Editor’s note: This is the first of a nine-part series breaking down the Aggies position by position.
The 2024 college football season was a bit of a roller coaster for Utah State’s Bryson Barnes as he certainly flashed at times during his three starts and two other games he saw a lot of playing time in, although he was only the starter when Spencer Petras was injured.
It was nothing new for Barnes, though, who often filled in for the injured Cam Rising during his four seasons at the University of Utah from 2020-23. The former Milford High standout has been in the starting lineup 17 times during his collegiate career, but has never truly entered a season as quarterback No. 1.
That will change in 2025 as the graduate student won the starting job three-quarters way through spring camp, USU quarterbacks coach Matt Johns said, “and he’s just taken off with it.” Simply put, this is Barnes’ team and Johns, who was a productive signal caller at Virginia under current USU head coach Bronco Mendenhall, is excited to see how things will unfold.
“Most importantly to me, he has all of the intangibles (in) how hard he works, how he commands, the way he prepares,” said Johns, who coached the tight ends at New Mexico a year ago and was a QB coach at FCS program William & Mary from 2020-23. “He prepares like a professional. He’s been around the block for a while. I believe this is year six, right, so he’s seen a lot of football, he’s played a lot of football and we’re lucky to have him.”
Barnes, who competed at Utah as a preferred walk-on for three seasons, completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 856 yards and 12 touchdowns, vs. six interceptions, during his first year as an Aggie. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder also rushed for an impressive 530 yards and five TDs, highlighted by a whopping 193 and 185 yards against San Diego State and Colorado State, respectively, to close out the season. The 193 yards against SDSU was a single-game program record for a Utah State signal caller.
Barnes and his wife, Brittlyn, are expecting a baby in October and “we’re really happy for them,” Johns said. “He’s a great, great person.” Indeed, Johns is very pleased about the character and the intangibles his starting QB possesses. What sticks out the most to Johns about Barnes when it comes to his skill set.
“He has a really strong arm,” said Johns of Barnes, who will forever be highly regarded by Utah fans, thanks to his four-touchdown outing in a 34-32 road victory over then-No. 18 USC on Oct. 21, 2023. “He’s elusive with his legs and his mechanics are just really consistent. You know, the ball’s always in a position to throw, his movements are short and compact in the pocket and he has a quick release, so that’s what sticks out the most to me.”
Who will back up Barnes has yet to be determined, Johns said. Transfers Jacob Conover and CJ Tiller, who are entering their second year as Aggies, are battling it out with newcomer Anthony Garcia, who was at Arizona last season and San Jose State the previous season, for that role.
And while a final decision has yet to be made on Barnes’ backup, Johns is confident Garcia, Tiller and Conover are all capable of helping lead the Aggies to victory should they be called upon.
“Absolutely (those guys can win games),” Johns asserted. “All of those guys prepare professionally. They prepare like pros as well and they’ve played college football, too, so they’re not coming in with inexperience. You know, they haven’t played a lot, but at the same time they’ve been around college football for a long time.”
Conover, a graduate senior, is the most experienced of the aforementioned quarterbacks outside of Barnes. This is Conover’s third program as he spent his first three seasons at BYU (2020-22) and transferred to ASU for the 2023 campaign, where he appeared in three games — he started against Fresno State — and completed 11 of 38 passes for 130 yards and three INTs.
The highly regarded 4-star high school prospect played in five games for the Cougars, including against USU in 2021. Conover (6-1, 195) replaced the injured Baylor Romney in that game, completed 5 of 9 passes for 45 yards and helped preserve a 34-20 Cougar victory at Maverik Stadium.
Conover was USU’s third-string signal caller last fall and completed 2 of 4 passes in limited action.
“He’s pretty similar to Bryson in the sense of his command,” Johns said of Conover. “He has great leadership qualities. The guys really respond to him and he has a strong arm, and that has been what has stuck out the most.”
Tiller (6-2, 200) is entering his redshirt sophomore season as he didn’t appear in any games for the Aggies in ’24, but appeared in in two games as a true freshman at Boise State in ’23. Tiller took his first collegiate reps in the final 70 seconds of the fourth quarter against USU, and then he started for the Broncos against UCLA in the LA Bowl. The native of Rancho Cucamonga, California, threw for 121 yards on 12 of 21 passing against the Bruins.
“Yeah, CJ has, I call it, a freak arm,” Johns said. “He’s got a really special arm and is really accurate, and that’s what sticks out about him.”
Garcia (6-1, 190) made his way to Logan after one season at Arizona, where is appeared in one game as a redshirt freshman and carried the ball once for one yard against Arizona State. The native of Sacramento, California, originally signed with San Jose State — where he was recruited by now USU offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven — as part of its ’23 recruiting class and redshirted during his lone season with the Spartans. Like Tiller, Garcia still has three years of eligibility left.
“Great person and his athleticism, right? He has the ability to get in the alley and then also chuck it down the field, so that’s been a lot of fun to see,” said Johns about Garcia when asked about his skill set.
USU’s fifth quarterback is one fans of Cache Valley high school football are very familiar with as it’s true freshman Kaden Cox, the son of former Aggie quarterback Travis Cox and the grandson of former Aggie running back Dan Cox. Kaden Cox served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then grayshirted at BYU in the fall of ’24.
Cox was a three-year starting quarterback for Ridgeline, plus a three-year starting guard for the basketball program. He helped propel the Riverhawks to an unforgettable senior season (2021) on the gridiron as he completed 71.6 percent of his passes for 3,776 yards and a whopping 55 touchdowns, compared to a measly two interceptions. Ridgeline went 13-0, culminating with a 45-20 drubbing of Dixie in the 4A state championship game. Cox torched the Flyers to the tune of 357 yards and five TDs.
Additionally, Cox was a three-year all-state performer in basketball and helped Ridgeline capture two outright region titles and share another one with Sky View. He averaged between 14.8 and 16.3 points an outing in each of his three seasons, plus knocked down an impressive 188 3-pointers.
Cox was able to participate in spring camp and has made significant strides ever since, Johns said.
“When you go from a freshman in spring ball and you get thrown in for a couple of reps — and I call it drinking out of a firehose because there is so much information,” Johns said. “You’re used to being the top guy in high school and now it’s like, ‘OK, a college offense at college speed with the pressure to perform now and you only have maybe one or two reps a day. Now, that was the spring. Transition to summer and fall when I give (Cox) a call and he looks at me, there’s confidence and the belief that he can go execute.”
What are the biggest expectations Johns has for his quarterbacks heading into the ’25 campaign?
“Making the right reads in all aspects of the game, whether that’s getting us into the right checks in the run game, or that is getting our eyes in the right read key in the RPO game, or it’s seeing safety rotation,” Johns answered. “Consistency with our eyes will allow us to play fast and perform at a high level.”
Johns is also expecting a lot of leadership and maturity, in addition to being positive teammates, out of his signal callers.
“I even tell them, like, if a guy drops a pass, who cares, move on,” Johns said. “It’s our job to get the team uplifted and go play the next play.”
BONUS QUESTIONS FOR JOHNS
Question: Strongest guy in the room?
Answer: “Yeah, it’s going to be Jacob Conover.
Question: Fastest guy in the room?
Answer: “Anthony Garcia.”
Question: Best all-around athlete in the room?
Answer: “Ohhhh, that’s tough, (but) Anthony Garcia.”
Question: Highest football IQ in the room?
Answer: “Bryson Barnes.”