Utah State Quarterback Transfer McCae Hillstead Commits to BYU

Casey Lundquist | Apr 25, 2024

Sep 15, 2023; Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; Utah State Aggies quarterback McCae Hillstead (10) / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday, Utah State quarterback transfer McCae Hillstead committed to BYU. Hillstead, who prepped down the road from BYU at Skyridge High School, has three years of eligibility remaining. As a freshman at Utah State, he threw for 1,062 yards in 8 games played and he threw for 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Against James Madison in September, Hillstead threw for 399 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

Let’s work! @BYUfootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/p8xIE9t3IT

— McCae Hillstead (@mccaehillstead) April 25, 2024

When Hillstead entered the transfer portal, he was coveted by schools in the SEC, the Big Ten, and Utah according to Blair Angulo of 247Sports. He took a visit to BYU not long after entering the portal and on Thursday he decided to shut down his recruitment and committ to BYU.

Hillstead's addition to the roster is a fascinating one from a BYU perspective. The Cougars have a lot of quarterbacks. Too many, in fact. The Cougars kicked off Spring camp with 10 quarterbacks on the roster. Since the transfer portal opened earlier this month, not a single scholarship quarterback has entered the portal from BYU. So Hillstead joins an already crowded room at quarterback.

It's highly unlikely that he will compete for the starting spot in 2024 - that battle is between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon. He could, however, compete for the third-strong job in 2024 or even compete for the backup job. After that, he could see what starting opportunities look like in 2025.

Last week in our monthly mailbag, we talked about the possibility of BYU adding a quarterback this Spring. Once BYU target Grady Adamson committed to Georgia Tech, adding a quarterback became an option. Still, BYU has too many quarterbacks and likely needs at least one or two quarterbacks to enter the transfer portal by the end of the month.