Where Transfer McCae Hillstead Fits Into the BYU Quarterback Competition

On Thursday, Utah State transfer quarterback McCae Hillstead committed to BYU. Hillstead, who prepped down the road from BYU at Skyridge High School, joins a crowded BYU quarterback room that includes Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon battling for the starting quarterback spot.
After entering the transfer portal, Hillstead was recruited by schools in the Big Ten, SEC, and he was also recruited by Utah. He has talent and he flashed that during his true freshman season at Utah State. Today, we talk about where Hillstead fits into the BYU quarterback competition.

BYU's Plans Changed at Quarterback

On the first day of Spring camp, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick announced that the battle for the starting quarterback job was down to Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon. Retzlaff and Bohanon split reps with the first team throughout camp. On the last day of Spring camp, Roderick said the quarterback battle would extend into Fall camp. He also said BYU would not add another quarterback during the Spring transfer window.

Then McCae Hillstead entered the transfer portal. Between Hillstead entering the portal and BYU missing out on high school quarterback Grady Adamson, BYU's plans apparently changed.

During his true freshman season, Hillstead played lights out in two September games before suffering an injury that derailed the rest of his freshman campaign. He put enough on tape to draw interest from the Big Ten, the SEC, and the Big 12 once he entered the transfer portal.

The addition of Hillstead caught many BYU fans off guard. BYU already has too many scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. BYU doesn't need another backup or another third-string quarterback - they have a half dozen already.

Maybe that sheds some light on Roderick's evaluation of McCae Hillstead. Maybe Roderick views Hillstead as a candidate to compete for playing time right away.

Think about this decision from Hillstead's perspective. He entered the portal and drew interest from a long list of schools. Would he go to BYU if he wasn't given at least an opportunity to compete for the starting job? Perhaps - maybe BYU was his dream school all along. But at the end of the day, football players want to play football. Hillstead probably doesn't end up at BYU if he didn't believe he at least had an opportunity to see the field over the next year or two.

A Three-way Quarterback Derby?

Ever since BYU added Gerry Bohanon out of the transfer portal, we have believed that Jake Retzlaff was the favorite to win the job. In the opinion of this author, Retzlaff is still the favorite to win the job even with the addition of Hillstead. Retzlaff has experience in BYU's system, he was able to participate in Spring camp, and he helps BYU's offense move the chains as long as he avoids costly turnovers.

This could, however, change the quarterback derby from a two-way race to a three-way race. Hillstead is a good player when healthy. He's good enough to push Jake Retzlaff and he's good enough to beat out Gerry Bohanon for the backup job. He learned the Utah State offense quickly, so there's reason to believe he could pickup BYU's offense quickly. If he wins the backup job, he could position himself as a future starter at BYU. He still has his redshirt season available, so in theory, he could redshirt one of the next two seasons and have two years left by the time Retzlaff graduates.

The addition of Hillstead raises the floor of the BYU quarterback room. The ceiling, on the other hand, is still a question mark. BYU needs one quarterback to emerge and become the clear-cut starter. Since only one quarterback plays, the addition of Hillstead might not impact 2024 if Jake Retzlaff stays healthy.

Hillstead, a local product, was not offered by BYU during high school. He was a decorated quarterback at Skyridge High School, but his size (listed at 5'10) and injury history gave many teams pause. That's how he ended up at Utah State in the first place. His size and health are still a concern today.

We still believe that Jake Retlzaff will win the job. The addition of Hillstead proves that Retzlaff won't be handed the job. He will have to earn it. BYU's staff has always believed that bringing in multiple players and forcing them to compete creates the best results - they've said as much publicly. This looks like a move to create more competition at quarterback. If Hillstead is able to either push the eventual starter to unseat the starter by taking his job, he will have been a great addition to the roster.