Following the departures of QB’s Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson, the Utes found themselves in a bit of an odd situation at the quarterback position. They had their sure-fire starter in Cam Rising, their up-and-coming future QB’s in Brandon Rose and Isaac Wilson, but they needed a QB with college-level experience, who was willing to come in and learn from Rising and wait his turn for an opportunity.

Utah landed a commitment from just that guy Tuesday, as former 5-star quarterback Sam Huard made his pledge following his weekend visit with the Utes.

In his first season as a starter in 2023, the 6’2” gunslinger threw for 2,205 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in his lone season at Cal Poly. Prior to playing for the Mustangs, Huard spent two seasons at the University of Washington.

What Utah is Getting

As Utah learned the hard way last season, you can never have too many quarterbacks on the roster.

Huard was exceptional in high school, where he broke the Washington state high school passing record with over 13,000 career passing yards at Kennedy Catholic, despite only playing three games during an injury-shortened senior season.

Huard is a pure pocket passer, who rarely leaves the pocket and takes every opportunity to find an open receiver. While he hasn’t been able to match his high school success at the college level, he still has two years of eligibility and he may be in his best situation so far by playing at Utah.

He was the primary backup to 2024 first-round NFL pick Michael Penix Jr. in 2022 and will now have the opportunity to learn from Rising.

He brings experience to a QB room that only had one other QB outside of Rising to ever play a down at the collegiate level (Luke Bottari), and he has only played in one game.

What This Means for the Class

Huard fills a big backup QB need in the 2024 transfer portal. If Utah was to add another one, it would be in the mold of a change of pace where Nate Johnson was valuable the last two years. Huard joins Syracuse WR Damien Alford, Utah State DE Paul Fitzgerald, and former Baylor basketball player turned TE Caleb Lohner from the post-spring transfer portal window.