Jake Retzlaff has become a celebrity this college football season, and not just because he’s the quarterback for undefeated BYU.
He’s also increasingly known for being Jewish at a school sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During BYU football games, social media comes alive with comments on his faith.
“BYU having a Jewish quarterback is truly one of the great stories in college sports,” wrote Dan Wolken, a national sports columnist for USA Today, on X last month.
Ahead of BYU’s high-profile game against Arizona on Saturday, CBS Sports released a video on Retzlaff’s religion, which features the quarterback, some of his loved ones and his childhood rabbi.
Those interviewed talked about what it’s like for Retzlaff to be Jewish at BYU and what his success means to the Jewish community.
“On the field is where I find so much sanctuary, where I find so much of me feeling God behind me and what I’m doing. I feel like I’m here for a reason, and hopefully somewhere there’s a Jewish kid watching like ‘I can do that, too,’” Retzlaff told CBS Sports.
BYU’s Jewish quarterback
Retzlaff is the only Jewish Division I starting quarterback in the country and one of only three Jews at BYU, according to the video.
He’s also the first starting Jewish quarterback in BYU history, as the Deseret News reported last year.
In his CBS Sports interview, Steve Retzlaff, Jake’s dad, talked about helping the quarterback think through his options when an offer to join BYU football was on the table.
Steve Retzlaff admitted that he was nervous about whether Provo would be the right fit.
“I was more than concerned ... not football-wise but father-wise,” he said.
Jake Retzlaff’s mom, on the other hand, said that Jake has always done a good job making a home in potentially uncomfortable places.
“We’ve been used to being a minority in the communities that we’ve lived, so he was used to not being like everybody else. He’s made a great job of adapting to the communities that he’s been in,” Max Retzlaff said.
Jake Retzlaff told CBS Sports that his experience at BYU has been rewarding in multiple ways, both on the field and off it.
“What I didn’t realize is how much the faith would actually benefit me. That was a great surprise when I got to BYU,” he said.
Retzlaff added, “It’s easy to say now, but the more true I was to myself, the easier it became.”
