Utah and BYU football pages built from official rosters, award releases, and player pages with real image provenance.
published stories
athlete profiles
program pages
Football pages matter because they carry statewide recognition almost by default. But strong football coverage still needs more than logos and schedules. It needs athletes whose stories explain where the program sits inside Utah.
That is why the current football map is built around Chase Roberts at BYU and Logan Fano at Utah. One page starts in Utah County and moves toward Pro Day. The other begins in Spanish Fork, runs through BYU, and lands inside the Utes' program.
The football section is meant to keep those athlete and program stories connected. It gives readers a direct path from the sport to the teams and then into the individual profiles that make the teams feel specific.
That keeps football coverage local even when the programs themselves operate on a national stage.
Featured athletes
These profiles carry the current athlete stories and official sources inside this sport lane.
Chase Roberts is a former BYU wide receiver from Highland, Utah and American Fork High School who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2026. He caught 52 passes for 854 yards at BYU in 2024, served as a 2025 team captain, and earned third-team All-Big 12 honors as a senior before reaching the NFL.
Logan Fano is a former Utah defensive end from Spanish Fork and Timpview High School who signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2026. After transferring from BYU, he posted 44 tackles, 7.5 for loss and 4.5 sacks as a senior and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors, then joined the Browns alongside his brother Spencer, Cleveland's first-round pick.
Bryson Barnes is a former Utah State quarterback from Milford, Utah who signed with the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks in May 2026 after a rookie minicamp with the Cleveland Browns. A former Utah walk-on, he was the Aggies' every-game starter in 2025 and earned second-team All-Mountain West honors as a fifth-year senior.
Jackson Gilkey is a former Weber State quarterback from Ennis, Texas who transferred to Tarleton State for 2026 after entering the portal. He won the Wildcats' starting job out of 2025 fall camp and started the first five games before a fractured left fibula at UC Davis ended his season.
Will Burns is a 6-foot-2 redshirt junior quarterback from Mission Viejo, California, on Southern Utah's 2026 roster. He ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and threw for two more in the Thunderbirds' 47-42 Beehive Bowl win over Weber State on Sept. 5, 2026.
Deacon Hill is a fifth-year Utah Tech quarterback from Santa Barbara, California and Santa Barbara High School who previously played at Wisconsin and Iowa. Utah Tech's 2026 roster lists him as its No. 10, and his official biography says he missed the 2025 season due to injury after starting four of the Trailblazers' first five games in 2024.
Brayden Wilson is a former Weber State defensive end from Kaysville, Utah and Farmington High School who transferred to Wyoming. A two-time All-Big Sky selection, he led the Big Sky in tackles for loss in 2024 and finished his Weber State career with 138 tackles, 30 for loss and 12.5 sacks.
Bronson Barron is a former Southern Utah quarterback from American Fork, Utah who started 11 games for the Thunderbirds in 2025 as a redshirt senior. He is no longer on SUU's roster after finishing his college eligibility, having also played at Weber State and Western Kentucky.
Jace Sweeten is a former Utah Tech linebacker from St. George, Utah and Crimson Cliffs High School. A local product who saw reserve time for the Trailblazers in 2024, he is no longer listed on Utah Tech's 2026 roster.
Seth Rigtrup is a running back from Springville, Utah who transferred to Weber State for 2026 after a standout season at Snow College. He ran for 668 yards and 10 touchdowns on 117 carries for the Badgers in 2025 before moving up to the FCS Wildcats.
Tayson Reid is a linebacker from Spanish Fork, Utah who signed with the University of Utah out of Snow College. A three-star JUCO prospect rated the No. 4 linebacker in his class, he spent 2025 at Snow before joining the Utes' 2026 roster.
Published stories
The reporting here keeps the athlete pages, team pages, and school pages connected through the same sport.
A Utah business can put its name beside local sports three ways: a school sponsorship, a sponsorship of a media outlet's coverage, or a deal with an athlete. Each is a different purchase with different rules, and the FTC expects sponsored content to say so.
Freshman quarterback Nate Dahle accounted for 308 yards, Tate Kjar caught the winning touchdown and Noah Kjar the two-point pass as Weber State beat Cal Poly 42-34 in double overtime to reach 3-3 and 2-1 in the Big Sky.
