BYU for the ‘B-Y-Jew’: Mormon School’s Star Quarterback, Who Is Proud of His Faith, Partners With Manischewitz Brand

Brigham Young University’s star quarterback, Jake Retzlaff, who is just one of three Jews enrolled in the flagship Mormon school with a student body of 35,000, has broken record after record with his sensational football skills — now, he’s breaking matzo.Mr. Retzlaff — who is BYU’s first Jewish quarterback in the program’s history and is affectionately known by his teammates as “B-Y-Jew” — announced on Thursday that he will be partnering with Manischewitz — an iconic kosher food brand known for its Passover-friendly matzo and gefilte fish — for promotional content, including being the face of their limited edition “Jake Retzlaff Matzo Boxes.”“Manischewitz has always been part of my life,” Mr. Retzlaff said in a statement. “I grew up with matzo with peanut butter as my favorite snack, and every Passover, my family and I made matzo pizza together. At Chanukah time our tradition was making potato latkes. Now, at BYU, I’m able to share these traditions with my teammates.”He added that the partnership, which will run through the end of the school year, is “about more than football — it’s about creating connections and celebrating Jewish pride in ways I never expected.” Such sponsorships have only been possible in the last three years with the passing of an NCAA rule change that allowed college athletes to profit from their personal brands through “Name, Image, Likeness” agreements. The terms of the partnership have not been made public.The 21-year-old football sensation, who grew up attending a reform synagogue at Pomona, California, made headlines this season for his stellar passes that landed the team an impressive 20 touchdowns and brought them to a 10-2 record in the Big-12 Conference — all while wearing a Star of David necklace. Although the Cougars missed out on getting to the Big 12 Championship game after a loss to Houston over the weekend, Mr. Retzlaff received an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention award for his quarterback plays.Although the university is sponsored by the Mormon church, and boasts a majority-Mormon student body, Mr. Retzlaff joined the school after being recruited for its football program, which employs pass-first offense, his preferred strategy. Despite the school’s religious associations, however, the young quarterback has not been deterred from proudly expressing his Jewish identity — he has wrapped tefillin at the local Chabad and participated in a public candle lighting ceremony last Chanukah.Through it all, Mr. Retzlaff has received support from Utah-based Chabad Rabbi, Chaim Zippel, who has said that the young athlete has “made us so proud.” Rabbi Zippel has also commended BYU for being “loving” and “respectful,” adding that “They have done an outstanding job of making us feel comfortable. They have been fantastic.”Mr. Retzlaff’s unique alliance with the Mormon community and his outstanding quarterback record has landed the college student features on national outlets like ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, and others.The partnership between Mr. Retzlaff and Manischewitz was the idea of a Jewish comedian, Eitan Levine, who had been producing content for the company. He compared the pairing to a “shidduch” — the Yiddish word for a romantic match.“First of all, Manischewitz is Jewish, Jewish is Manischewitz,” Mr. Levine said in an interview. “Food is one of the biggest parts of Judaism, arguably bigger than the Torah itself. When you think of Manischewitz, I immediately think of Jewish culture.”Mr. Levine quickly identified the quarterback as a remarkable individual, praising him for doing “such a good job at representing Judaism and representing just the positive side of our community” especially given that “there’s not a lot of Jewish football players out there.”Mr. Retzlaff, who stands at six-foot-one and weighs 205 pounds, is the only Jewish starting quarterback in college football’s NCAA Division I league — the highest level classification. In May, a fellow Jewish athlete, Sam Salz, became the first known Jewish Orthodox athlete to join the high-profile league when he walked on to Texas A&M’s football team as a wide receiver.On Wednesday, Manischewitz released its first promotional video starring the Jewish jock at a mock news conference signing his autograph on a piece of matzo. “I’m Jake Retzlaff, first Jewish quarterback at Brigham Young University, known as the B-Y-Jew,” he says in the clip. “A lot of people have been asking what’s my next big move. I’m excited to announce that I’ll be joining Team Manischewitz.”The kosher foods company also designed special edition matzo boxes featuring a photo of Mr. Retzlaff in his Cougars uniform above the pun: “Jake Retzlaff breaks matzo and records!” The boxes aren’t available for purchase in stores, but will be distributed in various giveaways.Mr. Levine describes the partnership as a much-needed dose of positivity for the Jewish community which has experienced a difficult year rife with antisemitism. “This is a purely positive story, being able to merge Manischewitz, which is a purely positive Jewish brand — no one hates Jewish food — and merging that with Jake, which is a purely positive Jewish story,” he said. “It just makes complete sense.”

BYU for the ‘B-Y-Jew’: Mormon School’s Star Quarterback, Who Is Proud of His Faith, Partners With Manischewitz Brand

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