Steve Young praises Cougar QB Jake Retzlaff – Deseret News

BYU brought out one of its biggest stars for “Big Noon Kickoff” festivities Saturday in Provo.

Cougars legend and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young appeared on the national pregame show being hosted just outside of LaVell Edwards Stadium, offering his insight on BYU’s surprising 5-0 start and much more.

“We’ve showed up with defense this year,” Young said to the Fox analysts. “This is the best defense we’ve had in a long, long time. … If we can play this kind of defense and our offense continues to grow, I mean, honestly, we can beat anybody. I’m not overstating. I’m not (speaking in) hyperbole. We can beat anybody.”

One of the analysts on hand was former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, a left-hander just like Young.

Leinart said he grew up idolizing the two-time NFL most valuable player and Super Bowl XXIX champion.

Leinart and Young were joined by Rob Stone and Brady Quinn as part of one of Cosmo the Cougar’s several stunts for the show.

The famed mascot did an impressive jump flip over the crouching quartet.

Here are some other highlights from Steve Young’s appearance on “Big Noon Kickoff.”

On BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff

“He’s a swashbuckler, that means that he’s not tied up very well, he’s free and easy. He can make a lot of goofball mistakes and that’s what happened last year, but I give him a tremendous amount of credit to going to school this offseason. I heard that he spent an inordinate amount of hours in the film room, in the classroom.

“(Before the season) everyone was nervous, asking ‘Is this the Jake Retzlaff from last year, where it was balls flying all over the place and chaos?’ He still has moments when you’re like, ‘Oh no!’ But in the end, he’s gotten better and better. This defense is protecting him so that he can now grow into it. I really love the Jake Retzlaff story this year.

“If he has some mistakes and he has some goofball things, we’ll love him through it. But he is a better football player than he was last year, significantly. And he’s better than he was five weeks ago. So he’s the kind of kid that I love because he doesn’t make the same (mistake) twice. He does some boneheaded stuff and then it’s like, ‘I’ll never do that again.’ So in that way, who knows how good he could get, which is super fun to think.”

On his “house divided” for BYU’s matchup with Arizona

“The great Barb Young (Steve’s wife) is showing up today(at LaVell Edwards Stadium) for the first time in maybe 18 or 20 years because she went to the University of Arizona, and she is here to represent. I’m not split, Barb is split, but we’re all here together and we’re going to have some fun.”

On Cosmo the Cougar

“When Cosmo started dancing with the Cougarettes and started rocking, that’s when it all went viral and nutty. Now it’s like, we talked about Jake Retzlaff and how he can be better today then he was yesterday, but Cosmo is on a quest that never ends, with him asking ‘What more can I do?’”