The Ottawa Redblacks are in the midst of a lost season, but they may have just found a glimmer of hope. The quarterback position has been a point of contention since Ryan Dinwiddie took over before the 2026 season. From signing Jake Maier to trading Dru Brown, and later signing former Argos starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson, nothing has produced a win…that was until former walk-on at Utah, Bryson Barnes, stepped in for Ottawa.
Bryson Barnes came into the 2026 season having plenty of experience in a locker room but not nearly as much on the field of play. Graduating following a college career that saw him start 26 games in six seasons at Utah and Utah State, Barnes was a relative unknown when he entered the professional ranks.
College Career Spent as QB2 Prepares Barnes
Read the career history of Bryson Barnes, and it becomes very apparent that he was rarely, if ever, viewed as the primary quarterback since high school. In a day when players utilize the D2, D3, and JUCO levels like a stepping stone to starting at D1 programs, Barnes took the road less traveled and walked on at Utah in the thick of COVID, no less.
During this stretch, he was sitting behind Charlie Brewer and Cam Rising. Due to this, he was credited with action in 3 games but only threw 2 passes, completing both against Ohio State for 23 yards and 1 touchdown. He led the Utes to the score that tied the game before Ohio State took over with less than 2 minutes remaining, kicking a field goal to win the game. For his first real on-field action, Barnes impressed.
It wasn’t until 2022 that Barnes saw his first start in college. It came in week 8 against Washington State while his Utes stood 5-2. He took over a high-powered team that had scored 285 points in 7 games, or 40.1 points per game. He would lead Utah to a 21-17 win on the road.
Completing 17 of 27 passes for 175 yards and 1 td, he also ran 8 times for 51 yards. He would appear in 10 total games in 2022, throwing a total of 57 passes. He finished with 430 passing yards on 37 completions or a 65% completion rate. He threw 4 touchdowns to 2 interceptions, and added 116 yards on the ground. This included a solid performance in the Rose Bowl after Cam Rising suffered a torn ACL. He had seemingly earned the QB2 role heading into 2023, a rather important distinction given Rising’s late injury.
While Barnes was a pure quarterback, he would compete with unique athlete Nate Johnson for the starting job with Rising medically redshirting. Ultimately, Barnes played in 11 games, starting 10. He completed 59% of his 242 attempts for 1,572 yards, 12 TDs, and 11 INTs. He ran 90 times for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns. While he began the season as the starter, a rough patch would see him benched for Johnson. This would spell the end of his time at Utah.
Transfer to Utah State
Barnes transfer didn’t take him far from his original program. He would end up transferring to Utah State to play under first-year OC Kyle Cefalo and first-year QB coach Hayden Kingston. Both coaches had been with the program for many years prior to their new positions, and Barnes certainly had a good idea what he was getting himself into given his proximity over the last four seasons.
Despite making the move to transfer to Utah State, nothing was being handed to him; in fact, he would enter the 2024 season as the top back up to Spencer Petras. Petras would suffer an injury in week 1, giving way to Bryson Barnes. Bryson Barnes went on to start the next two games. While he started off hot, leading a comeback win against Robert Morris, he would finish this stretch with losses to USC and his former school, Utah.
Ultimately, by season’s end, he had appeared in nine games, starting three. He attempted 126 passes, completing 77 for just over a 61% completion rate. He accumulated 856 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions on the season. He really began to showcase his abilities in the run game. Bryson Barnes displayed above-average mobility, running 68 times for over 530 rushing yards and five touchdowns. This would be put on display once again in 2025 when he finally got the opportunity to be the starter for Utah State.
Starter At Last
If we go back and look at Bryson Barnes’ career, every time he stepped into the starting position, it was not a planned succession. He was stepping in due to an injury. For the first time in 2025, Bryson Barnes was allowed to be the Day 1 starter for Utah State; his final season of college eligibility rewarded him with one last opportunity to prove that he could play at the next level.
Bryson Barnes understood the importance of this situation and ultimately had one of his best seasons yet. Playing in 13 games, he set career highs for passing attempts, completions, passing touchdowns, passing yards, rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and if all that wasn’t enough, he threw in two receptions for 7 yards and his first-ever receiving touchdown. By the time Utah State’s season came to a close, Barnes had collected 3,550 yards from scrimmage, 29 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions.
Professional Career
While his career unfolded in an unorthodox manner, this last season was just enough to register him as a blip on NFL and CFL radars heading into 2026. The former walk-on had not played his way into being selected in the NFL Draft, and in fact, he was not even ranked among the top 15 undrafted Free agent quarterbacks according to NFL.com. This did not stop him from finding an opportunity with the Cleveland Browns in rookie mini camp.
Ottawa REDBLACKS See Promise in Bryson Barnes
Although Bryson Barnes did not last long with Cleveland, Ottawa saw his potential and brought him in. They primarily expected him to be a depth piece and short-yardage option for the Redblacks in 2026. Barnes was essentially a high-upside replacement for Dustin Crum’s short-yardage role, who left via free agency. Through the first 14 games of his CFL career, that proved accurate as he attempted just 13 passes during this stretch. He was utilized more often for his legs in short-yardage situations.
Heading into his first CFL start, Barnes already had 65 carries for 95 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also was 10 of 13 for 110 yards and 1 INT before his start. By the time the game was over, Barnes proved he deserves a longer look as the Redblacks starter.
Not only did he lead Ottawa to their first win of the Dinwiddie era, but he also did so while playing like a polished veteran. In a duel with Nick Arbuckle, arguably the top backup quarterback in the CFL (see his Grey Cup win), Barnes looked like the better player. Completing 27 of 37 passes for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 0 interceptions, and had 7 carries for 62 yards. Barnes had 3 carries that went for 10 yards or more, and 1 pass for 39 yards.
Barnes did not play like a rookie in his first appearance, and this fact is exactly why he deserved the remainder of the season to prove he belongs in the conversation for QB1 in 2027 and beyond. In the second start of his career, Hamilton’s defense had Ottawa’s number all game long.
The Ti-Cats defense sacked Bryson Barnes 2 times and intercepted two of his 26 pass attempts. Barnes completed just 13 passes, but he also had no help from a competent run game. Ottawa rushed 10 times for 37 yards as a team in this game. Barnes was responsible for 4 carries and 14 yards, while Jake Maier, who entered the game for a short time, added 1 carry for 11 yards.
Ultimately, Bryson Barnes finished 13 of 26 for 163 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, with 4 carries for 14 yards. Breaking it down even further, his receivers were credited with 136 yards after the catch. Barnes was credited with just 27 yards through the air on 13 pass attempts, 2 yards per attempt; this was 100% by design to minimize the effect of Hamilton’s pass rush.
While the defense was credited with just 3 total sacks on the day, many more near misses resulted in incompletions or short gains on the ground by Bryson Barnes. He was harassed early and often, and Dinwiddie had no choice but to adjust, utilizing bubble screens, 3-step drops, and run-pass options to get him out of harm’s way.
Coming out of this game on paper, it opened up more questions than answers. However, his performance was not terrible when the context of play calling, game flow and a ferocious pass rush are considered.
Final Thoughts
Bryson Barnes has earned his chance to compete for the starting quarterback position in 2027, but this final game and second start of his career did not solidify his chances to step into the starting position. I would expect that the REDBLACKS no matter if they choose to leave all the power in Ryan Dinwiddie’s hands, or not, will bring in other options for the position. Whether they address it via an aging veteran like McLeod Bethel-Thompson, a career back-up Jake Maier, or a draft prospect like Callum Wither.
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