As he drives, Bryson Barnes often catches himself glancing at the fields around Cache Valley.
They remind him of his hometown of Milford, population 1,454, in the southwest corner of the state, where tractors commonly cruise on the town’s roads, where Barnes and his family tended to thousands of pigs on their farm.
Those fields give him peace of mind that he made the right decision to join forces with the Utah State Aggies.
“I think just the rural feel to Logan feels a lot more like home,” Barnes told The Salt Lake Tribune this week. “In Salt Lake, it’s definitely a much more of a city-like vibe. But here, it definitely gives you that rural type of feeling.”
This time last year, Barnes was a Ute. He was commonly referred to as “The Pig Farmer” by his Utah teammates, coaches, and fans due to his background in the pig pen. He was also a walk-on who had stepped up many times — including two Rose Bowl appearances — when star quarterback Cam Rising was out with an injury.
In three seasons, Barnes appeared in 24 games and started in 10. He passed for a career 1,572 yards, 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with the Utes.
His marquee performance came in 2023 when he led Utah to a 34-32 win over USC on the road in Los Angeles. Barnes finished with four touchdowns — three passing and one rushing — before senior kicker Cole Becker hit a walk-off field goal to win the game.
Even then, Barnes knew he would likely be leaving the Utes.
In fact, Barnes said knew he was going to transfer from Utah in the summer before the season started.
Last year, Barnes shared snaps with now-Vanderbilt quarterback Nate Johnson. He was unhappy with that decision and wanted more during Rising’s rehab from his ACL, MCL, meniscus and MPFL tears.
“I feel like my decision to leave was definitely kind of predicated on the way I felt like I was being treated there as far as the quarterback competitions were going,” Barnes said. “Me and my wife made that decision right about summer of 2023, before the season started.
“There were just some things as far as the rep counts as to what I felt like I had deserved, and felt like I had earned, not even deserved. I felt like I had earned the right to certain things. It just really didn’t go my way.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Bryson Barnes (16) finds his play as the Utah Utes host the Arizona State Sun Devils in NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
Now, Barnes will have a chance to face his former team this Saturday.
Starting USU quarterback Spencer Petras went down with an ankle injury during the first week of the season and the formidable backup Barnes, once again, stepped up for his team, this time leading the Aggies to a win over Robert Morris.
With Petras’ status still up in the air, Barnes could be the Aggies’ starter on Saturday night at Maverik Stadium.
Barnes already has trash talk lined up for some of his former Utah teammates. Just this week, the former Utah quarterback exchanged phone calls with his good friend and Utes senior quarterback Luke Bottari to exchange a few playful jabs.
But now that he’s on the other side of the in-state rivalry, there’s no bad blood.
“I’m super excited to see those guys again and stay in contact with them at the end of the day,” Barnes said. “You change schools, but those relationships still stay there. We’re always kind of staying in tune together on social media and things like that.
“I definitely feel like I’ve closed that book in that chapter with those feelings. Like, sure, they were frustrating in the moment, but my decision that I made was not an emotional one by any means. … I definitely don’t hold onto those. I treat this week just as if I’m playing any other opponent, there just might be a little bit more bickering back and forth during the game.”
When Barnes was set to enter the portal, he approached Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham with his decision. Whittingham supported Barnes’ move, which, among other things, provided an easy transition for the quarterback to finish the five credits he needed for his master’s degree.
(It has not, however, earned the Pig Farmer a lucrative agricultural sponsorship, despite there being more than 1,300 farms in Cache County. “The only thing I’ve ever landed from the pig farming stuff is back in 2022 when it first came out right after the first Rose Bowl,” Barnes said.)
Now Whittingham is happy for his former quarterback.
“He was a great member of our program and a great teammate,” Whittingham said Monday. “We called upon him several times to play for us and he responded. Of course, he was our quarterback when we beat USC. He’s just a competitive, tough, high-character individual. It’s good to see him playing. … I can’t say enough good things about him. We’re not sure who we’re going to see this week, but I’m proud of him and happy for his success.”
The No. 11 Utes (2-0) play USU (1-1) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Logan.
As Barnes has prepared for another possible start — and facing the Utes’ No. 7-ranked defense — he’s felt some of the pain he’s sure opposing teams felt last season. Although he said he would still trash-talk defenders.
Away from game prep, Barnes said he’s had moments to reflect on his time in Salt Lake City and the fond memories and great relationships he created with the Utes.
“Those lessons have carried over from Utah,” Barnes said. “My mentality coming into the summer was I was going to start week one, and sure enough, within four drives of the first game, I had to step in and lead the offense. So I definitely feel like those lessons that I learned at Utah carried over to where I’m at right now.”
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