BYU has named Bear Bachmeier as its starting quarterback, which will make him the first true freshman in school history to start an opener for the Cougars.
Bachmeier, who will wear No. 47, will debut against Portland State on Aug. 30. He takes over the quarterback job on a team that went 11-2 last season and blew out Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Although he’s a true freshman, Bachmeier is also a transfer. He spent the spring at Stanford, BYU’s Week 2 opponent, before transferring to BYU in early May.
“What’s up Cougar Nation, this is QB1 Bear Bachmeier,” Bachmeier said in an X video post. “Excited to get this season going.”
He originally came as the likely backup quarterback for established incumbent Jake Retzlaff, who transferred to Tulane after his withdrawal from the school on July 11 in the wake of BYU’s planned seven-game suspension of him for violating the school’s honor code.
Bachmeier won the starting job by beating out redshirt sophomore transfer McCae Hillstead (via Utah State) and redshirt junior transfer Treyson Bourguet (via Western Michigan).
Bachmeier will be throwing to his brother Tiger, a junior wide receiver who also transferred to BYU from Stanford this spring. Tiger Bachmeier projects as a rotation wide receiver for BYU and is expected to play a lot of snaps. The Bear to Tiger connection — one passing to the other — will generate a lot of attention for the Cougars. The Bachmeiers come from a football family, as their oldest brother, Hank, played quarterback at Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest. Bear Bachmeier had offers out of high school from schools such as Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
Bachmeier’s spot as the first true freshman starter is notable considering BYU’s vast quarterback history, which includes Ty Detmer, Jim McMahon and Steve Young.
“We feel good about the talent that we have,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said of his quarterbacks. “If you’re going to play quarterback at this level, you have to be a leader already.”
