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SALT LAKE CITY — Few have experienced the ups and downs of being a walk-on football player as much as Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes.
It's a challenge, regardless, as a walk-on athlete, but Barnes has paid his own way for the last three seasons and has entrenched himself in a battle for the backup quarterback job behind Cam Rising.
Throughout it all, he maintains "it's been great."
At the end of his sophomore season, he was viewed as somewhat the hero, the quarterback to keep Utah afloat in its first Rose Bowl appearance when Rising went down with an injury. The next season, that perception changed a bit in the public's eye after his performances against Washington State and Penn State in Utah's second Rose Bowl.
In no game has the plan been centered around Barnes as the starter — even a last-minute starting nod against Washington State, in which Rising was scratched from the lineup minutes before game time, wasn't planned around Barnes.
Earlier this year, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said the focus of spring camp was on backups Brandon Rose and Nate Johnson, which was backed up by their playing time in the 22 Forever Game. Barnes was someone the coaching staff knew a lot about, and they wanted to see how the redshirt freshmen quarterbacks handled the system.
The assumption was that Barnes had been passed over and that he would fall back in the pecking order, especially when Whittingham identified Rose as the defacto leader of the group out of spring. "Coming out of just what happened in spring, Brandon is the guy, and if we had to play tomorrow he'd start," Whittingham said in April.
It was a false assumption, though.
Barnes remains actively entrenched in a battle for QB2 with Rose and Johnson as the "quarterback situation is still in flux," Whittingham said Tuesday. The Milford High product, who has been tabbed as Rising's backup the last two seasons, has been the most consistent quarterback of camp through the first two weeks, according to Whittingham.
"He's just making less mistakes," Whittingham said of Barnes. "He knows the offense better than the other two. He's a little more consistent, a little more steady. The other two guys have bright futures, can make some spectacular plays here and there, but it's all about taking care of the football and moving the chains."
Whittingham maintains he has "trust is all three of those guys," but the season draws near and a necessary pecking order must be establish soon. The hope, Whittingham said, is to have the quarterback order settled by Monday after a pivotal Thursday scrimmage for the Utes.
Rising remains limited in camp, and whoever is identified as QB2 may get the nod to start against Florida in the season-opener on Aug. 31. It's a tight timeline and one the coaching staff is actively pushing to get sorted out quickly.
For Barnes, the ups and downs of his career at Utah are all part of the work necessary to obtain the coveted prize.
"You kind of play the cards that have been given to you," he said. "You come here, you take what's given to you, you make the most of it and whatever happens ends up happening — just got to make the most of every opportunity you get. ... You've just got to keep your opportunities open, but you've got to make the most. You can't focus on plan B and plan C, you've got to focus on plan A first."
Make no mistake, Barnes remains committed to fighting for meaningful playing time. And whether he's QB2 or QB4, he plans to attack the game with the same mindset he's always had since he enrolled at Utah.
"You always have to prepare for whether you're a third string or even a fourth string," he said. "You never know when one guy can go down. The third string is two hits away, so you've kind of got to be ready for anything that comes your way for sure."
Barnes said he's becoming more comfortable in the offense each season, in addition to having more comfort against the varying defenses that are presented to the offense. He tries not to "overthink things" and attacks the game with a "clear mind."
And so far that strategy is working. Will it be enough for him to be tabbed Rising's primary backup for the third straight year? That remains to be seen. But despite the odds continually being stacked against him, Barnes continues to fight to earn the trust of the coaching staff.
"Just at the end of the day, it's always up to you, and what you get out is what you put in, so the hard work is gonna pay off in some way or another," Barnes said. "It's just kind of keeping that mentality of keeping at the grindstone — just keep grinding."
