Dissecting the QB room for the BYU Cougars in 2024.
BYU Cougars’ QB Depth Chart
Jake Retzlaff
Jake Retzlaff was a 3⭐️ in the composites with an overall rating of 87.01 for On3. He is 6’1” and weighs 205lbs and was part of the 2021 recruiting class. Retzlaff went the JUCO route and attended Golden West out in California. He lit up the competition, throwing for nearly 7,900 yards in two years with 67 touchdowns. He also ran for 895 yards. Retzlaff was rated the QB1 of the JUCO options and chose BYU. Retzlaff took over the final four games in 2023 and did not look good. It appeared the NCAAF game was too fast for him. He will now have a full offseason with the BYU Cougars to hone his craft. Retzlaff has two years remaining and will be the expected leader of this room.
Jake Retzlaff SLINGING it for BYU as the Cougars chase bowl eligibility 🚀
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) November 18, 2023
Treyson Bourguet
Treyson Bourguet was a low 3⭐️ in the composites and initially committed to Western Michigan. He was a part of the 2022 class who entered into the transfer portal, now committed to the BYU Cougars for the 2024 season. During his time with Western Michigan, Bourguet appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons. Bourguet is 6’2″ and 215lbs and has three years of eligibility remaining.
Treyson Bourguet ➡️ Anthony Sambucci for the 64 yard TD!
— CFB Country (@_CFBCountry) September 16, 2023
Ryder Burton
Ryder Burton was a 3⭐️ in the composites with an overall rating of 83.82 for On3. He is 6 ‘2” and weighs 200lbs. He was part of the 2023 recruiting class. Burton attended Springville High in Utah where he threw for 1,972 yards as a Senior with an additional 21 touchdowns. Burton was invited to the Elite 11 regionals in Los Angeles. He did not see any live reps in 2023 and has four years of eligibility remaining.
Cole Hagen
Cole Hagen was an unranked prospect. He is 6’1” and weighs 185lbs. He was part of the 2020 recruiting class and initially committed to Yale.
As a Senior in high school, Hagen was named the Utah Gatorade player of the Year. He passed for 3,655 yards with 43 touchdowns and added 1,069 yards on the ground with an additional 11 touchdowns. Hagen was the start of the Corner Canyon tradition of QBs who put up ridiculous stats. He would serve a two year mission and enroll at Yale before transferring to the BYU Cougars for the 2023 season. Hagen has three years of eligibility left and has not seen live reps since 2020.
Nick Billoups
Nick Billoups was an unranked prospect in the composites. He is 6’1” and weighs 203lbs. Billoups was part of the 2020 recruiting class and initially committed to Utah. In 2021, he transferred to BYU and has yet to see any live reps. Billoups has two years of eligibility remaining.
Cade Fennegan
Cade Fennegan was a 3⭐️ in the composites with an overall rating of 77.27 for On3. He is 6 ‘2” and weighs 190lbs. Fennegan was part of the incoming 2018 recruiting class and initially committed to Boise State. Fennegan went on a two year mission while at Boise State in 2020 and did not see any game action. He enrolled at BYU for the 2023 season. Fennegan has two years left of eligibility and has not seen live game reps since 2018.
Enoch Watson
Enoch Watson was a 3⭐️ in the composites with an overall rating of 85.29 for On3. He is 6 ‘2” and weighs 190lbs. He is part of the incoming 2024 recruiting class. Watson attended American Leadership Academy in Arizona where he was a full-time starter in his Senior season. He completed 189 of his 298 attempts for 2,581 yards with 29 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also added 356 yards on the ground and 8 touchdowns. Prior to his Senior season, Watson was used as a Wildcat-type of QB and had 8 rushing touchdowns his Junior year on 322 rushing yards.
Carson Suesue
Carson Suesue was a 3⭐️ in the composites with an overall rating of 85.09 for On3. He is 6 ‘4” and weighs 200lbs. He is part of the incoming 2024 recruiting class. Suesue attended Granger High in Utah and started in his Senior season. He completed 224 of his 332 attempts for 3,275 yards with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He added 709 yards on the ground with an additional 9 rushing touchdowns.
