Utah State football is well into spring camp, and head coach Bronco Mendenhall said earlier this week that he thinks the strongest position on the team is quarterback, despite losing star quarterback Bryson Barnes after the 2025 season.
The biggest addition to the quarterback room in the past few months was former BYU backup McCae Hillstead returning to the Aggies, but it’s not just Hillstead who has Mendenhall and offensive coordinator Robert Anae excited; it’s the entire quarterback room.
In addition to Hillstead, Utah State added Grady Brosterhous, a transfer from Virginia, and the Aggies also have true freshmen Kaleb Maryland, Brady Goodman and Crew Cacciacarne.
“I really like our quarterback room,” Mendenhall said. “Robert and I, he is just shocked at the health of the room, so certainly with McCae Hillstead, there’s age, and there is experience being older and some college starts and being a backup, and there’s super value in that.
“Then, Grady coming from the University of Virginia, and that’s a seasoned and older player, and then someone (Maryland) that’s won a 6A state championship in Texas football. That’s impressive, and that’s as a freshman coming in.”
Of Cacciacarne, Mendenhall said, “Another walk-on player, Crew, a quarterback here from in-state (Weber), a great athlete also. It’s still another quarterback coming. I like the succession plan. I like the experience. I like the ability. I like the athleticism.”
Of the quarterback room as a whole, Mendenhall said, “(It’s) probably as healthy of a starting point for a program that I’ve ever taken over. Not only with a clear player that could be a starter, but with what the succession and the depth looks like, that’s probably one of the strongest positions on our team, which, if you need to have one, that’s the one you want to start with.”
Hillstead seems to be the early favorite to take the starting position in the fall. Despite losing out on the starting job at BYU a year ago to true freshman Bear Bachmier, Hillstead is currently the most experienced quarterback in the room for the Aggies right now.
He has four career starts and threw for 1,092 yards in his freshman year at Utah State before transferring to BYU.
“Certainly, just because his starting point is further along,” Mendenhall said when asked if Hillstead has taken control in spring camp. “Grady is next furthest along, coming from Virginia. They’re just older, they’re more seasoned, and that helps. It really does.”
Of course, one of the biggest advantages Mendenhall has now compared to when he arrived a year ago is continuity. He’s no longer starting from square one, and Utah State will have more experience on the coaching staff with Anae as the offensive coordinator.
“The camaraderie, the execution, the belief, the program development, the program design, all those things are really strong,” Mendenhall said. “I feel great about where we are.
“(We’re) clearly accelerated further than a year ago at this time… I really like our team. I like the depth. I like the camaraderie. I like the competitive spirit. I really like the progress that we’ve made.”
An interesting note from Thursday’s practice was that some returning players had names and numbers on their jerseys. Mendenhall said that was a way to acknowledge players who returned.
“It’s just a choice that I made,” said Mendenhall. “Usually, I start the team brand new each year. I think the landscape is different, and I think Year 2 for me is different, and I wanted to acknowledge those guys that stayed.
“There is a difference because they have been here, they have been through an offseason, they’ve been through a spring, they’ve been through 13 games, they’ve been through a bowl game, and they’ve been through another offseason. I just thought that needed to be recognized.”