- Jake Retzlaff has made history at Brigham Young University as the first Jewish quarterback in the program’s history
- The California native proudly wears a Star of David necklace under his football gear
- Now eyeing the NFL, he recently scored an NIL deal with Manischewitz, the kosher food maker
On the fourth night of Hanukkah, Jake Retzlaff and his BYU teammates will take on Deion Sanders’ Colorado at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
The Jewish quarterback — who began his college career at two different junior colleges in California before the Cougars came calling — is enjoying every second of every snap, but as fans can attest, it’s all hardly a miracle.
“I’m excited for it,” Retzlaff, 21, tells PEOPLE exclusively about playing on the holiday, and then adds, laughing: “Somebody will probably make a big deal out of that, so I won’t.”
He continues, “But yeah, I mean it’s going to be a lot of blast. I actually played on Yom Kippur this year [against Arizona] and we won, so it must’ve been a sign.”
BYU fans will take it. The team, who went 10-2 this season and 7-2 in conference play, seemingly exceeded expectations in its second season in the Big 12.
While they came just short of making the playoff, Retzlaff says that he’s looking forward to another chance next year.
“A lot of people that thought we should have got in who thought our resumes showed more than where we ended up,” he tells PEOPLE. “But this team is a top 12 team. I believe that. I believe that if you put us in that playoff, we show up and play well. So I’m excited for next year for that opportunity.”
This season, Retzlaff found his groove, leading the team at QB after starting the final four games of 2023 — and it all coincided with worldwide attention he received for not only being a Jewish quarterback, but also being a Jewish quarterback at a Mormon school.
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“The first time I realized I should be me, it was in high school when everybody’s trying to figure out who they are, of course,” Retzlaff says, describing his experience playing ball in Corona, Calif., where he and brother Reggie were known first as athletes, not necessarily for being Jewish athletes.
A friend inspired Retzlaff, a reform Jew who had a bar mitzvah, to be proud of his heritage.
“I had this chain,” he says, as he pulls his Star of David necklace around to face the camera on a Zoom call, “And now I’m wearing it everywhere all the time. But a buddy of mine who ended up playing safety at Idaho State was like, ‘Jake, pop that chain, man, be you. You know what I mean? You don’t be afraid and stuff like that.’ ”
He continues, “And it was like I owe it to him. Know what I mean? All the stuff that’s come from that, just being yourself. And so since then it was like, I’m just going to be a 100% unapologetically me, and trust me, the guys in the locker room, they know that and they’ve seen that. And so it’s been fun to just embrace that and be me. And I think it’s great because I think it’s awesome, the positive feedback from people around the world.”
Amid a time of heightened anti-Semitism, messages from around the world have made their way to Retzlaff.
“Stuff that says, ‘Hey dude, keep being Jewish,’ ” he shares. “And I’m like, just like, dude, it’s crazy what’s come from it. And not that it wasn’t my intention, but it wasn’t a thing on the top of my mind to be inspiring and stuff like that. For me, it was just like, I’m just going to be me and see what comes of it. And all the positivity has been incredible.”
The signal-caller says his teammates have embraced him for who he is — and the feeling is mutual.
“I mean, coming to a place like BYU where it’s religious, it makes it super easy to be religious, what’s going on around you,” he tells PEOPLE. “And so for me, it was cool to grow in my faith a little bit as I got here. But also at the same time, you get the questions from the guys very curious around here and just wondering about my faith. And it’s cool because I wasn’t very familiar about the LDS faith either. And so for me it was firing the similar questions right back at them and kind of finding out the nuances and learning from them at the same time.”
Retzlaff, who has an eye to one day making it in the NFL, recently scored an NIL deal with Manischewitz, the kosher food company known for its wine, matzoh and other Jewish holiday fare.
All of which means there might just be a few extra of his mom’s latkes on the table back home in California after the bowl game.
“The cool part is that I’ll get home for the end of Hanukkah, the last half of it,” he tells PEOPLE. “And so it’s nice. Just to be home during the holidays is fun and being back with the family is always good.”
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