What is Jake Retzlaff ethnicity? Closer look at BYU QB's family & background 

Jake Retzlaff is the starting quarterback of the BYU Cougars. Coming out of Centennial High School, Retzlaff initially began his collegiate journey with the Golden West Rustlers in 2021 before playing one season with the Riverside Tigers (2022). He then entered the transfer portal a second time and joined the BYU Cougars ahead of the 2023 season.

Apart from his on-field performance, fans are also curious about Retzlaff's ethnicity. Let us look at his ethnic and family background.

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What is Jake Retzlaff's ethnicity?

The BYU quarterback is Jewish by faith. He was born and brought up in Corona, California. Retzlaff is also the first Jewish quarterback to play for BYU, which is a Mormon institution.

NCAA Football: Brigham Young at Southern Methodist - Source: Imagn

Jake Retzlaff follows his faith with a lot of pride and is happy with his upbringing. According to an article by Deseret News last year on April 10, the BYU QB does not hesitate to talk about his religion freely and also wears a silver Star of David pendant around his neck even on campus.

He credits his mother for his strong faith and belief in Judaism. Retzlaff also stated that his entire family practices Judaism.

"My family is all practicing Jewish, particularly my mom. I had a bar mitzvah and am a member (at Temple Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in Pomona, California) of a congregation. I love my Jewish journey."

Jake Retzlaff also stated that he grew up watching Jewish football players like Julian Edelman and learned to love his faith from him. The BYU QB also now has a few nicknames for him popping up on social media, such as 'Hucking Hebrew'.

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Jake Retzlaff's family

Per the Deseret News, Retzlaff is the son of Steve and Maxanne "Max" Retzlaff and has two other brothers, Daniel and Reggie. Steve was a football coach at Claremont McKenna College and other places for 25 years. Meanwhile, Max coached tennis at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College for 20 years.

Jake played alongside his brother Reggie, a wide receiver, for the Riverside Tigers. Jake was the starting QB of the Riverside Tigers in 2022 and recorded a total of 4,596 passing yards and 44 TD passes. His other brother Daniel played two sports in high school. Aside from football, where he was a linebacker, he also played baseball as a pitcher.

Jake Retzlaff's career with BYU

Last season, Retzlaff was the second-string QB behind Kedon Salvis at BYU. He finished the season with 648 passing yards and three TD passes. The Cougars then named Retzlaff the team's QB1 for the 2024 season. So far, he has led the team to two straight victories against Southern Illinois and the SMU Mustangs.

It will be interesting to see how far can Retzlaff take the Cougars in his debut campaign as a starting QB. They will be aiming to at least qualify for the bowl games after last season's 5-7 overall campaign.