“Steve Young Impresses BYU 'Swashbucker' QB Jake Retzlaff”

PROVO, Utah – BYU football legend Steve Young attended the Big Noon Kickoff set Saturday morning.

Young is in town supporting the undefeated, 14th-ranked Cougars against his wife, Barbara's alma mater, the Arizona Wildcats.

Legend in the house 🏡🐐@BYUFootball's Steve Young joins the show 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pcekfXAwYO

– Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) October 12, 2024

The BYU star shared his thoughts on BYU football after the 5-0 start. Based on what he sees from BYU's defense, Young believes BYU can compete against anyone.

“I think this year, more than anything, we came in with a defense that was in the lead. “This is the best defense we’ve had in a long, long time,” Young said on Big Noon Kickoff. “Then the Big 12 saying you can compete now. It allowed our offense and Jake Retzlaff to kind of grow into it. And they answered the bell. So why not? If we can play that type of defense and our offense continues to grow. I mean, honestly, we can beat anyone. I'm not exaggerating. I'm not exaggerating. We can beat anyone.”

Steve Young shares his thoughts on BYU QB Jake Retzlaff

Former Heisman winner and USC legend Matt Leinart then asked Young his opinion on BYU starting QB Jake Retzlaff.

“He’s a go-getter. This means that he is not very well integrated. It is free and simple. He can make a lot of mistakes and that’s what happened last year,” Young said. “I really appreciate him going to school this offseason. I heard he spent excessive hours in the film room and classroom. You both know that's really how a quarterback wins. The game is run by owning the data. When you have the data, you can stay one step ahead of the defense and now let your body do the things it is athletically ready to do. So Jake showed up.

#BYU The fans are excited at the Big Noon Kickoff.

📸: @allyb_7 #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/PS2PrDeE6p

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 12, 2024

“Everyone was nervous. Is that the Jake Retzlaff from last year? Where flying balls reigned and chaos reigned. He still has moments where you say, “Oh no!” But in the end he’s gotten better and better. This defense protects him so that he can now grow into it. I really love Jake Retzlaff’s story this year.”

“How good could he get?”

Retzlaff, who has one more year of eligibility left after this season, still has a lot of football ahead of him.

“I don’t know how it will be written in the end. If he makes a few mistakes and does a few stupid things, we’re still going to love him,” Young said. “We'll find a way to make him better.” But he's a much better football player than he was last year. And he's better than he was five weeks ago. So he's the kind of kid that I love because he doesn't do the same thing twice. He does some stupid things and then he thinks, 'I'll never do that again.' In that way, who knows how good he could get, it's really fun to think about.”

BYU Football takes on the Arizona Wildcats at 2 p.m. MT on FOX and KSL NewsRadio.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12-3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch's coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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