Division I athletes had cleared $582.49 million in third-party NIL deals as of a Sept. 9, 2026 report, and schools paid $1.77 billion in direct revenue sharing in the first year. Here is what the official numbers say, and what they mean in Utah.
A Utah business can pay a college athlete to promote a real product or service. The athlete reports any deal worth $600 or more to NIL Go, Utah law bars six categories, and a business tied to the athlete's school gets a harder review.
Yes. Utah high school athletes can be paid for their name, image and likeness under the UHSAA amateur rule, but not in school uniform or with their team's name attached. Anyone headed to Division I should also keep records of deals from junior year on.
The Agricultural College of Utah won the first meeting 12-0 in 1892. After Utah's 33-0 win on Sept. 19, 2026, Utah leads the Battle of the Brothers 81-29-4.
The Lehi freshman caught five passes for 131 yards and ran for a touchdown in BYU's 41-23 win at Colorado State, earning his second Big 12 freshman award in three weeks.
Southern Utah produced 442 yards and 24 points at Colorado State on September 12, but four turnovers and the Rams' explosive scoring turned an early one-score game into a 58-24 loss.
Snow College returns to Ephraim on September 19 for its first home Southwest Junior College Football Conference game, a 7 p.m. matchup with Trinity Valley after a 2-1 start.
There is no universal per-post rate — but there is a method. Here is how to price a sponsored post from your own reach and engagement, and why the average NIL deal rejected by the clearinghouse was worth three and a half times the average one approved.
Utah and BYU won in football, Utah soccer scored five, and smaller-school programs at Westminster, SLCC, Snow and USU Eastern supplied seven more wins in the September 12 statewide recap.
The College Sports Commission cleared $227.25 million across 12,283 NIL deals in July and August 2026. What NIL Go actually checks, why deals get denied, and what a Utah athlete should do about it.
Utah State's 23rd Athletics Hall of Fame class brings together the 1960 and 1961 football teams, Chari Hawkins, Reid Newey and Jennifer Schlott on September 25 in Logan.
Snow College scored 39 unanswered points, forced four interceptions and opened Southwest Junior College Football Conference play with a 39-10 road win at Cisco College.
Utah Tech opened 0-2 after losing 54-0 to reigning FCS champion Montana State and 63-7 at BYU. The ten games against Big Sky opponents that follow are what the conference move was actually about.
Weber State's 2026 schedule has two in-state opponents. The September 5 trip to Southern Utah is a non-conference game in Cedar City. The November 21 Utah Tech finale in Ogden is the one that counts in the Big Sky standings.
Saturday in Utah college football: a 47-42 Beehive Bowl decided by a 22-yard run, an FCS upset in Logan, and a 63-7 BYU opener in Provo.
No. 21 Utah opens Thursday against Idaho. On Saturday, No. 14 BYU hosts Utah Tech and Weber State visits Southern Utah, putting two all-Utah games on the same day while Utah State begins Pac-12 membership.
Utah State hosts Idaho State on September 5 to begin its first season as a Pac-12 member. McCae Hillstead starts at quarterback after returning from BYU, and the Aggies just announced the stadium becomes Jim Laub Family Stadium on January 1, 2027.
Weber State survived Northern Colorado 30-29 on a blocked extra point in Eric Kjar's college head coaching debut. Southern Utah pushed No. 2 Montana to a 28-21 finish. The two Utah programs meet Saturday at Eccles Coliseum.
NIL money is taxable income — usually self-employment income the IRS expects you to report, with no withholding and quarterly estimated payments due. Here is what a Utah college athlete needs to know before tax season.
An athletic scholarship is aid your school gives you to pay for college; NIL is money you earn from your own name, image, and likeness. Here is how the two differ — and how a Utah athlete can hold both at once.
Landing an NIL deal is a repeatable process, not a lottery for five-star recruits. Here are the six steps a Utah college athlete takes — from building an audience to reporting the deal through the NIL Go clearinghouse.
NIL stands for name, image, and likeness — the right of college athletes to get paid for their own brand. Here is how it works, how the 2025 revenue-sharing era changed it, and what it means for athletes at BYU, Utah, and Utah State.
BYU will start the 2026 season ranked No. 14 in the AP preseason Top 25 — its highest preseason ranking since 1985, the year after the Cougars won the national title. Utah is right behind at No. 21.
