Kyle Whittingham Reveals Bryson Barnes Is In Hospital After Big Hit
Sep 29, 2023, 11:23 PM | Updated: Oct 2, 2023, 1:41 pm
CORVALLIS, OR – Kyle Whittingham and the 2023 Utes can’t seem to catch a break on the injuries. They took another big blow on that front with backup quarterback Bryson Barnes being hospitalized after a big hit against Oregon State.
It’s not often that Whittingham goes into much detail about injuries, but he did reveal Barnes who was recently put on scholarship after a good performance against Florida is in the hospital getting checked out for an unspecified ailment.
Barnes lost the No. 2 quarterback job during the Baylor game to Nate Johnson but was inserted into Utah’s game against the Beavers in the second quarter in hopes of getting something going on offense. While not perfect, Barnes did seem to spark a little something, but unfortunately took a massive hit that knocked him out of the game and put Johnson back in.
Just sick hearing this. Injuries are never fun. Utah’s had too many of them and adding that level of injury where guys end up in the hospital is demoralizing.
Best wishes to Barnes, Fano, Vincent and everyone else. Heart is definitely with them for speedy recoveries.#Utes https://t.co/CQtl2jzGc4
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) September 30, 2023
Injuries Are Mounting For Utah As They Look To BYE Week
Whittingham was clearly very concerned about Barnes and his well-being, noting that whatever he did or didn’t do out on the field hardly matters in the grand scheme of things.
“The main thing is he is in the hospital right now and we’re very concerned about him and his health,” Whittingham said. “That’s the key right now. His performance pales compared to that.”
Additionally, Utah suffered some other injury blows that they really can’t afford, but to Whittingham’s credit, he was adamant it’s still not an excuse and the team will figure out how to move forward.
“It doesn’t look good for [Logan] Fano, it doesn’t look good for Charlie [Vincent], I know it doesn’t look good for Bryson. Spencer Fano has got an issue, so we lost four, five, six more guys, but we never, ever use that as an excuse. Ever. We just keep moving ahead and playing with the guys that we’ve got that are healthy.”
Thankfully, the Utes will be on BYE this coming week, and Whittingham thinks it couldn’t come at a better time.
“It’s very welcome,” Whittingham said. “It’s going to be an opportunity to regroup and see where we are at. See what the roster looks like going forward.”
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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