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SALT LAKE CITY — After two consecutive years of Utah football ending its season at the Rose Bowl, it's only fitting that a quarterback with the name rose in it has started to separate himself as the heir apparent to the position.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Rose, who was the scout team quarterback last season, has started to pull away from the pack for Utah's No. 2 spot on the roster, according to head coach Kyle Whittingham at the midway point of the program's spring camp.
On Tuesday, Whittingham said Rose is now taking the majority of the reps between he and fellow redshirt freshman Nate Johnson, but added that Johnson has been "slowed down" recently by a "nagging leg injury." Still, it's enough of a separation that Whittingham feels confident in the direction of the spring quarterback battle.
Rose hasn't been perfect this spring — far from it, and Whittingham mentioned that Rose turned the ball over a "couple of times" on Tuesday — but he's the quarterback that has made the most progress in his second spring camp with the program. And it's enough that Whittingham feels comfortable talking about it openly.
"Brandon is probably the guy that has shown out the best so far in spring ball," Whittingham said.
That's no secret, either; it's been fairly obvious during the limited viewing period that media gets to see from the quarterbacks during spring that Rose has been the most consistent, seems to have a better command of the offense, and appears to perform better under center.
It's certainly not a done deal, Whittingham is quick to caution, but it's "gravitating in that direction right now."
"But, again, there's eight more practices, and then we'll assess the entire body of work and maybe we'll have found it then," he added.
Just a week ago, Whittingham made mention that separation had been made in the "incremental progress" that comes from more practices, but added that it was "nothing that's worthy of comment right now."
Now, it's worthy of comment.
Got a lot of QB action today in the time we got to watch. From our limited viewing, Brandon Rose seems to handle the pressure better and has a nicer touch and is more accurate. Nate Johnson provides a lot of versatility, but seems rushed in his passing.
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) March 28, 2023
The longtime head coach identified the battle for QB2 as the "No. 1 objective" of spring, and it appears that battle may be close to being finished before Utah even showcases its quarterbacks in the annual spring game on April 22. It could also mean that Utah goes into fall camp without a battle on its hands and a clear hierarchy in the room.
"We'll see how these next two and a half weeks go, and it could very well going into fall camp; we'd rather it not, but if it does, that's just the way it is," Whittingham said of the QB battle. "The positive is it's for No. 2, 3 and 4 — is not going to be our starter; we know who our starters is, and so it's not quite as much of a sense of urgency in that respect."
That hierarchy is vitally important, though, according to offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
"Projecting the future, we're gonna put the next best quarterback in a position to be the No. 2, and the third best guy in position to be No. 3," Ludwig said. "But knowing that competition, it's a day in and day out process, and may the best man win. I'm anxious to watch it continue."
While each quarterback starts with a leveled playing field in spring, Rose benefits the most from being in his second spring camp and with his time working as scout team quarterback against Utah's defensive starters all fall. Johnson got moved up to be the team's QB3 in fall, but that left him little opportunity to get reps behind Cameron Rising and backup Bryson Barnes.
So while Johnson got to see the field in some scripted plays last season that primarily highlighted his versatility and speed in the run game, he got little to no throwing reps in practice or during a game. Rose, on the other hand, got reps every day in a different capacity.
"Nate Johnson, he was the third quarterback for — the third quarterback is the most difficult position on the football team, because you're expected to know everything but you get almost zero reps," Ludwig said. "At least Brandon was able to play the game. Nate was getting his reps in individual in routes versus air. But Brandon Rose is going against the best defense in the Pac-12 every day, so that's a great learning curve for him, great experience."
It's been enough to give Rose the edge this spring and potentially even longer.
So what's Rose's best strength, according to the Temecula, California, native? He said it's his "arm talent."
"I feel like I can make any throw in the game," Rose said, while adding: "Definitely the way I study. I feel like the way that I study and the way that I translate that side of the game over, it's very beneficial."
His offensive coordinator agrees.
"He's an athletic drop-back passer," Ludwig said. "His arm talent is off the chart, so I'm super excited about that. But he can, if when he gets under duress for a bigger body guy, he has excellent escapability and really deceptive speed."
So while no decision has been definitive, Rose has taken a big step forward this spring in being named QB2. And since naming a backup quarterback at the end of spring remains Whittingham's top priority, it seems the coach has already had a successful spring camp.
