Steve Young praises Cougar QB Jake Retzlaff – Deseret News

BYU brought one of its biggest stars to the Big Noon Kickoff festivities on Saturday in Provo.

Cougars legend and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young appeared on the national pregame show just outside LaVell Edwards Stadium and gave his insight on BYU's surprising 5-0 start and more.

“We started with defense this year,” Young told Fox analysts. “This is the best defense we’ve had in a long, long time. … If we can play that type of defense and our offense continues to grow, we can honestly beat anyone. I'm not exaggerating. I'm not speaking exaggeratedly. We can beat anyone.”

One of the analysts in attendance was former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, a left-handed hitter like Young.

Leinart said he grew up idolizing the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl XXIX champion.

Leinart and Young were joined by Rob Stone and Brady Quinn as part of one of several Cosmo the Cougar stunts for the show.

The famous mascot did an impressive jump somersault over the crouching quartet.

Here are some more highlights from Steve Young's performance on Big Noon Kickoff.

About BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff

“He's a go-getter, which means he's not very involved, he's free and easygoing. He can make a lot of mistakes, and that's exactly what happened last year, but I give him a ton of credit for going to school this offseason. I heard he spent excessive hours in the film room and classroom.

“(Before the season) everyone was nervous, saying, 'Is this the Jake Retzlaff from last year with balls flying everywhere and chaos?' 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.

“If he makes a few mistakes and does a few stupid things, we’ll still love him. But he is 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 make the same (mistake) 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.”

On his “house split” for BYU’s matchup against Arizona

“The great Barb Young (Steve's wife) shows up today (at LaVell Edwards Stadium) for the first time in maybe 18 or 20 years because she attended the University of Arizona and she's here to represent her. I’m not divided, Barb is divided, but we’re all here together and we’re going to have fun.”

On Cosmo, the cougar

“When Cosmo started dancing and rocking with the Cougarettes, everything went viral and crazy. Now it's like we've been talking about Jake Retzlaff and how he can be better today than he was yesterday, but Cosmo is on a never-ending quest and he's wondering, 'What more can I do?'”