Former 5-star Washington signee played at Cal Poly in 2023

Cal Poly quarterback Sam Huard, a former 5-star recruit, has his subsequent cease. Huard is headed to Utah, which joins the Big 12 this fall. Huard has two years to play out his closing two seasons of eligibility. 

The Utes will return Cameron Rising for his seventh season and now have true freshman Isaac Wilson together with Brandon Rose as scholarship quarterbacks.

“Utah has an unbelievable culture and the people and the program were some things that I felt were the best for me at this point in my career,” Huard informed 247Sports. “To be in a great spot and to compete every day with great people around me, being in the room and learning from one of the best quarterbacks in college football, while being able to have two years in a great system was a big part of it.”

Huard initially signed with Washington in the class of 2021 as a five-star recruit. His lone begin at Washington was towards Washington State in the 2021 Apple Cup, a 40-13 loss after the Huskies had fired coach Jimmy Lake. As a 2022 redshirt freshman, he backed up Michael Penix Jr. for the Huskies earlier than transferring to Cal Poly. Huard spent the 2023 marketing campaign with the Mustangs, throwing for two,247 yards on 184-of-302 passing with 18 touchdowns in 9 begins. He entered the switch portal final week and acquired a go to from Utes offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. 

Huard took an official go to to Utah over the weekend. 

“I loved the environment and the area,” Huard stated. “I loved the people too and overall, it just felt like an awesome place for me to take the next step.”

Huard stated head coach Kyle Whittingham played a giant position in his choice as nicely.

“He’s one of the best and most proven coaches in college football,” Huard stated. “Utah is one of the best programs in the country and the level they’re at right now is one of the best in the country.”

Huard joins the Utes in time for his or her debut season in the Big 12, a convention he’s wanting to play in.

“It’s a fresh opportunity and I can tell the coaches are fired up about this change,” Huard stated.

Its a return of for Huard to the FBS stage, and extra notably, the Power 4. Washington, Iowa, Northwestern, Ole Miss, Syracuse, Nebraska and Connecticut have been a few of the different faculties who pursued Huard out of the portal earlier than he settled on the Utes.

The state of Washington’s all-time main prep passer, Huard made his approach to a number of of Cal Poly’s top-10 lists throughout his lone 12 months there in 2023. 

He set a single-game program file with 38 completions at Sacramento State, and his 483 yards in that recreation are the second most in program historical past.

Huard tied a program file with six touchdowns passes towards Lincoln.

His 2,247 yards passing in 2023 have been the seventh most in single-season program historical past. His 154 completions for the season are the fifth most in program historical past.