Noah Lugo
Noah Lugo was a 3⭐️ in the composites with an overall rating of 84.22 for On3. He is 6 ‘3” and weighs 185lbs. He is part of the incoming 2024 recruiting class. Lugo attended Eaton High in Texas where he saw playing time across three seasons and was used as a wildcat option. He is a run-first player. Over a three year span, Lugo ran for 1768 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns. As a passer, he completed 230 of 414 passes for 2,988 yards with 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Quarterback Battle
There’s nine quarterbacks in the BYU Cougars QB room entering this season. Three are True Freshman, and three are from the 2020 class or older. This is a room that needs to be cleared out. Nobody stands out but there could be some answers in this room.
We saw Jake Retzlaff take over the final four games for BYU last year and was simply not good. He does get a full offseason though, and should get the first team reps with every chance to show why he isn’t the guy. It’s possible that Retzlaff can make a leap from what we saw last year. BYU didn’t hand over the keys to Cade Fennagan, Cole Hagen, or Nick Billoups when Retzlaff struggled last year. That should be telling on how the staff views those three players. I wouldn’t want any of them to be the starter heading into 2024; as that would mean the young guys aren’t ready to play at the Power Four level.
That leaves Ryder Burton. Burton could have a real shot to make some waves and surprise coaches. He hasn’t missed two years of practice to a (religious) mission and he should have the edge over the True Freshmen. Burton also has a year under his belt and a presumed understanding of the system. He’s also been involved in the strength and conditioning program.
The final options are the three True Freshmen. Of the Freshmen, I slightly prefer Enoch Watson. The level of play in Arizona is better than Utah, and I do like his tape. Watson comes in more refined as a passer than Carson Suesue. The other True Freshman is the wildcard.
Noah Lugo is more of a pure runner than a quarterback. It will be interesting if the Cougars have packages for him to give a spark to help the offense that is in desperate need of play makers.
The last player we’re talking about is the portal transfer from Western Michigan, Treyson Bourguet. Bourguet is an interesting prospect. I would classify him as a QB with mobility rather than a dual threat QB. Bourguet also showed flashes during his time at Western Michigan. He is the wildcard and someone I need to see more of. The game Bourguet had against Ball State on September 30 is one BYU fans will be hoping they see more of. In that game, Bourguet was decisive and flashed a good arm. He completed 24 of 39 passes for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. This is a wide open room and if I’m putting my chips on someone, it will be Treyson Bourguet.
My outlook on this BYU Cougars team is that they will be bad in 2024. Hopefully, they play their younger options at quarterback. The older players aren’t the answer and BYU isn’t going to contend; so take your lumps with the young guys and build for the 2025 season. It’s easier said than done, though, as Coach Kalani Sitake might be under pressure to compete and win.
If they do go with one of the veteran options (likely Retzlaff), I would like for them to sprinkle in Noah Lugo to be the Wildcat/option quarterback for 5-10 plays a game. That will give opposing defenses something to think about all game long.
Positional Outlook
If BYU is able to keep the three True Freshmen signal callers, there’s something to work with. It’s very interesting that three Freshmen quarterbacks would commit to the same program when they’re pretty close as far as ratings go. Typically if that does happen, there’s a blue chip guy and then lower tier players who want to stay close to home (or it’s their dream school). The situation is interesting and it’s not out of the question that one or two of them decide to transfer out.
The older players on the team will add some veteran leadership. That is a positive, but they don’t have the trust in the coaching staff or else the QB room wouldn’t have so many players.
As of now, the outlook is relatively positive. They have plenty of young quarterbacks, and Retzlaff has two years left to play. Treyson Bourguet has three years of eligibility as well, and has flashed at Western Michigan. There should be some stability here for Head Coach Kalani Sitake to work with. Cougar fans will have a close eye on this position group when spring camp opens up and we prepare for the 2024 season.
Andy Pham
Andy is the creator of the Devy Digest. His passion is devy and C2C. Andy's Devy Diguest articles provide insightful, yet thoughtful commentary to give you a leg up on the devy prospects so you know how to approach your devy and C2C drafts. With The Devy Digest podcast, Andy provides episodes of interesting and exciting topics and when he invites guests, you get to be a fly on the wall, listening in on two people having a conversation where they give you a different perspective. Come, join the journey that is Andy's Devy Digest.