One of the more notable surprises for Utah State in the season opener against UTEP was backup quarterback Anthony Garcia starting at wide receiver.
Garcia, a transfer from Arizona (before that San José State), could be viewed as the future at QB for Utah State, for next season especially, but there he was running through the UTEP secondary and doing so well.
Garcia finished the game with three catches for 51 yards. He had a drop, but he also had the second-longest reception of the game, trailing only tight end Broc Lane’s 52-yard touchdown reception.
Listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, the sophomore looked the part of wide receiver, which is interesting given he was brought to Utah State as a quarterback transfer and is likely third on the depth chart right now behind Bryson Barnes and Jacob Conover.
Why was Garcia playing wide receiver?
One reason is injuries to expected contributors at receiver. Right now, Utah State doesn’t have a full complement.
“We’ve had some injuries,” Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
You can thank Taysom Hill.
On Monday, Mendenhall explained that coaching Hill at BYU gave him some perspective about quarterbacks, backups in particular. Namely, Mendenhall likes getting athletic backup quarterbacks involved and playing other positions while they wait their turn because he thinks it can benefit them and benefit the team, too.
“Anthony’s a really good athlete,” Mendenhall said. “That doesn’t mean that he’ll exclusively play receiver. We like him at quarterback also. However, in the meantime, and this philosophy really goes all the way back to Taysom Hill at BYU while he was our quarterback, if there would have been another viable option at quarterback (at BYU) where it was close, we certainly would have used Taysom elsewhere.
Mendenhall continued: “The Saints are currently, well, he (Hill) has played about every position for them. At the University of Virginia, we loved having our backup quarterbacks — while they were competing and while they were the understudy — we loved them to participate in other positions. It’s just philosophically, it’s way more fun to play than watch. And I think you can actually learn to play the position of quarterback while playing another position. I think you’re more integrated in the offense."
Garcia was responsible for one of the most notable highlights for the Aggies in the win over UTEP, a successful two-point conversion that saw him take over for Barnes at QB and successfully vault himself into the end zone.
It was likely a view of what is to come, perhaps on a full-time basis in 2026.
For now, though, it appears Utah State is content to utilize Garcia at wide receiver. He is once again listed as a starter, this time for for Saturday’s game at Texas A&M.
Garcia may not be the next Hill or anything, but the Aggies clearly want to use his athletic ability as much as possible, even if it isn’t at his primary or expected position.