Hey guys, with spring camp 2019 officially in the books, it's now the full-fledged football off-season. The Utes will reconvene in late July/early August to begin their fall camp, but between now and then, it will be mostly up to the players to continue to get better physically and prepare themselves for the season.
I wanted to do a little post-mortem here and give my thoughts on where the team is at the end of spring ball, and how I'm feeling about each position's progress at this point. Hopefully this will be something you all enjoy, and at least be a little morsel to help tide everyone over until football starts up again.
Quarterbacks:
I really liked what I saw from both Huntley and Shelley throughout spring camp. Huntley appears to be more comfortable in this offense, and in fact, he's said as much. There's more structure, more attention to detail, and it seems to play more to his strengths than Troy Taylor's offense did. We'll see if that holds true once the season begins, but as of right now, Huntley appears poised to have a really solid senior year, provided he can stay healthy.
The biggest difference between these two is that Huntley seems to give the team a better chance for explosive plays, whereas Shelley brings a steadiness to the field and does the little things really well to help the team move down the field consistently. I know it's a tired, overused term, but Shelley is the "game manager" type and he does it very well, even as a sophomore. That's not to say that Huntley can't also do those little things well, and in fact I was really pleased to see him look to his check down options more often this spring, instead of trying to force big plays. With Huntley's and Shelley's talents and experience, it's not a stretch to say that the Utes have one of the best quarterback situations in the conference going into the season.
I was also really pleased with Cam Rising's progress throughout the spring. He had some early growing pains as he got acclimated to a new environment and new offense, but by the end of camp, he was looking much more comfortable and beginning to show why he was so highly regarded out of high school. If Rising is granted his waiver, that gives the Utes a really, really good three-deep at quarterback that fans should feel pretty good about.
Running backs
I'm wary of sounding hyperbolic, but I honestly think that this may end up being the best running back group the University of Utah has ever had. I was so pleased with what I saw from Henry-Cole, Brumfield, and Green during spring camp. Obviously Moss is going to be RB1 this year, but if anything should happen to him, or even if it's just a matter of someone needing to spell him when he comes off the field, opposing defenses aren't going to get a rest. At this point, I feel that Moss, DHC, and Brumfield are all capable of being that "bell cow" type of back that can get around 20 carries a game, if needed. As for TJ Green, while he's definitely put on some good weight and is more capable of handling the punishment that comes with running between the tackles, I still feel that he'd be best used as a change-of-pace player, and could be especially effective attacking the edges and catching passes out of the backfield.
When Wilmore and Bernard arrive this summer, the Utes should have at least five, maybe six players that could see playing time this fall.
Wide Receivers
If I had to rank the top five receivers on this team right now, I'd go- Covey, Dixon, Thompson OR Nacua, and Simpkins-in that order. I was really happy with the strides Thompson made this spring now that he's healthy, and if he can continue to stay healthy, I suspect he'll be one of the starters this year. I like a lot of what Solomon Enis does, but for him, it's just a matter of maximizing every rep and learning how to use his size to his advantage. If he can get to the point where he is giving full effort on every play, he'll catapult up to near the top of my list, and that's what I want to see from him in fall camp.
Derrick Vickers has made a lot of progress since joining the team, and think that he'll be valuable as a threat to run the ball and throw to on screens, while occasionally going deep to keep a defense on its toes. I also thought that Terrell Perriman made some good strides, though he may still be not quite ready to contribute consistently. Donte Banton surprised me with how college-ready his body looked, and he's appreciably faster in person than he looked on his tape. He still needs to work on his hands a little bit, but I'm excited to see what he can do down the road. Finally, perhaps the biggest surprise of camp was Devaughn Vele, a walk-on, who is playing his way into consideration for a scholarship. A source close to the team said that he thinks that Vele may be able to contribute on offense this year, which is almost unheard of for a walk-on freshman receiver.
Tight ends
Aside from the running backs, the tight ends may be the best unit on the offense. Cole Fotheringham should be TE1, as he's got the size and pass catching skills to excel in all parts of the tight end game. However, Brant Kuithe also put on some solid weight, and it didn't seem to hurt his ability to be the big play threat of this group. One of the biggest pleasant surprises of this group, though, was Thomas Yassmin, who has made a ton of progress since last year, especially given that he was brand new to football. I feel that Yassmin has progressed enough as a pass catcher that he could see time this season in situational packages or even to spell the other tight ends. I wasn't able to get a great feel on his blocking ability, because we didn't get to see a ton of live work, but I was really impressed with how far he's come.
Offensive line
This is still the biggest question mark of the offense going into fall camp, but I overheard a conversation yesterday between Alex and one of the linemen, where the player said that when the group is healthy, he feels like they've got really solid depth. I feel good about Ford, Daniels, Umana, and Paulo right now, and I think it'll pay dividends down the road that so many young linemen got reps this spring. I think that once everyone gets healthy and rest of the 2019 additions get here, the coaches will be able to find at least 8-9 players that are ready to play this year. If I had to put money on who those players would be at this point, I would say the four I listed above, along with Olaseni, Lanterman, Maile, Maea, and Moala. I also think that there's a good possibility that one of, and maybe both of Sataoa Laumea and Marist Talavou could contribute as true freshmen.
