Mitch Harper: Thinks Jake Retzlaff will be the quarterback for BYU tomorrow

it's time to get the inside info on BYU with cougar Insider Mitch Harper of KSL sports.com on 975 the KSL Sports [Music] Zone before we get to Mitch we want nominate or you to nominate the US Sports volunteer you know for the Hercules hero of the week submit your nomination at KSL sports.com contest listen every Thursday afternoon to JJ and Alex for the winner help us celebrate the efforts of those uh volunteers making an impact with the Hercules hero of the week sponsored by Hercules First Federal Credit Union and beehive meals hello Mitch hello guys happy to be on bringing the energy there Jake uh hey Mitch by's play tomorrow we don't know who the quarterback's going to be but do we know who the quarterback's going to be I expect it's going to be Jake rlap that's where it's been trending you know if if it was my pick if I was Aaron Rod I would have gone probably with Gary bannan out of Camp I thought Gary bohannan showed uh enough that you know he he was I think he can add more to the Run game Than Jake rettl uh he's better athlete but uh you know Jake retl has always been viewed the moment that he was signed by uh you know BYU signed him or got got him uh you know rodri has viewed as him as a guy that can be a qb1 and you know you playing that clip about you know the experience and I asked rodri about that because if all things are equal you tend to go with the younger guy because if redl does hit he does give BYU uh more stability at quarterback heading into 2025 and I think rodri's right that you can't think long term but you know that has to play a little bit of a piece when things are are equal because you know up until the very end of Camp they were splitting reps and we saw it with our own eyes we were seeing the 5050 interchanging I mean I was meticulously counting the snaps and seeing the drives and they were splitting them and it was even and uh you know so I think they do believe that they can win with both but I would expect that rettl going to be that first guy tomorrow uh against Southern Illinois I just wonder if they're going to be able to or if they're going to work in bannan at all into the game plan what's redl's ceiling as a passer he's improved and the work that he's put in with John bank is noticeable and I've seen enough quarterbacks that have worked with Jon Now where you can see the Ripple effects of you know Beck's teachings on a QB there's some of the mechanics that you know you saw it a lot with Zach Wilson when he was at BYU um it just the the the way that uh rettl is throwing the football there's more velocity there's more accuracy it's a tighter spiral uh than what it was last year and and closing on on Camp he was looking like the better passer than bannan uh bannan had moments where he had some deep completions to the second team receivers against the second team defense redl had more success against the first team defense on the Deep ball and you know they were some great passes on that final media observation window in Camp which really they were impressive and you could say maybe that was the the ultimate kind of that put him over the top those final few days uh in Camp but uh you know he has improved and and I do believe bu's quarterback unit as a whole has improved since last season it's still though how high does it stack up in the Big 12 and by BYU standards it still PS compared to what you expect from BYU quarterbacks but from maybe the low expectations that everyone had in January it has gotten better so when redl was being used to Aid the Run game last year what did that mean to you how do you expect that to look I mean what do you need to see from the Run game and from Red slap specifically to know that that's a success I don't think they need to have rettl be this Runner honestly I they they need to have a quarterback that can sit in the throw the football um you know you know if you need to get out and improvise yes and and that's the strength of red flap where he can improvise and create something out of nothing um but I don't if you're talking design runs to me that's where Bo hannon's got the upper hand I mean he had he had more impressive runs in in design runs in Camp than than both than redl did um in and last season the offensive line got better they got back to what they were their traditional blocking scam so that was wide Zone before it's now different with TJ woods but that Personnel in the offensive line got to a point where they pivoted from what they were doing up until about you know week 111 12 they kind of just got back to the fundamentals and you know Conor pay was leading that charge Wayan L waho and and it was no coincidence you know Aiden Robbins got healthy then the running game was taking off it wasn't necessarily what Jake redl was doing on the Run uh he he you know was a factor he was another number that had to be account for but I don't I don't feel like he is imperative to BYU's running game success the offensive Line's got to be uh they got to be lights out and they've got to be good uh tomorrow against Souther Illinois and they got to be pushing the the Salukis back because you know that's been a huge focus and BYU's offensive line doesn't have the uh second unit depth that they've had in years past I think this group goes about seven deep right now that you'd feel good good about in a game after that it's it's a little dicey so they got to keep guys healthy and they've also got a hit with Caleb BN at left tackle that's going to be critical you know etn switched over from right to left during uh the summer and they believe in him to protect the Blind Side for the QB and also to be dominant the left tackle they envisioned him being when they got him out of the portal uh he took every snap with the first team offensive line at left tackle he he is going to be uh even more critical to the Run game than even say you know Jake redl you know kayb bana offensive line he's he's got to be big time for BYU if they're going to have success this year if we are looking at conference rankings at the end of the year you expect BYU to rank what on defense I would say seventh six or seventh by's defense will be better this year and uh this group's going to be improved I have questions still in the interior the depth John Nelson and Blake mangl will be good uh but there's there's questions about the depth and the linebackers are a strength cornerbacks made significant strides myy bom is a future NFL player uh his measurables I mean I've talked about him for