Bryson Barnes

[utetastic]

Wow, That Barnes thread is brutal. I hope he is not reading it.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he is the best quarterback in the world but I also think we should acknowledge how much he has helped us.

I think we assume he is not a good athlete just because he was a walk-on that came from Beaver County.
Just for reference, Barnes ran an 11.54 100m as a junior. Some comparisons: JaQuindon Jackson 11.48, Caine Savage 11.42, Chris Curry 11.66
Barnes ran a 23.54 200m, Jaylen Dixon 23.34, RJ Hubert 23.64, Miles Battle 24.24
Barnes ran a 16.15 110m
He has rushed 21 times in his career for 126 yards for an average of 6.0 yards per rush
Huntley 389 att 1146 yards 2.9 per rush
Rising 152 att 953 yards 6.3 per rush
Wilson 400 att 1226 yards 3.1 per rush

Also I think we are being a little harsh on his ability because he was poor in a really difficult situation against Penn State.
His passing stats are not terrible. I realize we have a small sample size but he has been decent.

Bryson Barnes– 39 comp 59 att for 453 yards, 66.1 comp %, 7.7 yards per att, pass eff rate 151.8
Cameron Rising– 64.1%. 7.8 y/a rate 147.4
Tyler Huntley– 67.2% 8.6 y/a rate 152.6
Troy Williams– 53.4% 7.1 y/a rate 119.8
Travis Wilson– 60.5% 6.9 y/a rate 128.5
Jordan Wynn– 60.3% 7.3 y/a rate 133.8
Brian Johnson– 66.2% 7.7 y/a rate 144.2
Brett Ratliff– 59.0% 7.3 y/a rate 137.8
Alex Smith– 66.3% 8.9 y/a rate 164.4
Brett Elliot– 56.8% 6.5 y/a rate 118.8

Now most of Bryson’s stats have come from Washington State, SUU, Colorado, and Penn State. Not necessarily the best competition but Penn State’s defense was really good and Washington State was not bad last year.

Again I know it is a small sample size and I don’t think he is spectacular. Maybe not even good but he is not awful and I think he deserves our appreciation and maybe a little faith in him. Maybe Johnson and Rose are just bad, or maybe Barnes is actually OK. I would gladly take Bryson’s completion percentage, y/a, pass eff. rate, and his yards per rush from our future starter.

Sorry for the rant.

[Ted Lasso]

I don’t have anything to add to your analysis, but Barnes coming in at the end of the game against Ohio State and throwing a TD pass was a really cool thing to watch. As someone that came from a small high school like Barnes, it was fun to watch. Would have loved to see that game go to overtime.

[Ute Dub]

Barnes has thrown the FINAL touchdown in the last two Rose Bowls.

[UteDuke]

You’re absolutely right. That last thread got out of hand in a hurry. Barnes has represented the university tremendously well, and has been loyal to the program. I understand why fans don’t want him to be the starter. Utah fans have had a rough go with “try hard” QBs in the past, and I think it is that PTSD that is being brought out by the situation. That being said, I love having a reliable back-up that can step in when needed. What everyone in the previous thread seems to be forgetting is that Whittingham and the staff are paid to win, not to lose “reasonably”. If Barnes is the one to take the field against the Gators then it is because the staff believes he has the best potential to deliver a win. I will be cheering for the Utes and all of its players regardless!

[thirtyfour-thirtyone]

People expect Rose and Johnson to have worked hard during the offseason to gain some experience running the offense (at least on their own with teammates), and to have gotten stronger/faster and all that. I’ve got news for you: Bryson Barnes has been doing that too. If he is QB 2, it’s because he took the job away from two other scholarship D-1 quarterbacks.

I am excited to watch whoever lines up under center again Florida, and I’m confidant that Whittingham and Ludwig will done their best to set Utah up for success in that game and the season.

[UtahMan17]

Bryson Barnes may or may not prove to be a high level starting QB. But I’d just like to point out that Georgia was having this exact same conversation about Stetson Bennet right up until he led them to a national title.

Bryson has some legit natural ability (state champ in multiple sports, set some state QB records, legit track times, decent size and strength, etc.), has proven he isn’t afraid of the moment (something many more talented QBs will never be) and for damn sure works his TAIL off to improve. Before we kill the kid as not being ready maybe we should give him and our coaches the benefit of the doubt and reserve judgement until we see him out on the field this year.

Will he be good enough? I don’t know. Will he be better than last year? I’d bet my life on it.

[enigami344]

People probably forgot Barnes actually had better passing stats than Rising in the Penn State game. Defensively We didn’t do well that game (which is the reason why we lost the game imo) and Rising kept us in the game with his legs until he got hurt. I am totally fine if Barnes gets the QB2 job, it just means he is better than the others, and Rose and Johnson probably got overhyped a little. I love all Utah players as long as they play and work hard.

