Why this BYU legend sees big things ahead for Jake Retzlaff

Gifford Nielsen watches the quarterback position with a keen eye. He’s been there and done that, and his All-America accolades also include membership in the College Football Hall of Fame, which makes him an expert. What he sees in BYU’s Jake Retzlaff is a tremendous upside that is being fueled by the Cougars’ 3-0 start.
“Early on in a season, you just want to win. You just have to win. It doesn’t matter how you get those wins; you just have to win and that (builds) confidence in a team,” Nielsen told the “Y’s Guys” podcast. “When you are a quarterback, and you start to see some of these plays develop, you start to figure out in your mind, ‘Hey, I can do this!’”
Retzlaff threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns in BYU’s 34-14 victory last Saturday at Wyoming. The bounce-back performance followed a tough night at SMU, when he had three turnovers.
“I think everyone needs to take a nervous pill. I think they are so critical of him right now,” Nielsen said. “He is a growing and developing young quarterback that hasn’t had a whole lot of experience. He has a lot of ability to be very effective.”
Nielsen threw for 5,576 yards and 51 touchdowns in 24 games at BYU. The pocket passer was tagged with the nickname “Mormon Rifle.” He may have made a name for himself with his arm, but Nielsen’s journey started with his feet and offensive coordinator Doug Scovil never let him forget it.
“Before I ever got to touch a football at practice, (Scovil) filmed my feet,” Nielsen said. “He filmed my feet for 15 minutes every day and I had to go through every running play and every drop.”
The following day, before practice, Nielsen had a personal film study in Scovil’s office.
“He would say, ‘Why are you doing a false step here? Why aren’t you getting back away from the center faster?’” Nielsen said. “He’d say, ‘You know, those defensive linemen are just watching your feet.’ Scovil was so strong on fundamentals. We never had to worry about our feet in a game.”
According to Nielsen, footwork was the key in the mid-′70s and it still is today — even 47 years later. He also believes Retzlaff’s foundation for success is in his feet.
“He’s got the arm, but sometimes what I see with him is kind of a lack of confidence, a lack of his feet being in the right place to deliver the ball,” Nielsen said. “(When) he stands confidently in the pocket, this kid is good. And he can make plays on the run. He has the ability to be a very good quarterback.”
After BYU, Nielsen played six seasons in the NFL for the Houston Oilers and parlayed his Texas popularity into a successful broadcasting career. He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2013 and was granted emeritus status on Aug. 1.
Back home, the soon-to-be 70-year-old returned to his Fountain of Youth — the quarterbacks room in the BYU football office.
“I looked at them and said, ‘What an honor it is to be here. This is amazing. You are all great-looking kids,’” Nielsen said. “’Then I told them this: ‘I just want you to know that my backup quarterback (Marc Wilson) was the No. 1 pick of the Oakland Raiders, so how did I have to approach practice every day?’”
Before they could answer, Nielsen continued.
“My other backup (Jim McMahon) was the No. 1 pick of the Chicago Bears. The competition in our quarterbacks room was a bunch of NFL quarterbacks,” he said. “When you are recruited to play quarterback at BYU, there is a lot of expectation. But what is more fun for an athlete to go to LaVell Edwards Stadium at night and have the whole place rocking? It is an experience.”
When No. 13 Kansas State plays at BYU on Saturday (8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN) it will be the Wildcats’ first trip to Provo since Sept. 10, 1977, when they faced Nielsen and a passing attack that had them and the rest of college football scratching their heads.
“It was magical,” remembered Nielsen, who had earned All-America status the year before. “There were so many expectations coming into that season. The place was packed. We just came out and started flinging it around and having the greatest time, and there was nothing they could do about it.”
In just over a half, the former Provo Bulldog threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns. The first strike went to Mike Chronister in the opening quarter. Nielsen connected with John Van Der Wouden from 34 yards out in the second quarter to give No. 20 BYU a 32-0 halftime lead. Backup quarterback Marc Wilson threw a touchdown pass in the third quarter to complete the 39-0 rout.
“Doug (Scovil) had us so prepared for every game that I would come up to the line of scrimmage sometimes with a smile on my face,” Nielsen said. “I would be thinking, (nobody) in the stands knows this is going to be a touchdown pass — but this is going to be a touchdown pass (and) there is no way they can stop (it). It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.”
In the following weeks, Nielsen and the Cougars hammered Utah State 65-6 and New Mexico 54-19. BYU (3-0) was knocking on the door of their first top-10 ranking when Nielsen suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 24-19 loss at Oregon State. The injury ended his Cougars career.
Nielsen’s quarterback prowess also makes him a quality resource for how to defend against one, and Kansas State’s Avery Johnson provides a significant challenge for BYU on Saturday. The dual-threat quarterback threw for two touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards in the Wildcats’ 31-7 victory against No. 20 Arizona last Friday.
“I think they need to put a lot of pressure on this quarterback. Keep a spy on him and make him throw perfect passes,” Nielsen said. “If he does, you tip your cap to him and say, ‘Nice throw. OK. We are coming at you again and again and again.’ He’s got to feel the pressure of playing at LES at night with all those people.”
As for Retzlaff, who has had tune-up games against Southern Illinois, SMU and Wyoming, his junior season is about to get real. Kansas State is a Big 12 contender.
“This is a new level. A new level of intensity. They are coming after him,” Nielsen said. “He has to be confident in the pocket and be able to trust himself as the quarterback of this team. If there is one thing right now for Jake it is to trust himself, trust the system and trust the calls.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.