Hillstead returns to Utah State Football

With the 2026 college football season beginning across the nation, USU looks set to begin its first-ever Pac-12 campaign. Under center for the Aggies is a familiar face for USU: junior quarterback McCae Hillstead. 

A Utah native, Hillstead played football for Skyridge High School in Lehi, Utah, where, as a senior, he helped lead the Falcons to the Utah 6A state championship while earning second-team All-State honors during the season. During his high school career, Hillstead threw for 6,898 yards, 73 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He added another 1,791 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground as well. 

With his high school success, Hillstead was ranked as a three-star recruit and the 60th-rated quarterback in the nation. He committed to Utah State out of high school over programs such as Washington State University and the University of Nevada.

As a true freshman, Hillstead became the eighth true freshman in USU history to start a game for the Aggies. His first appearance came in week two of the 2023 season against Idaho State University, followed by his first start in week four against James Madison University. In that game, Hillstead set a USU record for passing yards in a game by a true freshman with 399, along with four touchdowns and three interceptions. In total, Hillstead would appear in eight games for the Aggies, starting in four of them. Hillstead finished the season with 1,062 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

“In my first go here at Utah State as a true freshman — I wouldn’t say I was underprepared — I think that the moment was a lot, taking that all in at the time,” Hillstead said during USU’s Media Day. “I’ve obviously played in those games, and I learned the lessons that I learned. I think that’s been the big thing — just a natural process of maturity that has occurred over the past few years.”

Following his freshman season, Hillstead entered the transfer portal and headed to Provo to join the Brigham Young University Cougars. In two years with BYU, Hillstead appeared in five games, redshirting in the 2024 season. At the end of the 2025 season, Hillstead once again entered the transfer portal, this time returning to USU.

“Initially, the transfer portal can be chaotic, and you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. I think that quickly after I entered, I saw it being a real possibility that I would return here, and then, following my visit, I just knew that this was the place for me. It’s definitely a different track returning to the school I was initially at,” Hillstead said. “The changes I felt were so significant that it wasn’t really that I was returning to the same school whatsoever. Obviously, same school, of course, but the environment and the things that shape the experience were so much different, and that’s really what made me super excited to return.”

Among the changes within the program, the most drastic would be the complete overhaul of the coaching staff. Since Hillstead’s departure, the Aggies have brought in head coach Bronco Mendenhall along with his staff.

“Coach Mendenhall — his mentality and his culture is so much different than any culture that I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve really enjoyed and I felt a lot of personal development for myself, and as far as our team culture and how connected we are, I haven’t been as connected with a team really ever since I started playing football,” Hillstead said. “That’s been super awesome, and those are changes that are palpable and that you can feel, and I’ve just felt really good about pretty much everything that has come along with my second sitting here in Utah State.”

Following USU’s spring game, the coaching staff named Hillstead as USU’s starting quarterback for the 2026 season.

“Not only his performance through spring, but I would say leadership. Players believe in him — a confidence at an experience level, I think, all kind of cumulatively made it a clear choice for us. Since that time, wow, McCae does a really nice job of marshaling resources. He’s a fantastic organizer. He’s very detailed in his planning,” Mendenhall said at USU’s Media Day. “He’s not clamoring for attention. He’s not racing for the spotlight. He’s not craving recognition amongst his peers. He’s just systematically building his team, and those are the things we saw in spring. His leadership so far has been very effective, and his preparation. I think that’s the word I would use. His preparation of his team has been exceptional.”

The confidence he has given the program extends beyond the coaching staff, with players on both sides of the field impressed by Hillstead’s leadership.

“I was here when McCae first got here out of high school, and so I’ve seen the growth just from him his freshman year to even now coming back as a transfer, and that honestly gives me a ton of confidence,” graduate linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. said. “In terms of his leadership, he gives us a certain confidence to where he’s so bought into the program. He’s so invested in the team and the offense, so why wouldn’t we put a guy like that back there? Because of that, I’m confident he can lead us. He’s confident. He’s smart, and he’ll make plays.”

Alongside Hillstead comes a new wide receiver core with which Hillstead has been building his relationship during the spring and summer.

“I’ve got so much confidence in him. He’s got elite leadership, elite accuracy and he trusts his guys to make plays, and that’s what I love the most. He’s going to put the ball in the air, and it’s our job to come down with it,” wide receiver Eli Wood said. “He is one of the most accurate passers I’ve ever seen, and I have so much confidence in him and his ability. He’s very smart, and he knows where the ball needs to go.”

With the Aggies’ season just kicking off on Sept. 5 against Idaho State, Hillstead steps into his new role within the team. The Aggies will next take on Washington in Seattle on Sept. 12, followed by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Sept. 19.