Utah's Ja'Quinden Jackson and Bryson Barnes weigh in on the race for QB2
Coming into Utah's fall camp the program was faced with the type of problem you want to have in college football. Rather than worrying about who will be starting under center, the Utes were tasked with picking a backup quarterback to play behind Cameron Rising from a deep and talented room. While the race has narrowed itself down to just two individuals several weeks into camp, it remains a tight battle. With that being said, both Ja'Quinden Jackson and Bryson Barnes weighed in on the QB2 race this past week following Kyle Whittingham's comments on the situation.
"They both had outstanding scrimmages. Really, those are the two guys that are competing, it's down to them exclusively for the number two guy. We'll have an answer coming up in the next scrimmage on Saturday with exactly how we are going to approach it," Whittingham said.
Starting with Ja'Quinden Jackson, the former Texas-transfer was a very talented addition to the program but struggled for some time after his arrival. Following the tragic deaths of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, two of Jackson's closest friends, Jackson had a really difficult time mentally and football was simply not important. However, now in a much better place, Jackson has made an incredible amount of progress and has come a long way.
"Just learning the offense. Before fall camp, I go back and watch the fall camp before, spring, last spring, I watched everything and I see how I've improved since then and I really have, I really have," Jackson said.
Not only has Jackson recognized his own improvements, but people around the program have also commented on it, including Whittingham who was very complimentary.
"JJ (Ja'Quinden Jackson) is one of the most improved players on the team and he's made a lot of progress during the summer," Whittingham said. "Between spring ball and now, he's grown a great deal."
On the flip-side, you can't forget about Barnes either. What he did against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl was magnificent and is exactly what you look for in a backup. As for how he's feeling about the competition, Barnes has continued to develop and feels very comfortable in command of the offense.
"I feel great about it. I feel extremely comfortable...I've been here before, I've been studying it like crazy and its a sophisticated offense. If you're not paying attention and staying in your playbook, you're going to get lost. So I do feel very comfortable about where I am at with the offense," Barnes said.
While the two are obviously trying to secure the spot for themselves, the competition has helped push both QB's to new heights and they appear to have great respect for the other.
"Bryson is athletic, more athletic than people really think he is. He's very athletic, smart as hell, like he knows the game for real. We're pushing each other to get better everyday," Jackson said.
"It's great you know. He and I both do things, he takes on strengths where I have weaknesses and I take on strengths where he has weaknesses. So we're able to develop each other along the way you know? We're able to learn different things that I'm doing, what he's doing, and be able to pick some things up and make our game even better than what it would've been," Barnes added.
Hopefully by Saturday the program will have an answer as to who will be playing behind Rising, and while you certainly hope to need them as little as possible this season, its a great situation for Utah to be in with so many talented QB's and a clear direction for the future. Either way, the program will be in a good spot as both Jackson and Barnes are stellar quarterbacks with unique individual talents.
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