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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham said he wasn't worried about the quarterback situation after Cam Rising announced his return to the program for a seventh season.
The news came before the regular season concluded and weeks before the transfer portal officially opened on Dec. 4. Attrition was the name of the game; Utah had already locked up its starting quarterback for the 2024 season.
Redshirt freshman Nate Johnson declared his intent to put his name in the transfer portal the week of Utah's final game of the regular season, and freshman Mack Howard joined him once the portal opened up.
Longtime backup and current starting quarterback Bryson Barnes joined in on the action and entered his name into the transfer portal once it officially opened, as well.
"We had a good idea that that's the way that things would shake out, and we're right on track with our plan of restocking the room," Whittingham said of the thinning of Utah's quarterback room on Tuesday, a day after the portal officially opened. "And we should be just fine."
But Barnes' situation was different.
Unlike many of his teammates, who will not be available during the team's Las Vegas Bowl appearance on Dec. 23, the former walk-on to beloved pig farmer turned starting quarterback will lead the team when it takes on Northwestern in the final game of the season.
It's not a common situation for a player to enter the portal and still play with his soon to be former team, but it happens. Whittingham called it a "case-by-case basis" on whether it's something the team ever considers.
The traditional thinking is that once a player expresses his desire to leave the program, it's time to move on. There's no lingering or holding on.
But Barnes' situation is different — at least in the eyes of Whittingham.
For the last three seasons, Barnes has been the stable backup ready to enter the game at a moment's notice should Rising not be available — from heroic Rose Bowl performances to last-minute starting assignments on the road against Washington State to eventually earning a scholarship and taking the full-time reins as the starter when Rising never got cleared from his injury.
Barnes had earned the right to see the rest of the season through, even as he looks for another team he can potentially lead in the future.
"He wants to finish what he started, and he also wants to have a chance to be a starting quarterback," Whittingham said. "With Cam coming back that's — barring injury — that would not happen here, and so we wish him all the best. He gave a ton to this program, got his degree. He's a guy that we wish nothing but the best for and have a lot of gratitude for what he gave to the program, and we're grateful that he's playing one last game with us."
Sure, Utah desperately needed him for the bowl game as the only remaining experienced quarterback on the roster, but it was the least the team could do for all he'd done over the years.
For Barnes, it was a no-brainer to see the season through. It provided him another opportunity to showcase his talent for a potential suitor, and it also gave Utah a chance to have some consistency in a bowl game that will feature several new faces.
"I definitely want to finish it out with my guys. These are the dudes I've been with since Day 1," Barnes said. "And just because of my decision to leave, I'm not going to leave them hanging for a bowl game. I want to finish it out with them.
"These are the guys you grind through it with," he added. 'You go through hell with each other, and leaving these guys for my own opportunities, personally, I just don't feel like that doesn't sit right with me. I just want to finish it out, finish what we started with the guys."
Barnes loved his time as a member of the Utah football family, but playing time and his future in the sport remains the highest priority for the former Milford High star quarterback. Another season as Rising's backup is just another year where he doesn't get game reps.
"I'm just gonna miss it all," Barnes said. "I mean, I'm playing this game for my guys. At the end of the day, what I'm really gonna remember is the relationships that I've built and the friendships that I've made that are going to last forever, regardless. One day I might forget the football games, but the relationships are going to stay on forever."
Utah has already lost 13 players — mostly depth players — to the transfer portal, with others still expected in the coming days. The biggest surprise came Wednesday when freshman starting slot receiver Mikey Matthews jumped into the portal.
Based on the number of players that have entered the portal and the constant reminder that Utah has suffered a heavy share of season-ending injuries, Barnes will be surrounded by several players that may not have gotten a lot of playing time this season. It will likely look more like a spring roster than that of a standard fall roster.
"It will be a different look," Whittingham said. "Our team will have a different look than what you saw in the last game — missing guys, guys that are moving on. And so we're not ready to disclose that right now, but you'll see a lot of new faces in the game on the 23rd."
