At the end of last season, BYU football seemed poised to back up its 11-2 campaign with another powerful swing through the Big 12 gauntlet. With a proven veteran under center and one of the nation's most vicious defensive units haunting the lives of opposing offenses, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that this team was poised to build toward another strong year.
Then Retzlaff left the program, and the tower collapsed. Tumbling from the preseason top 25, Aaron Roderick's offense is a few weeks away from the season opener and still has yet to name a starter.
But with recent intel from the offensive coordinator, the hunt for a signal caller is seemingly nearing its conclusion.
“Bear took the majority (of first string reps) today & McCae got some as well. We can't keep going equal reps with three guys anymore…each day you're going to see McCae & Bear getting the majority of the reps with the 1’s & 2’s. That's where we're at right now.” - Aaron Roderick…
— Jake Hatch (Yawk) (@JacobCHatch) August 12, 2025
Bad news for the most veteran candidate of the initial threesome, Treyson Bourguet, whose name has seemingly fallen out of favor in the battle for number one. Though he wasn't anticipated to win the starting role even at the beginning of the battle, his name remaining third on the depth chart is a shame for a prospect whose college career opened with so much promise with the Miami Hurricanes.
We may yet see him take the field, but he's been buried for the time being.
So the funnel spits out the final two candidates, McCae Hillstead and Bear Bachmeier. Hillstead, a local kid from Orem, Utah, transferred from Utah State for a chance with the Cougars. A dynamic arm and fascinating talent, many expected his familiarity with Roderick's offense and experience with the team to give him the edge by week one.
All signs indicate the boat is rocking in his counterpart's favor. Bear Bachmeier, a four-star freshman who abandoned the sinking Stanford Cardinal before the transfer window closed, is steadily collecting the favor of public opinion. A true dual threat in the vein of Taysom Hill, Bachmeier has the pure, concentrated force to lower his shoulder on the run, while tossing dimes downfield.
And he received the majority of the first-string reps during the most recent practice.
These two throws in the video below (courtesy of @BYUfootball & @despainb) came during the media viewing portion today of practice & were back-to-back plays iirc.
— Jake Hatch (Yawk) (@JacobCHatch) August 12, 2025
The first Bear Bachmeier was just a beat slow on getting the ball out to Jojo Phillips (pass was behind, but… pic.twitter.com/ClhcXbkfqP
Bachmeier was a heavily-recruited talent at QB, brandishing offers from Alabama, Georgia, and other similar caliber programs, he entered BYU late in the game. This being the case, few expected him to learn the offense and make himself a frontrunner to start as a freshman, but all momentum seems to point his way.
The job has yet to be assigned, and anything can happen before kickoff at the end of August. But now only two weeks from the season opener against Portland State, the face of the offense is coming into focus.