My two cents on our QB situation for 2023

[ProudUte]

And it may only be worth one cent. 🙂
Let’s assume for a moment that Cam is not ready to play by September. We have two four-star QBs. We have a high three-star guy coming in and Barnes who has some playing experience.
Will Utah look to the portal after spring ball? I highly doubt it. If we did that – we would be bringing in a guy to possibly start who has not had much time with the team. Plus, we mess up the reps each guy gets.
Is Johnson our future? I think he is, but no one has ever really seen him play D1 ball. (Yes he did throw one pass.)
If Johnson is our future, he will make mistakes when he gets his chance. Who doesn’t? If he has the ability, attitude, and mind to be a good QB – give him the chance to play and let him grow.
Is Cam at 80% better than Johnson or the other guys? I hope that’s not the case. I love what Cam Rising has done for the Utes and he has been a great fit. But, if he cannot be a threat to run, he is just an average D1 QB IMO. The entire Cam Rising package is great, but if you take the running ability/threat away …

[Itacoatiara22]

Barnes would be an absolute nightmare. He is not a D1 quarterback.

[dystopiamembrane]

I think Barnes would be a stunner at D1 Portland State.

[EagleMountainUte]

I like the speculative nature to fit many fans own view of the situation. Using cliche talking points to appease this opinion. Reality is we don’t know.  

Whatever 80% is?  Like is this just saying B effort is good enough to win against Florida, @Baylor? I get that it is a common phrase used in these situations but we really have no idea where Rising will be. Reality is he will be rehabbing most of this year and start playing football again in August most likely. 

I could speculate on other QBs gaining the starting role and pointing at Huntley taking over from Williams.  I think most people didn’t expect that. 

I think most of us would agree Barnes is not an option though  

 

[Charlie]

Johnson and Rose have been with us a year and I am anxious to see NJ with more playing time. Howard is here for spring practice as well. Barnes played better when he got starter reps thru the week and was not playing against a top 10 team. We do have options. I expect there will be a guy coming out of spring with a lead on QB2 ready to go, that is all they are doing at this point. That guy will spend the summer throwing to the receivers. I expect that NJ will be the front runner. Very likely, Cam will not be full strength at the end of August and will work into games when he is ready. For the majority of the year we should have two QBs that play well and I would be happy to see us use both in many games to give defenses different looks and keep Cam healthy. Next, I would like to see Cam keep eyes downfield a bit longer for a pass and use the boundary and slides more. We were expecting a new QB next year, now we have more options than planned. Were good.
I don’t want to disparage Barnes, he is a team leader and a positive factor for our team. He is 1 of 5.

[EagleMountainUte]

I guess I should more accurately say Barnes is not the best option. I won’t say he isn’t a D1 qb. That disparages Utah. Which happens to be a very good D1 team that uses Barnes. So it is not correct statement at all. Utah isn’t a school that has two starters. Most teams don’t. Even Oregon carted out a very injured Nix over a backup. 

Expectations don’t mean reality for a lot of teams. 

[2008 National Champ]

I just don’t see all 4 of Johnson, Rose, Barnes and Howard staying on the roster long term. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two put their names in the portal after Spring ball. There just aren’t enough reps to go around and QB’s don’t wait 4 years to get their chance anymore.

The reality of the situation is that if the doctor’s say Rising is healthy enough to play, he’ll get the nod. You can probably keep Howard happy for this season running scout team but it’s going to be hard for Johnson and Rose to know that they have to wait another year to compete for a starting job that I’m sure they planned on being available this year. Whoever of the two is 3rd in line after Spring will be looking for other options. And if they are both still behind Barnes.,, well that’s why you need to be constantly recruiting QB’s.

[Author]

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