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The last high-profile transfer in college football this offseason has officially found a home. Former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff has verbally committed to Tulane, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Retzlaff abruptly departed BYU after he was accused of sexual assault by a woman from an incident back in 2023. The lawsuit was dismissed and Retzlaff was never charged, but he still faced a seven-game suspension for violating the Honor Code at BYU. That impending punishment forced the star quarterback away from the program.
Tulane has done its due-diligence on Retzlaff before making this addition. The Green Wave have spent the last week looking into Retzlaff and his case and now clearly feel comfortable bringing him in. He will join the team as a walk-on, according to Thamel.
“The school has spent more than a week doing background on Retzlaff, per sources, including having the university's Title IX office vet the transfer,” Thamel reported.
Despite the high-profile nature of this move, Retzlaff is not being gifted the starting job. Tulane took on four quarterbacks in the transfer portal this offseason after losing starting quarterback Darian Mensah to Duke, so there will be a heated battle in the fall for the starting job.
Retzlaff will compete for the starting job under center with Iowa transfer Brendan Sullivan, Illinois transfer Donovan Leary and Ball State transfer Kadin Semonza.
Despite the loaded room, Retzlaff has to be the clear favorite to win the starting job heading into the fall. He broke out as one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 last season, leading BYU to a stellar 11-2 record and an impressive win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
In 2024, Retzlaff completed just under 58% of his passes for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns to go with 12 interceptions.
Tulane is consistently one of the top football programs in the newly-rebranded American Conference. The Green Wave lost in the AAC title game last season against Army, and now Retzlaff will look to lead them back to that game and get them over the hump this time. If his off-field situation is resolved, this could be a golden signing for Tulane football.
