LOGAN, Utah – Following the conclusion of the NFL Draft on Saturday, Utah State had two of its former football players sign free agent contracts, while five more have been invited to rookie mini camps.
Noah Avinger and Brady Boyd both signed free agent contracts with NFL teams as Avinger will join the Los Angeles Chargers and Boyd will join the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Bryson Barnes, Miles Davis, Broc Lane, John Miller and Bryson Taylor have all been invited to rookie mini camps. Barnes will work out for the Cleveland Browns, Davis will work out for the Seattle Seahawks, Miller will work out for the Denver Broncos, Taylor will work out for the Atlanta Falcons, and Lane has been invited to work out for the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.
Avinger, a 6-foot, 190-pound defensive back from Cerritos, California (Servite HS/New Mexico), was named a HERO Sports Group of Five Second Team All-American and earned first-team All-Mountain West honors following his senior season. In his one year with the Aggies during the 2025 campaign, he started all 12 games he played in and finished the season with 84 tackles (40 solo), including 1.0 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. He led the team with 10 pass breakups and three interceptions, while adding one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry. He posted three double-digit tackle outings during the year including a season-best 12 stops at No. 18 Vanderbilt.
Boyd, a 6-1, 195-pound wide receiver from Southlake, Texas (Southlake Carroll HS/Texas Tech), earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors following the 2025 season. He started 12 of the 13 games he played in during his one year with USU and led the team with eight touchdown receptions, while ranking second on the team with 46 catches for 743 yards. His best game of the year was against Nevada as he had five receptions for a career-high 117 yards and a career-high-tying two touchdowns.
Barnes, a 6-2, 210-pound quarterback from Milford, Utah (Milford HS/Utah) earned second-team All-Mountain West honors during the 2025 campaign as he started all 13 games and accounted for 3,543 yards of total offense, which ranks fifth all-time in school history. He completed 211-of-356 (.593) passes for 2,803 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions and threw multiple touchdowns in five games, including three touchdowns three times. He rushed for 740 yards on 189 carries (3.9 ypc) and 10 touchdowns, which is a single season school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
During his two-year Aggie career, Barnes set the school record for 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback with five as he rushed for 1,270 yards to rank 24th all-time in program history. He was 288-of-482 (.598) passing for 3,659 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and ranks ninth all-time in school history in completion percentage.
Davis, a 5-11, 215-pound running back from Las Vegas, Nevada (Las Vegas HS/BYU), earned second-team All-Mountain West honors in his only season with USU. During the 2025 campaign, he recorded 1,000 all-purpose yards and scored 11 touchdowns. He started 11 of the 13 games he played in and finished the season rushing for 731 yards on 131 carries (5.6 ypr) and eight touchdowns, to go along with 28 receptions for 201 yards (7.2 ypr) and three touchdowns. He also returned four kickoffs for 68 yards (17.0 ypr). Overall, he had three 100-yard rushing games and four games with 100-plus all-purpose yards. His best outing of the season was against UTEP as he produced a career-high 184 all-purpose yards as he rushed for 88 yards on seven carries and one touchdown, caught a career-high six passes for a career-best 61 yards, and returned two kickoffs for 35 yards. He rushed for a season-high 118 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown against McNeese.
Lane, a 6-4, 240-pound tight end from Chandler, Arizona (Perry HS), started seven of the 11 games he played in during the 2025 campaign and finished the season with 19 receptions for 218 yards and two touchdowns. His best game of the year was at No. 18 Vanderbilt as he caught a career-high seven passes for a career-best 98 yards.
Lane played in 44 career games with 23 starts during his six seasons at Utah State (2020-25) and had 67 receptions for 662 yards (9.9 ypr) and six touchdowns. He earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors following the 2023 campaign.
Miller, a 6-1, 225-pound linebacker from Tualatin, Oregon (Tualatin HS/Oregon State) earned first-team All-Mountain West honors during the 2025 campaign. He started all 13 games during the season and led the team with 118 tackles (39 solo), including a team-best 8.0 sacks and a team-high 10.0 tackles for loss, while adding eight quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and one forced fumble. He recorded six double-digit tackle outings on the year, including a career-high 16 stops against Air Force.
During his two-year Utah State career, Miller posted 170 tackles, including 10.0 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss, to go along with five pass breakups, and one forced fumble.
Taylor, a 6-1, 190-pound cornerback from Hoschton, Georgia (Mill Creek HS/New Mexico), appeared in 11 games and made five starts during the 2025 campaign. He finished his only season at USU with 32 tackles (15 solo), including 2.0 tackles for loss, to go along with five pass breakups. His best game of the year was at No. 19 Texas A&M as he posted a season-high seven tackles.
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