Retzlaff offered praise for the time he had with the Green Wave while sharing his goals for the future at the professional level.
Before Jake Retzlaff's impressive 2025 campaign with the Tulane Green Wave, the signal-caller was a prominent standout with the BYU Cougars -- something that hasn't been forgotten in his former home.
Salt Lake City, Utah, news station FOX 13's David Graf recently conducted an interview with the Green Wave quarterback, who gave the reporter an inside look into his historic year in Uptown.
Retzlaff was a prolific, dual-threat player for Tulane, ending the year with 3,168 passing yards and 15 touchdowns as well as 634 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He helped lead the program to victory in the American Conference Championship Game and its first-ever College Football Playoff berth. It's hard to imagine their path ends in the same historic fashion without Retzlaff deciding to finish out his career in New Orleans with the coach who tried to first recruit him to the Troy Trojans in Jon Sumrall.
Even with the change in schemes, conferences, teammates and coaches on such a short notice, Retzlaff was proud of the success he found on the gridiron.
"It was cool to like have that aspect of 'Man, I am doing it.'" Retzlaff told FOX 13. "Like I can still do it wherever I'm at, and then, like I said, the team was incredible. It wasn't like I did it all myself. Left a great team and joined a great team."
Retzlaff is looking to take his talents to the pros, with the 2026 NFL Draft quickly approaching. While he's currently not projected to be selected in the three-day April event, NFL Mock Draft Database does suggest that he could sign on as an undrafted free agent and fight to earn a permanent roster spot. Retzlaff competed in the Hula Bowl, a pre-draft showcase in Florida, where he had a strong showing that he hopes will catch scouts' eyes.
When asked about this by FOX 13, Retzlaff was quick to share that he's more than willing to work hard and let his talent do the talking.
"I was a junior college kid, so my entire career has literally just been proving people wrong over, over, and over again," Retzlaff told FOX 13, "So I'm just kind of getting the opportunity to do that over and over again. Like, I'm going to prove you wrong. Like you didn't know how good I was? Let me show you how good I actually am. At the same time, nothing is going to discourage me at this point. I've seen enough that I'm not going to ever quit because of one scout's opinion or whatever it is like that. I'm excited to go give my all wherever I end up."
Retzlaff continued, emphasizing his desire to show off his skills as soon as possible.
"I'm actually excited for this draft process to be over as fast as possible because I just want to get where I need to go and just go do my thing because that's where I'm best," Retzlaff said. "Just give me the opportunity and let me run with that opportunity. I just need that opportunity."
He's certainly shown to be a fighter throughout his career, and hasn't shied away from the adversity and challenges he's thus far faced as he looks to join an NFL squad with a chip on his shoulder.