BYU turned to true freshman Bear Bachmeier as its starting quarterback in the wake of former star Jake Retzlaff's departure, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz has confirmed. Bachmeier, who initially signed with Stanford before transferring to BYU in May, beat redshirt sophomore McCae Hillstead and redshirt junior Treyson Bourguet in a fall camp competition.

With that, true freshman Bear Bachmeier was named the Cougars’ starting quarterback for the season opener against Portland State on Aug. 30. Freshman quarterbacks have seen the field early in BYU’s history — notably players like Jake Heaps and Zach Wilson — but none have started the opener as a true freshman until now.

Almost three months to the day when BYU coaches, fans and players alike were rattled by the bombshell news that projected and veteran starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff in all likelihood would not be under center for the Cougars in the Aug. 30 opener against Portland State, another somewhat startling development was announced in Provo.