about two years he showed up to BYU never really played any football he was a track and field guy but he's got the size and now he's learning the game he he is a he's going to be in that second unit but he's the first guy off the bench and he'll be a special player for BYU he's still got two years of Eligibility Mark Collins comes in from Weber State he's looking fully healthy coming back from the ACL Weber State transfer you know Jay Hills DBS they've been very successful and I expect the same with Mark Collins Jacob Robinson might be the best player on the team and then the safety position you know you're giving Tanner wall who honestly that was a bit of a surprise having him be the first team uh free safety but uh you know he he's someone that showed pretty well the tail into fall camp where he was running with the first team I just thought they'd probably give the edge to the freshman and Tommy prases or FAL St toala but uh I I like this defense and there the continuity that BYU had on with this roster you know they were in the bottom three of teams that lost Personnel of the transfer portal they didn't focus on the portal as much this year they're banking on Player Development continuity and the understanding of the system to help them maybe uh you know see an increase I think they can be a middle of the pack Big 12 defense and I'd say you know six or seventh is with within the realm of possibility okay I'll take Caleb etn because you talked about him already I'll take him off the board but what one position group could show one thing tomorrow that would be best case scenario for BYU what one position group yeah what what could be one thing we see tomorrow that you say Okay that was a big question mark that looks like it's been solved and that's going to be a real bonus going forward for BYU throughout the season yeah probably running game and and that's that's you I thought it was a Miss by BYU to not go into the portal during this uh this this cycle just because just to have the the bodies the personnel and you know they like LJ Martin and hinley rotti and I I've you know I'm big on LJ Martin's potential I think he can be a really special player and and you know all accounts he's full he's going to be full go and ready ready to play that's the messaging from Kanani sataki we did see him in team portions at the at the tail end of fall Camp practices so expecting to see LJ Martin and then f rotti is the second guy and you know third string a little bit of maybe powa hunga and and Miles Davis as well so uh you know that run game's got to be got to be good this year for BYU and and because that's what the the Mandate is in the Big 12 I mean you have excellent ground attacks in this league and and so BYU needs to have that and and and when you have questions a quarterback it it'd be a nice uh luxury to you know maybe mask some of those deficiencies at QB with with a solid grounded game and you you've seen moments from roati uh is someone that uh you know can pop off a big play he's got an average yard per carry of about you know 5.2 in his BYU career but it's limited action and he's heading into his fifth year at BYU but now it's his time to him and LJ Martin to really Elevate themselves and become uh impact players for BYU so the ground game for sure is that spot that um you know would be a a nice uh you know if they can show kind of a proof of concept if you will it makes you feel good that they've turned the corner Mitch we appreciate you and all of your fine work enjoy the game this weekend you bet guys take care thanks buddy it's our friend Mitch Harper covers the the cougs for KSL sports.com congratulations to those guys including Steve ble who we'll talk to coming up in the next hour but get just a lot of work from January through today yesterday that they get ready for the uh the opening night of the regular season for the teams that they cover they just they go to a lot of practices they do a lot of research they uh they spend a lot of time thinking about these teams writing about these teams to make it easier to cover them or follow them if you're a fan so shout out to those dudes unlike that Bozo who was doing the Utah suu game he might be listening he might be in an Uber on his way to the airport you're hoping he's catching some Strays and has a bad day I I'm not wishing a bad day on anybody I just wish what do you wish that he were better be better caught him off guard well Utah BYU Utah State most of the western United States really when it comes to college football have lots of Polynesia hug number of Polynesian players and yes knowing Scott Gerard H ol guys who work on uh broadcasts I suspect a lot of their work on either Wednesday night as would have been the case for the ESPN broadcast or Friday night tonight for Hans olssen and Scotty G is spent going over name pronunciation names because I can't be looking it up a you have a spotter I'm sure ESPN plus had a spotter but B yeah you go over it over and over and over and say oh I've seen sugga taga I need to know how to say that name it's going to be out there tanuvasa I got to know how to say that name tanuvasa is not a hard name to say and that was the first one like and he was all over that game tasa had a great game I mean the poor announcer needed to call his name so many times and he was like uh did you hear the the the time he double checked yeah oh man and look we've been doing this you've been doing this for 20 years scw up a lot of names it happens you do get a we we have experience saying Polynesian name so you kind of understand okay well this foul is going to do this and you know this this apostrophe is going to mean this for the second half of the name or whatever you you you get better at it but yeah you're play-by-play guy that's that's part of that is part of the gig yeah part of the job I mess him up all the time if I were to do play byplay again Ben which I honestly hope I never do okay you're done with it I will be so obsessed over the names because I screw up so many names any anyway and I do think it's important when you're the play-by-play guy to get the names right I would obsess over that and then probably make a mistake because I put too much pressure on myself shout out to dren Zipperer though that's my guy that is a that's the name I'm rooting for and I just mean purely the name I love that name dran zipper I hadn't heard his name at all in Camp nobody talks about D Zipperer at all and he came out and performed all right stay tuned we'll have more Jake and Ben coming up next 975d KSL Sport Zone