Jake is a lot like Riley Nelson in this regard: he IS a team leader and none of his teammates doubts his toughness. The rest of the team knows he'll do whatever it takes to win, no matter the cost to himself.

Last night's play after the failed reverse/collision/fumble, Retzlaff saved a touchdown by outrunning everybody out there and hurling his body like a kamikaze pilot into the path of a thundering herd of Houston linemen. Not only did he do that, he did it with enough force and precision to knock that huge lineman ballcarrier out of bounds and end the play. When I saw him come flying in to launch himself at the knees of those "hogs", I just cringed, thinking he wasn't likely to be coming out of that play in one piece. When he got up and jogged off, I just shook my head because I was already picturing Gerry Bohannon coming in next series. Retzlaff did the same thing last week to a guy running back an interception.

Quarterbacks often aren't willing to do that. Many of them see themselves as too valuable to risk injury in such situations. Two clear examples I can recall of quarterbacks who thought that way are Jake Heaps and Cam Newton. I don't think it is coincidental that neither one of those guys ever really had the full confidence of their teammates no matter what team they were on.

The point I'm trying to make is that none of Retzlaff's teammates can have anything but respect for the way he plays the game. He certainly makes mistakes, but he's clearly always willing to give his best possible effort, including sacrificing his body, to advance the team. That REALLY means something. Other guys WANT to play with and for a guy who has that kind of unstoppable drive and determination to win.

While it's always the defensive guys that REALLY pride themselves on being "physical" and "tough", after that play last night I thought the defense should award Retzlaff a plaque naming him an "Honorary BYU Starting Defensive Back." He shows the same kind of heart and fire that guys like Daniel Sorensen, Aaron Francisco and Andrew Rich did. I'd guarantee the defensive guys recognize that quality in Retzlaff and both admire and appreciate it. I think they would be glad to have him on their side of the ball.