Utah State begins its first Pac-12 season in 2026 with Lehi's McCae Hillstead — a former Aggie who left for BYU and came home — named the starting quarterback. 'I think we're going to shock a lot of people,' he says.
Utah State began fall camp with 68 newcomers, including 34 four-year transfers who bring 651 games and 273 starts, and only nine returning starters ahead of its first Pac-12 season.
BYU's Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin and Utah's Devon Dampier and Wayshawn Parker made the 81-player Maxwell Award watch list — putting two rivals among just 16 schools nationally with multiple honorees.
After seven seasons as an NJCAA independent, Snow College enters the Southwest Junior College Football Conference with seven league games, four Texas road dates, and a clear postseason route.
Utah spun its commercial operation into Crimson Brand Partners, a private-equity-backed company built with Otro Capital to run sponsorships, ticketing, and media for all 19 Ute programs. Here's what it actually changes.
At Big 12 Media Days, BYU showed up as a contender, not a newcomer. LJ Martin was named preseason Offensive Player of the Year and the Cougars landed six players on the preseason all-conference team.
Weber State handed its football program to Eric Kjar, who went 112-10 with six state titles at Corner Canyon. His first Wildcats schedule opens with three road games, including an early trip to Big Sky neighbor Southern Utah.
An anonymous donor will match every dollar Utah State raises in July, up to $2 million, as the Aggies enter the Pac-12. AD Cameron Walker wants to start August with $4 million in new money.
Utah's signed 2026 in-state football class is led by four-star Salesi Moa, and a loaded 2027 group headlined by Davis High's Bode Sparrow is already drawing national offers.
Southern Utah and Utah Tech join the Big Sky on July 1, 2026, putting Weber State, SUU, and Utah Tech in the same conference for the first time.
Utah State leaves the Mountain West on June 30, 2026 and joins a rebuilt eight-team Pac-12 the next day — the biggest change to the Aggies' national footprint in a generation.
Utah's college talent doesn't only come from Salt Lake and Provo. From Milford to Benson to Spanish Fork, here's a homegrown map of small-town athletes already on the record.
A practical, honest guide for Utah high school athletes and families: highlight film, camps, ranking services, social media, NIL under UHSAA rules, and a realistic recruiting timeline.
Snow College's football pipeline is national, but the 2025 roster still carries clear Utah routes through Springville running back Seth Rigtrup and Spanish Fork linebacker Tayson Reid.
The American Fork quarterback gives Southern Utah a veteran passing story with Weber State history, Western Kentucky experience, and an efficient 2025 season in Cedar City.
The Kaysville defensive end led the Big Sky in tackles for loss and left Weber State a two-time All-Big Sky pick — 138 tackles, 30 TFL, 12.5 sacks — before transferring up to Wyoming for 2025.
Utah quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Bear Bachmeier are the state's only names in On3's NIL 100, at $2 million each. Here is what that number now measures, where last spring's Utah NIL names went, and how Utah's law and school pay work.
Snow College, SLCC, and USU Eastern move Utah players into Division I football, basketball, and volleyball rosters every cycle. This is the on-the-record map of how that JUCO-to-D-I pipeline actually works in 2026.
Snow College has spent generations moving junior-college football players into FBS and FCS programs, and the 2025 Badgers roster is the next cohort of that pipeline on the record.
A UTSA transfer won the Week 1 job, delivered a 42-41 road win at McNeese, and lost the rest of 2025 to a fractured fibula before the program parted ways with its head coach in November.
Southern Utah heads into a Big Sky Conference transition with a quarterback room that Thunderbirds coaches called one of their biggest 2025 strengths, and transfer Will Burns gives the Thunderbirds a dual-threat arrival story.
A Milford walk-on turned Utah State graduate quarterback built the Aggies' 2025 season around a Davey O'Brien QB Class selection, a Burlsworth semifinal nod, and a school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
The American Fork and Highland High product closed a captain's BYU career with 54 catches for 802 yards, went undrafted in 2026, and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent.
Spanish Fork roots, a BYU-to-Utah transfer, an All-Big 12 edge season, and an undrafted move to the Cleveland Browns: Logan Fano closed his Utah career as the homegrown half of the Fano family's NFL leap.