Isaac Wilson, brother of Broncos QB Zach, is starting against CU

The University of Utah will trot out freshman QB Isaac Wilson against the CU Buff on Saturday morning.

Sure, it’s notable the Utes have to start a true freshman at quarterback for the sixth time this season, but even more interesting is who Isaac is related to. His older brother is Broncos backup QB Zach Wilson, the former No. 2 overall pick out of BYU in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Utes had big expectations entering the 2024 season, and were even the preseason pick to win the Big 12. However, the campaign has gone off the rails and Utah is just 4-5 overall and 1-5 in conference play. They’ve lost five straight games.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham announced it would be Isaac Wilson going against the Buffs, after he lost a second quarterback to injury for the rest of the season.

Yikes. Utah QBs are a combined 5 season ending injuries over 2 years.

Utes plan to go back to Isaac Wilson, who started 4 games before being benched; 5th-string Luke Bottari, the only other QB left on the roster without a season-ending injury, will be Wilson’s backup. https://t.co/sAG7BeNNN0

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 13, 2024

Isaac Wilson so far this season has thrown for exactly 1,200 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s only completing 55.4 percent of his passes, but then again he’s a true freshman and wasn’t expected to play this quickly.

Still, just like his brother Zach, Isaac put up big numbers in high school. He broke the Utah high school record for total yards in a season with 5,901 in 2023 and threw for 1,236 yards and 12 touchdowns in four playoff wins as a senior. Isaac led Corner Canyon to a state title and 13-1 record.

Meanwhile, Zach’s journey was bumpy in the NFL with the Jets, and Broncos head coach Sean Payton acquired him this past offseason. Even though Zach is No. 3 on Denver’s depth chart behind Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham, Payton raved about him this past summer.

And with the Broncos at home on Sunday against the Falcons, it’ll be interesting to see if Zach makes the short drive up to Boulder to see Isaac face the Buffs on Saturday. In this case, the state of Colorado won’t be cheering for the QB with the last name Wilson on his jersey.

CU controls its own destiny to make the College Football Playoff and again moved up the rankings earlier this week.