The SMU Mustangs were one of the best underdog teams last year, as they made it to the playoffs for the first time. An unprecedented feat, but when in Week 2 they hosted the BYU Cougars, led by Jake Retzlaff behind the center, BYU wrote them a new set of instructions to follow rest of the season. The game was a spectacle, with the Cougars edging them 18-15 as Retzlaff passed for 202 yards and rushed for 35. Not exactly an ‘unworldly’ performance, that was still the start of the QB’s redemption arc after sitting in obscurity for the majority of his career. But no one knew that the same redemption arc would fall flat because of a major allegation leveled against him, as he now takes a ‘desperate’ decision.

With 2,947 passing and 417 rushing yards, Retzlaff led the Cougars to an 11-win season along with a marquee bowl game win against Colorado. The starting QB1 spot was sealed for him as he became the first Jewish starting quarterback at a predominantly Mormon university. So, as one would expect in 2025, Retzlaff was going to come back as QB1 and finally lead BYU to the playoffs. However, in May this year, the promise of all of that came crashing down.

A major controversy unfolded in 2023, as Retzlaff found himself accused of sexual harassment, therefore violating an honor code. This led up to a civil lawsuit filed against the QB on May 21st, although it was dismissed on June 30th with both parties agreeing to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, stating both parties had consensual sexual relations. Still, Retzlaff accepted having had premarital sexual relations, which violated BYU’s Code. The punishment? The university came out with a ban on him for 7 games in the 2025 season. Retzlaff may not be the first high-profile BYU instead chose to transfer.

Now, months after entering the transfer portal, Retzlaff has finally found his destination at Tulane, a move that seems ‘desperate’ on both Tulane’s and Retzlaff’s part. “Jake Retzlaff was in a tough situation because not only did he not get to go through spring with a new team, he didn’t get to go through summer with a new team, even workouts, building relationships, getting a playbook, any of that stuff,” echoed Shehan Jeyarajah of 356 Sports and talked about how Tulane is a “perfect marriage” for Jake Retzlaff.

“I thought very early on it was very unlikely that he was going to get a good power conference opportunity. I think that Tulane is of perfect marriage of two sides that really needed each other in a lot of ways,” concluded Jeyarajah. Rightly so, Tulane needed to address their QB situation after losing TJ Finley due to his arrest, who they brought in from the Kentucky Hilltoppers.

Now, in order to tackle that situation, they brought in Brendan Sullivan from Iowa and took another QB, Kadin Semonza from Illinois. But Retzlaff’s talent and experience are on a whole different level compared to the other QBs, and that makes the move perfect for him, as Tulane felt desperate to address their QB problems. Still, he’s not going to be handed the QB1 position on a platter, and this takes us to the problem that Retzlaff is going to face at Tulane.

Jake Retzlaff faces uncertain career prospects at Tulane.

Tulane, under its first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, finished with a 9-win season last year. It was undoubtedly a downgrade from their previous two seasons, when they achieved 11+ wins each year. Still, for a first-year head coach, it was a reliable performance. Now showing the same level of performance in the 2025 season? It might not be too favorable for Jon Sumrall, and on top of that, losing his starting QB Darian Mensah was a major blow. However, despite that challenge, Jon Sumrall and his staff haven’t guaranteed a QB1 spot for Retzlaff.

“As part of the recruitment, sources said, the Tulane staff made it clear there were no guarantees for him to start and that he would need to earn the job. Retzlaff had suitors at both the Power 4 and Group of 6 levels as he made his choice, per the sources,” reported ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Besides the uncertainty of being the QB1, Retzlaff has also not received a scholarship offer from the university. Instead, the QB joined as a walk-on, which might bring financial uncertainty for him. That said, Retzlaff’s talent makes him still the ideal candidate for the QB1 job. The only problem with him would be time, which isn’t on his side as it would be difficult to learn the playbook, gel in with the team, and find his rhythm in a new offense in just a month.