As Brigham Young University (BYU), a Mormon institution, began its season rattling off nine straight wins, all of the attention was on their quarterback.
Jake Retzlaff has begun his Junior season impressively. With 23 total touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards passing in just his first eight games of the year, Retzlaff has lit the BYU campus aflame with excitement, as he has Jewish college football fans around the country.
It has not all been easy for the Jewish QB. As a BYU Cougars game fell on Yom Kippur, Retzlaff was forced to make a tough decision about whether or not to play. In the end, he decided to play, while acknowledging the importance of the day for him and his religion.
“It’s going to be a special day [since] there’s a Jewish kid playing football on Yom Kippur,” he said, “because if that makes headlines, that means I get to be another light for somebody else, and that means I have to win. I’ve got to go win the game.” Retzlaff has embraced being a role model for Jewish kids, and he wants to keep on winning because he knows that is the path to even more inspiration.
Junior football fanatic Leo Sohn said, “Retzlaff’s story is inspiring, and it’s great to see him thriving at BYU.”