Jake Retzlaff enrolling as walk-on at Group of 5 program, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Former BYU QB Jake Retzlaff is reportedly heading to a Group of 5 program. According to multiple reports, Retzlaff is transferring to Tulane. Due to the timing and nature of his exit from BYU, Retzlaff went through an atypical transfer process.
In June, Retzlaff was accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that has since been dropped. In denying the allegations, Retzlaff called the sex consensual. His admission of premarital sex violated BYU’s honor code. Retzlaff was facing a suspension, reported to be 7 games, from the school in the 2025 season.
Pete Thamel of ESPN reports that Tulane spent more than a week doing background on Retzlaff. The school’s Title IX office also vetted the transfer.
Retzlaff is still an undergraduate student-athlete. He was unable to enter the transfer portal without a release from BYU, which the school did not grant. Instead, Retzlaff withdrew from the school.
Tulane was not able to speak to Retzlaff directly about transferring because he was not in the portal. The program was able to speak to family and other representatives of Retzlaff.
Thamel notes that Retzlaff has a familiarity with Tulane coach Jon Sumrall. When Sumrall was head coach at Troy, he recruited Retzlaff as a JUCO transfer before the 2023 season. Retzlaff ultimately transferred to BYU.
Tulane presented an intriguing opportunity for Retzlaff. Darian Mensah transferred to Duke in the offseason after leading the Green Wave to the conference championship game. Former SEC QB TJ Finley re-entered the transfer portal in April after he was arrested and suspended.
Retzlaff has completed his redshirt junior year of eligibility. He played 2 seasons of JUCO football in 2021 and ’22 before joining BYU. In 2024, Retzlaff threw for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, adding 6 rushing scores, leading BYU to an 11-2 season.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
