From losing out on a scholarship to facing suspension, QB Jake Retzlaff’s path to his first playoff game was never easy. Now leading Tulane in the CFP, his exit from BYU still stays in every fan’s heart. But that didn’t harden the 22-year-old’s heart; that misery turned to a blessing. In fact, it was not the first instance of him turning things around.

“It was definitely a difficult time and everything that happened, the way it happened,” Tulane’s quarterback, Jake Retzlaff, spoke about his UTEP setback that led him to BYU. “I went through something similar when I was coming out of junior college, I actually committed to go play at UTEP. I had gotten there on campus and been in the apartment. I thought I was there on the team, and I didn’t have enough credits from JUCO to have a scholarship. So I had to go right back home.

If I was accepted there anyway, I wouldn’t be talking to you guys. And so the realization of what I felt like was the hardest setback of my life, turned into the biggest blessing of my life. Sure enough, the best thing of my life probably came from that.”

The quarterback’s path to BYU and ultimately Tulane was unusual but determined. He is a Los Angeles native who played at two junior colleges in Southern California before transferring to BYU ahead of the 2023 season. But before that, he was ready to commit to UTEP, only missing out on a scholarship due to a low grade in one of his junior college classes. So, when one chance was missed, he prepared for another but never flinched.

After missing out on a scholarship from UTEP, Retzlaff drove 12 hours across the country back to his home in Corona, California. Later, he committed to BYU, but his QB1 status was not guaranteed. After Kedon Slovis suffered an injury against West Virginia in 2023, Retzlaff never looked back. His time at BYU made him a top quarterback, going 11-2 with his team, throwing for 2,947 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

He received various recognitions, earning Midseason Big 12 Quarterback of the Year honors and was also named All-Big 12 First Team by the College Football Network. But that moment took a hit.

Jake Retzlaff’s path to Tulane followed a turbulent exit from BYU last summer. The 22-year-old was accused of s—– assault and battery in a civil lawsuit in May, with the case being dismissed on June 30. On July 11, he announced his departure rather than serve a seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code. But he takes his BYU tenure as a lesson that helped him in his part of the journey, which made him capable of leading a playoff team.

“I learned a lot about football from A-Rod (Aaron Roderick), Matt Mitchell, Fesi (Sitake), Harvey (Unga), TJ Woods. I learned a lot from those guys,” Retzlaff said of his former staff at BYU. “So, a lot of it was just translating the verbiage. I had already done a lot of these things before.”

And that learning did wonders for him at Tulane. He finished the regular season with almost similar stats to BYU, throwing for 2,862 yards with 14 touchdowns and just six interceptions. The team went 11-2 under him, and now they are ready to face Ole Miss in their first-round playoff game.

Jake Retzlaff gets real about facing Ole Miss

Jake Retzlaff’s college journey has been filled with highs and lows. With all the success he saw last season with BYU, taking them to an 11-2 season, he continued it with Tulane, and now is ready to play against Ole Miss in the first-round playoff game. He has come a long way. But fighting against the Rebels won’t be that straightforward.

As in their first meeting this season, Ole Miss limited Jake Retzlaff to just 56 rushing yards, and he just completed 5 of 17 passes in their 45-10 loss. Despite the scare, Retzlaff is ready to face them.

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“I’m excited. It’s going to be a great opportunity, especially considering we didn’t even get off the plane when we played those guys the first time,” Retzlaff said. “This is a chance to make a statement in a national spotlight.”

But it’s going to be a tough game for Retzlaff, as last time he made a trip to Mississippi to play against Ole Miss, he had more than twice as many incompletions, which is 12, and completed just 5 passes and averaged 3.3 yards per attempt. On top of it, Retzlaff has a 0-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio when pressured with an alarming 5.6% turnover-worthy play rate.

The fact that Lane Kiffin is not with the team anymore means things might take a different turn, but still, if Jake Retzlaff wants to lead Tulane on a deep playoff run, they will need to fight hard!