[Ute Dub]

If we could rewind to that second half, our defense is tired and green at corner, Jaquinden is averaging 6.2 YPC. RUN. THE. DAMN. BALL.!!!!

[2008 National Champ]

Green at corner? Broughton and Vaughn had been playing all season. It was Ohio State that Utah was green at corner.

[Ghost of the HEB]

Nothing against Barnes — he’s a great kid and a good player. Just somewhat disappointing that our 4 star and 3 star QBs aren’t good enough to outperform our walk-on from Milford who was entirely ineffective in the Rose Bowl. Florida’s defense will be more similar to Penn State than Washington State (who Bryson beat).

[D T]

Yeah, he didn’t start moving the chains against PSU till their backups got involved.

Good kid & a serviceable backup, but no way should he outperform our highly rated recruits, unless of course we misfired in the recruiting process.

[PAC12Teams]

Hey DT we’ve misfired at QB before. Remember Peter Costelli and Jack Tuttle and missing on Zach Wilson.

[Distantute]

Barnes was horrific against penn st. If hes our number 1 backup we have serious problems in the qb room.

[Tednab]

Zach Wilson was not a misfire

[The Miami Ute]

Well, all I can say is that he’s better than Jon Hays. I do think that he can go out and beat Florida in the first game if Rising can’t go. At this point, I’m not certain how many QBs Florida is preparing for. I imagine that they probably think Rising will start but have to have a sneaking suspicion that it might be someone else. Who that will be probably won’t be known until game time.

[chinngiskhaan]

I think the main issue with Barnes is that he isn’t Rose or Johnson, and that isn’t a knock on him, it’s just irritating that we have two guys that were very highly regarded recruits that have been in the system for quite a while now that somehow aren’t good enough to supplant a guy who is not good enough to do what Rising has done, and Rising isn’t all that and a bag of chips either (but this isn’t about him).

The VAAAAST majority of our QB recruits, especially those we’ve recruited out of high school, have been disappointments or outright failures. Huntley is the only high school QB who has done well for us since Whitt took over. I know this is a misleading argument. I know Ludwig can develop a solid QB… but it’s in the back of the mind of every Ute fan. WHY CAN WE NOT RECRUIT GOOD HIGH SCHOOL QBs? Even when they are supposed to be good they aren’t. We keep signing guys like Costelli, Johnson, and Jackson (not out of HS) that haven’t the slightest clue how to throw a football. Even the ones that do allegedly throw a good ball have some sort of major flaw that makes them apparently unplayable. (keep in mind this is a back of the mind rant rather than factual information, thanks).

[The Miami Ute]

Are you in Ulan Bator? Don’t you think that Jordan Wynn or Travis Wilson were any good? If you don’t, well, I’m going to have to disagree with you. Wynn particularly was headed for something really good until injuries destroyed his career.

[chinngiskhaan]

Like I said, more of a rant than a factual argument, but since you asked…

One was a MWC qb, the other was a MWC qb playing in the Pac12. Wilson could only make 1 throw. It was out routes and screens all day with him. He was a tough kid and leader, but he really wasn’t that great.

When a top 5 all time school qb isn’t even preseason honorable mention or a legit nfl prospect… yet you have won two championships in a row, you have major QB issues.

[123punt]

I love our Utes, but QB recruiting and development has been a serious weakness. I don’t believe we’ve consistently missed on our HS recruiting commits. But once on campus, the evaluation goes experience > football IQ/playbook > not turning the ball over > running ability. And coaching focuses on developing those attributes.

Everything else that comes after matters so little it doesn’t affect the depth chart. It’s why they started Brewer and kept injured Wynn in the rest of the season, even when he couldn’t throw more than 7 yards.

I don’t think the most talented National QB recruits would be any different and miraculously break through our process. If they did crack the depth chart (year 3+?), we’d coach them into game managers.

[Yergensen]

I’m watching the Johnny Manziel documentary right now. Kliff Kingsbury was his O Coordinator at A&M his RS Freshman year. His first game was a loss against Florida. Kingsbury took responsibility for the loss saying he tried to make Johnny play within the system. Second game against SMU he took the reins off and just let Johnny do his thing and the rest is history.

[pics]

I’m disappointed to hear Utah fans bagging on a kid playing his heart out for our team. He’s playing because the coaches think he’s the best option at that moment. It’s not his fault that the coaches aren’t recruiting better players or developing the other qb’s or the other qb’s aren’t capable of doing the job. I’m thankful we have Barnes who gives his all every season regardless of the outcome. If they want to be critical they should direct it at the coaches.