‘I knew I wanted to go up a level’: McCae Hillstead on why he left Utah State for BYU

The first school to call was the University of Utah, followed a few hours later by BYU.

It was at that point that former Utah State quarterback McCae Hillstead believed he had made the right decision to enter the transfer portal, a decision that before April 16 might have been considered a bit of a gamble.

“The interest in me was clearly there,” Hillstead told the Deseret News Thursday night. “Obviously that was a relief.”

Iowa, Cal, Mississippi State and a “few other” Power Four programs joined in the hunt shortly thereafter, along with “a bunch” of Group of Five programs.

About 10 days later, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound rising sophomore, who hadn’t even graduated from Lehi’s Skyridge High at this time last year, announced on X — formerly known as Twitter — that he had committed to BYU.

“I just thought it was a really good fit. I really like coach (Matt) Mitchell and coach (Aaron) Roderick. I just thought the whole BYU culture was something I could assimilate to and fit in well at,” Hillstead said. “That was kind of the basis of my decision.”

Hillstead started in four games as a freshman for Utah State, and appeared in eight, completing 59.5% of his passes for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns. That included a school freshman-record 399 passing yards last September against James Madison.

He also threw eight interceptions.

Utah State added a pair of transfers from Power Five programs in the offseason, luring Bryson Barnes from Utah and Spencer Petras from Iowa. After coach Blake Anderson named Petras the starter a week before spring camp ended, graduate transfer Cooper Legas and Hillstead hit the portal.

“You know, I just wanted a chance to compete. I think that was the biggest thing for me. I wanted a new change, a new change of scenery, just so I could develop and learn and grow,” Hillstead said when he was asked why he would leave a place where he got substantial playing time early in his career and where it appeared he had a bright future.

“Obviously, I didn’t go into the portal knowing that I was going to get any offers,” he continued. “Obviously, things panned out well. I just wanted a new place to be for the remainder of my college career. That was my first year, so I had a while, and I just thought being somewhere new and developing there would be good.”

Hillstead said no schools contacted him before he went into the portal and because BYU hadn’t offered him a scholarship out of high school, he had no idea whether the Cougars would be interested in him or not. He called the whole process “interesting” in this day and age of NIL, etc., but didn’t elaborate. He said all the schools in the picture were offering full-ride scholarships, at the minimum.

Hillstead joins a crowded quarterbacks room in Provo. The Cougars ended spring camp in late March with Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon engaged in a battle to be the starter, and with Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet the odds-on favorite to be named the third-stringer and make the travel squad.

Walk-on returned missionary Cole Hagen and true freshman Noah Lugo, an early enrollee, are also in the room.

Five days after Hillstead said he was heading to Provo, BYU redshirt freshman Ryder Burton, the Springville High product who was in the same 2023 signing class as Hillstead, announced he was entering the portal, joining former walk-on Nick Billoups in looking for a new place to play college football.

“Being at a Group of Five school before, I knew that I wasn’t going to another one,” Hillstead said. “Well, if the situation would have been right, I would have considered it. But I knew I wanted to go up a level, so when it came down to the decision, it was between BYU, Utah, Iowa and Mississippi State.”

Hillstead wrapped up final exams in Logan earlier this week and moved to his mother’s home in Springville, then began the search for a place to live closer to BYU’s campus. He was in pre-business at USU and is hoping to get on a similar track academically at BYU.

“It’s a great school, a great institution, with a great academic reputation,” he said.

Does BYU’s crowded starting quarterback derby concern him?

“No, not particularly. Obviously, I knew that going into it. But I am comfortable and confident in my ability and I want to go in there and compete,” he said. “I want to earn the job, rightfully so. I feel good about the situation. Obviously there are a lot of talented guys in that room. But I just felt good about it.”

He said he wasn’t a huge fan of any one college team growing up in Utah County, but patterned his game after Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. He did attend a few BYU games, and was impressed by the crowd support and scenery at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“More than anything, I just wanted to go to a place where I felt hopeful for my future. Obviously, I have a long time to play still. Four years to play three; I have a redshirt year,” he said. “… It was just about going to a place where I feel I can develop and learn and have a good time. I felt like BYU was that place for me.”