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SALT LAKE CITY — In the week leading up to the Rose Bowl, Utes walk-on quarterback Bryson Barnes had a consistently "weird feeling."
The small-town quarterback who holds the state high school record in Utah for career touchdown passes (137) intuitively knew he was going to play in "the biggest game Utah's ever played in." He couldn't shake the feeling or even explain it, but he knew.
"It was just like I had a feeling," Barnes said on the first day of spring camp Tuesday, three months after the Rose Bowl.
With the game tied 38-all after a multitude of scoring in rapid succession from both teams, starting quarterback Cameron Rising was sacked hard in the fourth quarter. The impact from the defender knocked Rising out as he sustained a concussion — the effects of which were immediately apparent to the 87,842 fans in the stands and the millions watching on TV.
Suddenly, Barnes' "weird feeling" became a reality.
A walk-on quarterback was tasked with leading Utah to victory over a storied program in Ohio State — in the Rose Bowl no less. In that moment, it was reasonable to believe few in the crowd had even heard Barnes' name before he was tasked with the starting quarterback title. That just doesn't happen, especially in a setting like the Rose Bowl.
"I mean, it was crazy," Barnes said. "Yeah, like I didn't — I couldn't believe it. I mean, we got in and I was like, 'Oh man, it's a tie ball game — let's go.' And we were just hoping — I was hoping — to get 30 seconds back out there, but unfortunately, it didn't go that way."
The moment might have felt bigger, but Barnes said there was no time to feel overwhelmed or nervous; Utah needed him to lead the team and finish the game.
"It was just kind of — there was no time to be nervous and go out and get it done," he said. "We had the seniors there and I didn't want to let them down. I didn't want it to be like, 'Oh, here comes the backup, all hope's lost.' I wanted to give us something and that's what that drive ended up showing."
Ohio State came out on top with a last-second field goal, but Barnes kept Utah in the game. On the previous possession, Barnes threw a touchdown to Dalton Kincaid to force the Buckeyes into its game-winning kick. It was everything Utah — and Barnes — could have hoped for on the biggest stage outside of getting a win.
"I'm not gonna overthink anything, just got to play ball, you know, prepare the same way as you would regardless," Barnes said of his thoughts that night. "That's always been kind of my philosophy coming here is just keep preparing and just go do your thing. Don't overthink it, just go out there, do the work, put the work in off the field; it'll pay off on the field."
Rising added: "He did everything right, and it showed in that game and that's why he was so successful when he came in. When I watched it, I was just so happy to see him go in there and excel like that. He's doing a great job and he continues to grow each and every day, so it's good."
Barnes is still a walk-on, as confirmed by Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham Tuesday — at least "at this point in time" — but he remains locked in a battle for the No. 2 spot behind Rising as spring camp gets underway. Scholarship player or not, Barnes has proven his worth to the team.
And that backup position remains a key focus of Whittingham's as spring football began Tuesday. Rising is the team's leader — "our guy," as Whittingham puts it — but who takes over should something happen to the first team All-Pac-12 QB remains up for debate. The battle is "wide open," Whittingham said, as Barnes and Ja'Quinden Jackson, who has "really improved his game since the fall," push for the No. 2 spot.
Freshman Brandon Rose, who is already on campus and working with the team, remains in the mix but has a steep climb to unseat the two ahead of him.
"We want to develop them, but, ideally, we'd come out with a one, two and a three — we'll see if that happens," Whittingham said. "If it doesn't, we've got plenty of time to continue to identify that No. 2 and 3 guy. But the sooner it's identified the better, because then you can sink reps into the guys that you know are going to be on the depth chart."
The quarterback battle will take a prominent position in the list of items Utah hopes to accomplish in their limited spring practices, but it's also about developing Rising and his connection with the other offensive players on the field — most notably with a retooled offensive line. And Rising isn't ready to rest on his laurels with the top spot secured.
"I still think I've got to come out here and compete each and every day," he said. "If you're not getting better, you're getting worse. And I've got to make sure that I'm putting my best foot forward for the team."
Whittingham is already pleased with the progress — it's only one day, after all.
