The History of Opening Day Starting QBs at BYU in the Modern Era (The 70s)
A look at opening day starters of the past!
On August 31st, either Jake Retzlaff or Gerry Bohanon will start at quarterback for BYU when they open the 2024 season against Southern Illinois. Whoever it ends up being will be the 30th different opening day starting quarterback BYU has had since 1972. So I thought it would be fun to look back at the previous 29 quarterbacks during that time. Let’s go!
1972 - Dave Terry
The first QB of the LaVell Edwards era, Dave Terry would end up splitting starting duties with Bill August in 1972. Neither quarterback was a top notch passer but they had their jobs made a bit easier with Pete Van Valkenburg in the backfield. On September 16, 1972 however, Terry was a star. He completed 15-of-23 passes for 149 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground in a 32-9 win over Kansas State in Provo.
SEASON STATS: 62-of-120 for 746 yards, 2 TD, 10 INT; 131 rush yards, 2 TD; 4-2 record
1973 - Randy Litchfield
Coming into 1973, Diablo Valley JC transfer Gary Sheide was expected to take on the starting position but suffered an injury in camp. Sophomore Randy Litchfield stepped in, completing 12-of-22 passes for 134 yards and 3 interceptions in a 21-13 home loss to Colorado State. He did run for 45 yards and a touchdown though. Litchfield would lose the starting job once Sheide was healthy again.
SEASON STATS: 54-of-107 for 555 yards, 2 TD, 7 INT; 215 rush yards, 3 TD; 1 FG, 3 PAT; 1-2 record
1974 - Gary Sheide
Sheide entered the 1974 season with a firm hold of the starting spot but the team got off to a rough start, going 0-3-1 in their first four games. The opening game was a 15-13 loss to Hawaii on the road where Hawaii only scored on field goals. Sheide struggled, completing 13-of-22 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown but throwing four picks. The team would rebound from an 0-3-1 start, winning 7 straight to win the WAC and earn their first ever bowl bid.
SEASON STATS: 185-of-305 for 2,217 yards, 23 TD and 19 INT; 3 rush TD; 7-4-1 record
1975 - Mark Giles
After Gary Sheide was injured in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl, punter and backup QB Mark Giles took over to… less than stellar results (11-of-26 for 138 yards and 3 interceptions). However, he came out on top in the QB race for 1975 and opened the year as BYU’s top guy. Giles completed only 11-of-21 passes for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns with 3 interceptions in a 23-21 loss to Bowling Green. Giles would start three more games before giving way to Gifford Nielsen, a local kid from Provo.
SEASON STATS: 39-of-75 for 396 yards, 3 TD; 8 INT; 143 rush yards; 43 punts for 1,702 yards; 1-3 record
1976-77 - Gifford Nielsen
Nielsen had lots of success after taking over the starting job from Mark Giles in 1975 with 1,471 yards and 10 touchdown passes in seven starts. That momentum did not carry over to the season opener in 1976. Nielsen struggled, completing only 15-of-29 for 142 yards and 2 interceptions. Both interceptions came with BYU down in the fourth quarter and the Cougars would lose to Kansas State 13-3. The rest of the season would go much better as BYU finished 9-3 and Nielsen finished 6th in the Heisman vote.
Entering 1977, Nielsen was considered a Heisman frontrunner and, in a rematch against Kansas State, he did nothing to quiet that talk. Giff completed 27-of-45 passes for 318 yards and 2 touchdowns as BYU laid a 39-0 beating on the Wildcats. Heading into an October matchup with Oregon State, BYU was 3-0 and Nielsen had thrown for 912 yards and 13 touchdowns with no interceptions. Unfortunately, that is where Giff’s season would end after a severe knee injury in Corvallis.
SEASON STATS:
1976: 231-of406 for 3,401 yards, 30 TD and 23 INT; 9-3 record
1977: 98-of-156 for 1,167 yards, 16 TD and 3 INT; 3-1 record
1978-79 - Marc Wilson
Coming off a sophomore season where he passed for 2,418 yards and 24 touchdowns in relief of an injured Gifford Nielsen, you would think that Marc Wilson would have the starting job in the bag. A new hire at offensive coordinator put all that into question and Wilson entered an intense QB battle with backup QB and starting punter Jim McMahon. Wilson wound up being named starter but the season got off to a rough start against Oregon State on the road. The Cougars won 10-6 but Wilson only completed 15-of-38 passes for 193 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions. Ineffective play and a bad knee meant that Wilson and McMahon would trade off quarterbacking duties throughout the season.
After the season, Wilson was ready to call it quits on football to prepare for law school. When he told LaVell about this decision, the coach told him that he should wait a bit longer to hang up his cleats. Offensive coordinator Wally English was leaving to take a job at Pitt and former coordinator Doug Scovil was returning. Turns out Wilson wouldn’t be heading to law school after all.
Though it wasn’t smooth sailing for the quarterback heading into the 1979 season. On a backpacking trip with teammate Neils Tidwell in Idaho, Wilson suffered a ruptured appendix. Initially dismissed as a case of the flu, an appendectomy wasn’t performed until eight days after he had started feeling pain. Because of this, he missed fall camp two-a-days and lost over 20 pounds. The day before the opener against No. 14 Texas A&M on the road, Wilson had a 103 degree fever. He managed to complete 17-of-35 passes for 165 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions and BYU beat A&M 18-17, their first win over a ranked non-conference opponent on the road. Comparatively, the rest of the season would be a breeze for Wilson as he threw for over 4,000 yards and 31 touchdowns while leading the Cougars to their first undefeated regular season.
SEASON STATS:
1978: 128-of-249 for 1,547 yards, 8 TD and 14 INT; 2 rush TD; 5-3 record
1979: 277-of-469 for 4,086 yards, 31 TD and 18 INT; 4 rush TD; 11-1 record