Preseason optimism in Provo was flying high—until it wasn’t. When Locked On’s Big 12 preseason poll had BYU pegged at 3 or maybe 4 with Jake Retzlaff under center, it seemed like the BYU Cougars could flirt with contention. Without him? The drop is swift, down to seventh or eighth. The ripple effect of Retzlaff stepping away from the program and dodging a potential seven-game suspension has shaken the QB room and handed Kalani Sitake one of the trickiest calls of his tenure. What’s clear now is this: Retzlaff’s absence changes everything, not just for BYU but for a handful of QB-hungry programs looking for veteran leadership.

And one of the first doors swinging open belongs to a man with a reduced salary ($1M reduction) of $6.75M/year, Mike Gundy in Stillwater. The Oklahoma State Cowboys have been poking around the portal, and BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff, per Locked On Oklahoma State insider Cody Stovall, could be the veteran voice to bolster their inexperienced room.

The Cowboys aren’t exactly loaded with depth or starts, and Stovall laid out the entire opportunity window. “Bringing that to Stillwater would naturally be a very good thing. Now, when it comes down to the differentiations between Oklahoma State, UCF, Notre Dame, Temple… Temple, obviously, you know, they’re a program that is a little bit in the doldrums. So, he would be an instantaneous upgrade and a day-one starter. Everywhere else seems to be a little bit more difficult.”

That’s not just lip service. Stovall isn’t hiding what Retzlaff offers: leadership, seasoning, and Big 12 battle scars. “Naturally, it’s going to be a veteran leadership kind of experience. Somebody that has been through a system for a couple of years, that has played multiple Big 12 seasons, multiple Big 12 games, can help some of these younger guys get a good feel on what they’re looking at and what the film diagnosis is supposed to end up being,” Stovall explained. “Oklahoma State definitely has a quarterback-friendly system seemingly rolling into this upcoming season, and Jake Retzlaff fits into that.”

It’s not hard to connect the dots—Mike Gundy doesn’t need another project. But Oklahoma State isn’t alone. UCF and Notre Dame have also expressed interest, and insiders believe Retzlaff could walk into either situation and take over on Day 1. UCF is high on former Tennessee and Indiana transfer Timmy McClain, but not so high that Retzlaff couldn’t push him out.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, has made a habit of dipping into the transfer portal for their signal-callers, and 2025 might be no different. “They’ve had to rely on the transfer portal recently for a long run of their quarterbacks,” Stovall added. “So perhaps this is another indication that Notre Dame might lean that way. They definitely need some help in that area.”

Back in Provo, Kalani Sitake might be privately grinning despite the chaos. Sure, losing Jake Retzlaff stings—especially after his flashes last fall. But the door now swings open for Utah State transfer McCae Hillstead, a steady operator with 8 starts under his belt, over 1,000 passing yards, and a clean style that suits Aaron Roderick’s system. Hillstead isn’t flashy, but he’s efficient. BYU fans might not rush the field for him, but coaches love guys who keep them out of second-and-18. Even CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford believes Retzlaff landing at a Big 12 rival makes too much sense, especially if the playbook doesn’t need to be rewritten.

“One of several Big 12 programs without a penciled-in starter at the moment, Oklahoma State offers a quarterback-friendly scheme with familiarity for Retzlaff — one of the draws of staying within the conference — that likely wouldn’t take tireless hours to learn in August,” Crawford said. The wild card? Retzlaff’s eligibility. His sudden withdrawal from BYU allowed him to avoid a seven-game suspension—a career-halting penalty that could have wiped out his last season. Whether it’s Mike Gundy’s open scheme, UCF’s athletic upside, or Notre Dame’s blueblood stage, Retzlaff brings a rare mix of Big 12 grit and reps that can’t be taught in July.

Why Jake Retzlaff could take flight in Mike Gundy’s “air show”

If Jake Retzlaff is looking for a soft landing spot with high-ceiling potential, Mike Gundy’s wide-open system at Oklahoma State might be the perfect match. The buzz in Stillwater? It’s about what that arm can do with the Cowboys’ towering cast of outside targets.

“When you have 6’4 Cam Abshire, 6’4 Christian Fitzpatrick, 6’4 Ayo Shotomide-King. We have several 6’2″ and 6’1 wide receivers that are on the outside, whether it be an X or a Z,” the “QB-friendly” environment, explained Cody. That’s a skyscraper receiving corps that screams vertical threats, and Gundy’s spread system knows how to feed them.

And it doesn’t stop there. “Obviously Jaylen Lloyd, the speedster, transfer from Nebraska, Sam Jackson the fifth, the wide receiver and former quarterback TCU just recently transferred over from Auburn. We got to see glimpses of Gavin Freeman. We got to see glimpses of Da’Wain Lofton.” That’s a deep, athletic room with versatility and raw explosiveness.

Jake would walk into that mix with instant credibility. He gives a completely different angle being at another Big 12 school. Whether he’s QB1 or not on Day One, he’s definitely worth the entry and it’s definitely worth a conversational piece.