McCae Hillstead
| No. 2 – Utah State Aggies | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class | Junior |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 25, 2004[1][2] |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Skyridge (Lehi, Utah) |
| College |
|
| Stats at ESPN | |
McCae Hillstead (born August 25, 2004)[1][2] is an American college football quarterback for the Utah State Aggies. He previously played for the BYU Cougars.
Early life
Hillstead attended Skyridge High School located in Lehi, Utah. Coming out of high school, he was rated as a three star recruit and the top quarterback in the State of Utah, where he committed to play college football for the Utah State Aggies.[3]
College career
Utah State (first stint)
In week three of the 2023 season, he entered the game after starter Cooper Legas was benched, where he completed 18 of his 27 pass attempts for 202 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Air Force.[4] In week four, Hillstead made his first collegiate start completing 25 of his 47 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns versus James Madison.[5] He finished the 2023 season completing 59.5% of his passes for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns along with eight interceptions.[6] After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Hillstead decided to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.[7]
BYU
Hillstead transferred to play for the BYU Cougars.[8] During his first season with the Cougars in 2024, he used the season to redshirt.[9] Heading into the 2025 season, after starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff was suspended and entered the transfer portal, Hillstead was the favorite to start for the Cougars.[10][11] However, he was beat out by true freshmen Bear Bachmeier. Hillstead made his Cougars debut in the season opener against Portland State, where he attempted his only passes of the season, completing four of five attempts for 33 yards, and added 23 rushing yards in the victory. He appeared in five games during the season, including the 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over Georgia Tech. Hillstead entered the NCAA transfer portal on December 29, 2025.
Utah State (second stint)
On January 8, 2026, Hillstead returned to Utah State under second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall. He was named the Aggies' starting quarterback entering the 2026 season.[12]
College statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2023 | Utah State | 8 | 4 | 2–2 | 94 | 158 | 59.5 | 1,062 | 6.7 | 11 | 8 | 128.8 | 44 | 36 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2024 | BYU | 0 | 0 | — | Redshirted  | |||||||||||
| 2025 | BYU | 5 | 0 | — | 4 | 5 | 80.0 | 33 | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | 135.4 | 5 | 28 | 5.6 | 0 |
| 2026 | Utah State | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career | 13 | 4 | 2−2 | 98 | 163 | 60.1 | 1,095 | 6.7 | 11 | 8 | 129.0 | 49 | 64 | 1.3 | 0 | |
References
- 1 2 @USUFootball (August 25, 2023). "Happy Birthday @mccaehillstead #AggiesAllTheWay" (Tweet). Retrieved July 22, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- 1 2 Walker, Sean (August 21, 2020). "'There's no ceiling for him': Skyridge sophomore QB Hillstead helps Falcons roll Bingham". KSL News. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ↑ Judd, Brandon (May 5, 2022). "The top quarterback prospect in Utah just committed to Utah State". Deseret News. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Walker, Jason. "Monday Cooldown: Why McCae Hillstead is now the starting QB, and the one play USU couldn't stop". Cache Valley Daily. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Dickson, Darnell (May 1, 2024). "Top of his game: Hillstead's high school coach says he's ready for intense BYU quarterback competition". Daily Herald. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Drew, Jay (May 3, 2024). "'I knew I wanted to go up a level': McCae Hillstead on why he left Utah State for BYU". Deseret News. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Holt, Chandler. "QB McCae Hillstead Enters NCAA Transfer Portal, Sends Thanks To Utah State". KSL Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Reynolds, Kevin. "Here's the real reason QB McCae Hillstead says he left Utah State for BYU". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Lundquist, Casey. "Career Review of BYU Quarterback McCae Hillstead". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Preece, Brian. "McCae Hillstead Brings 'Unique' Traits To BYU QB Room". KSL Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ Lundquist, Casey (June 30, 2025). "BYU Quarterback Battle: Every Quarterback's Odds to Win the Job". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Utah State Football Names McCae Hillstead Starting Quarterback". Utah State University Athletics. April 20, 2026.