Ideally, I'd like to see the Utes add at least one graduate transfer that could compete for a starting job, and could provide solid rotational depth at the very least.
I wanted to do a little post-mortem here and give my thoughts on where the team is at the end of spring ball, and how I'm feeling about each position's progress at this point. Hopefully this will be something you all enjoy, and at least be a little morsel to help tide everyone over until football starts up again.
Quarterbacks:
I really liked what I saw from both Huntley and Shelley throughout spring camp. Huntley appears to be more comfortable in this offense, and in fact, he's said as much. There's more structure, more attention to detail, and it seems to play more to his strengths than Troy Taylor's offense did. We'll see if that holds true once the season begins, but as of right now, Huntley appears poised to have a really solid senior year, provided he can stay healthy.
The biggest difference between these two is that Huntley seems to give the team a better chance for explosive plays, whereas Shelley brings a steadiness to the field and does the little things really well to help the team move down the field consistently. I know it's a tired, overused term, but Shelley is the "game manager" type and he does it very well, even as a sophomore. That's not to say that Huntley can't also do those little things well, and in fact I was really pleased to see him look to his check down options more often this spring, instead of trying to force big plays. With Huntley's and Shelley's talents and experience, it's not a stretch to say that the Utes have one of the best quarterback situations in the conference going into the season.
I was also really pleased with Cam Rising's progress throughout the spring. He had some early growing pains as he got acclimated to a new environment and new offense, but by the end of camp, he was looking much more comfortable and beginning to show why he was so highly regarded out of high school. If Rising is granted his waiver, that gives the Utes a really, really good three-deep at quarterback that fans should feel pretty good about.
Running backs
I'm wary of sounding hyperbolic, but I honestly think that this may end up being the best running back group the University of Utah has ever had. I was so pleased with what I saw from Henry-Cole, Brumfield, and Green during spring camp. Obviously Moss is going to be RB1 this year, but if anything should happen to him, or even if it's just a matter of someone needing to spell him when he comes off the field, opposing defenses aren't going to get a rest. At this point, I feel that Moss, DHC, and Brumfield are all capable of being that "bell cow" type of back that can get around 20 carries a game, if needed. As for TJ Green, while he's definitely put on some good weight and is more capable of handling the punishment that comes with running between the tackles, I still feel that he'd be best used as a change-of-pace player, and could be especially effective attacking the edges and catching passes out of the backfield.
When Wilmore and Bernard arrive this summer, the Utes should have at least five, maybe six players that could see playing time this fall.
Wide Receivers
If I had to rank the top five receivers on this team right now, I'd go- Covey, Dixon, Thompson OR Nacua, and Simpkins-in that order. I was really happy with the strides Thompson made this spring now that he's healthy, and if he can continue to stay healthy, I suspect he'll be one of the starters this year. I like a lot of what Solomon Enis does, but for him, it's just a matter of maximizing every rep and learning how to use his size to his advantage. If he can get to the point where he is giving full effort on every play, he'll catapult up to near the top of my list, and that's what I want to see from him in fall camp.
Derrick Vickers has made a lot of progress since joining the team, and think that he'll be valuable as a threat to run the ball and throw to on screens, while occasionally going deep to keep a defense on its toes. I also thought that Terrell Perriman made some good strides, though he may still be not quite ready to contribute consistently. Donte Banton surprised me with how college-ready his body looked, and he's appreciably faster in person than he looked on his tape. He still needs to work on his hands a little bit, but I'm excited to see what he can do down the road. Finally, perhaps the biggest surprise of camp was Devaughn Vele, a walk-on, who is playing his way into consideration for a scholarship. A source close to the team said that he thinks that Vele may be able to contribute on offense this year, which is almost unheard of for a walk-on freshman receiver.
Tight ends
Aside from the running backs, the tight ends may be the best unit on the offense. Cole Fotheringham should be TE1, as he's got the size and pass catching skills to excel in all parts of the tight end game. However, Brant Kuithe also put on some solid weight, and it didn't seem to hurt his ability to be the big play threat of this group. One of the biggest pleasant surprises of this group, though, was Thomas Yassmin, who has made a ton of progress since last year, especially given that he was brand new to football. I feel that Yassmin has progressed enough as a pass catcher that he could see time this season in situational packages or even to spell the other tight ends. I wasn't able to get a great feel on his blocking ability, because we didn't get to see a ton of live work, but I was really impressed with how far he's come.
Offensive line
This is still the biggest question mark of the offense going into fall camp, but I overheard a conversation yesterday between Alex and one of the linemen, where the player said that when the group is healthy, he feels like they've got really solid depth. I feel good about Ford, Daniels, Umana, and Paulo right now, and I think it'll pay dividends down the road that so many young linemen got reps this spring. I think that once everyone gets healthy and rest of the 2019 additions get here, the coaches will be able to find at least 8-9 players that are ready to play this year. If I had to put money on who those players would be at this point, I would say the four I listed above, along with Olaseni, Lanterman, Maile, Maea, and Moala. I also think that there's a good possibility that one of, and maybe both of Sataoa Laumea and Marist Talavou could contribute as true freshmen.
Ideally, I'd like to see the Utes add at least one graduate transfer that could compete for a starting job, and could provide solid rotational depth at the very least.
