.4 (91st percentile)
3. Behren Morton - 90.2 (87th percentile)
4. Sam Leavitt - 89.9 (85th percentile)
5. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 88.8 (82nd percentile)
6. Kaidon Salter - 87.5 (79th percentile)
7. Devon Dampier - 87.1 (76th percentile)
8. Sawyer Robertston - 85.4 (69th percentile)
9. Avery Johnson - 84.6 (65th percentile)
10. Brendan Sorsby - 83.5 (60th percentile)
11. Jalon Daniels - 80.6 (51st percentile)
12. Rocco Becht - 78.6 (43rd percentile)
13. Noah Fifita - 71.8 (20th percentile
14. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 56.8 (2nd percentile)
15. Conner Weigman - 56.8 (2nd percentile)
    

PFF Offense Grades (Under Pressure)

1. Noah Fifita - 75.5 (98th percentile)
2. Sam Leavitt - 73.3 (97th percentile)
3. Conner Weigman - 60.7 (81st percentile)
4. Kaidon Salter - 60.0 (79th percentile)
5. Rocco Becht - 58.6 (78th percentile)
6. Devon Dampier - 58.5 (77th percentile)
7. Josh Hoover - 56.4 (72nd percentile)
8. Jalon Daniels - 53.7 (61st percentile)
9. Avery Johnson - 49.7 (49th percentile)
10. Sawyer Robertston - 48.9 (48th percentile)
11. Brendan Sorsby - 46.2 (41st percentile)
12. Behren Morton - 40.0 (25th percentile)
13. Jake Retzlaff - 36.6 (17th percentile)
14. McCae Hillstead ('23) - 29.9 (6th percentile)
15. Treyson Bourguet ('23) - 29.3 (2nd percentile)
    

Under pressure, both McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet will have to improve if they hope to win and keep the starting job. McCae Hillstead was only a true freshman in 2023 so it's reasonable to expect him to get better in this area. Treyson Bourguet is also relatively unexperienced, so you could expect a similar improvement.