A Glimpse at the Future of the Quarterback Position at BYU

Last week, Skyridge High School quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne committed to BYU as part of the 2026 recruiting class. In this article, we're looking ahead to the future of the quarterback position at BYU in 2025 and beyond. For the purposes of this article, we'll center the discussion around scholarship quarterbacks.

The Current Roster

The quarterback situation in 2025 is straight forward. As of this writing, BYU will only have three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster for the 2025 season: Jake Retzlaff, McCae Hillstead, and Treyson Bourguet. Retzlaff will be the starter and Hillstead and Bourguet will compete for the backup job.

When the JUCO waiver was announced for the 2025 season, it was assumed that Jake Retzlaff could get more eligibility and return in 2026. With recent waiver denials, however, that might not be the case. Retzlaff used his redshirt year at BYU, something that the NCAA has used to deny waiver requests. For the purposes of this article, we're going to assume that Retzlaff will be out of eligibility after the 2025 season.

Going into 2026, Hillstead and Bourguet will compete for the starting job. It's also pretty safe to expect a transfer portal addition sometime between now and the 2026 season. Expect BYU to target quarterbacks with multiple years of eligibility remaining. In an ideal scenario, BYU would like to avoid one-and-done quarterbacks.

If Hillstead wins the job in 2026, he would have two years of eligibility remaining to be the starter.

Future Additions at Quarterback

BYU has multiple quarterbacks that have signed or committed to the program that will be on the roster for the 2026 season. The aforementioned Kaneal Sweetwyne will be a true freshman in 2026. Enoch Watson, an Arizona native, will be home from his mission and enrolled at that point as well. If Hillstead or Bourguet wins the job, they will have a few years to get up to speed before competing for the starting job in 2027 or 2028.

By 2027, 2025 signee Nolan Keeney will be home from his mission and ready to compete for playing time. Keeney has starting potential and will probably compete for the backup job before competing for the starting job when he becomes available.

Targets

There are multiple players on BYU's radar at quarterback, but none are more important than 2026 five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons. Ryder is a dual-threat quarterback with offers from all over the country. Lyons is the undisputed top target at quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class. Landing a player like Lyons would completely reshape BYU's future at quarterback. If he signs with BYU, it's safe to pencil him in as the starter once he is home from his mission.