BYU will be without Kedon Slovis on Saturday against West Virginia, as on late Thursday night as Kevin Reynolds of the Salt Lake Tribune first reported the news on Thursday night.
What this means is Jake Retzlaff will get the start against the Mountaineers. Retzlaff has yet to play in a game this season, as he is a junior college transfer and is in his first year with the Cougars.
Retzlaff has the ability to be more of a dual-threat guy than Slovis. Slovis was more traditional in his drop backs as West Virginia encountered with him last year against Pitt.
Retzlaff on the other hand has the ability to beat you with a very strong arm as well as his legs in the ground game. He was also ranked the No. 1 quarterback at the JUCO level last year by ESPN.
Last season at Riverside City College, he played in 13 games, throwing for 4,596 yards, 44 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also ran for 515 yards and six touchdowns last season as well.
In BYU’s last three games, they have allowed six sacks. Inserting Reynolds likely means a chance of that number to decrease for the Cougars with his ability to move the pocket.
West Virginia also likely has to pivot their game plan at least a bit with the news coming Thursday night ahead of Saturday’s game. The Mountaineers have the fifth-best passing defense in the Big 12 this year, and the sixth-best rushing unit in the league.
