Talked to a friend today who works at ESPN I’ve known for years. He’s not sure if his job is gone by the summer with a new round of cuts coming up. It does bring up the question regarding ESPN’s+ ability to add more content to its plate (I.e. Pac-12)?

Late in 2022, ESPN+ was yet to turn a profit even though they had 23.4 million subs. If ESPN+ wants to be the streaming partner of the Pac 12, a monthly fee of $9.99 isn’t going to get it done. If they add the Pac 12 to their plus package what will the monthly subscription fee have to be to breakeven? $12.95, $14.95 and eventually $19.95.

Not to kick a dead horse, but the media landscape is looking bleaker by the day.

George K got beaten to the punch by the Big 12 last year. Is George going to have another regret for not taking the first real decent offer late last year?

Someone help me out here. I’m looking for positives and I am having a tough time finding them.

I saw what he was charged with and I saw that he plead not guilty but I cannot find a resolution to the matter. Was he acquitted?

Davis was back at the U for an unofficial visit during the spring game and we got some interesting things out of him. Right now it seems it’s between Utah, USC, and UCLA. Davis said Itah currently is the only school that checks all the boxes he’s looking for.

More to come…

The glimpses everyone has seen so far, are only the beginning for Ja’Quinden Jackson. Give it a read:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/utah-s-jackson-running-with-his-fresh-start

Anything?

It looks like Bo Tates recruiting is blowing up. Why havent the Utes gone after him and given him an offer?

Here’s Matt’s article on Kash Dillon’s visit:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/dillon-raves-about-utah-official-visit

I was shocked like everyone at first because him and Hardy seemed to work so well together. The thing is, it was likely a mutual decision. Jensen was about to take another job last summer, before sticking it out for his last year on his contract with the Jazz.

Since he was passed over for Hardy, that makes sense. I feel like he was a good soldier for a year and now likely wants to hit the refresh button under a new coach and build new connections.

We caught up with Kash Dillon tonight and the trip went extremely well. Utah is “very high” on his list. He said Utah was his first official and he might take one to Arizona State and then one more before making a decision in the near future. (MY TAKE OFF THAT: That’s a strong indicator that it’s likely Utah).

Another note of interest is that he likes being at Utah with all of his HS teammates. Basically hinting at the fact that they all would like to play together.

More to come…

This is really no shock and it’s likely that the program advised him to look at options for playing time. He wasn’t going to crack the rotation with Utah.

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I have yet to speak with Bridges, but everything I’ve been hearing sounds promising. Of course, Utah will feel assured when he’s on campus in the summer or fall.

The culture of the Utah program is important to him and his family. Additionally the fact that Utah has stuck by him for a long time.

Reposting an update from Halie that was in the game thread…

Halie Berry said:

No post game presser today. It was reported there was a non-athlete and non-personnel death near the program. No more information is provided at this time.

Click to expand...

Welp…
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There are some important visitors this weekend at the spring game:

Trejan Bridges, WR
Former 5-star receiver from Oklahoma. While Utah is in a good position, South Carolina is a school to also watch with them having Spencer Rattler. Utah is desperately needing to add a game breaker or two at receiver. Bridges is a crucial recruit.

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Isaac Wilson, QB
A legacy Ute, but also younger brother of Zach Wilson — Utah is looking to solidify his commitment as soon as possible and this weekend could go a long way. He’s the no. 1 rated prospect in Utah and the no. 239 prospect overall in the Rivals250.

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Cash Dillon, DE
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Another legacy Ute, is a long levered defensive end. He has 10 P5 offers spanning the Pac-12, Big 12, Big 10 and SEC. He stock should only go up throughout the summer.

Others of note on unofficials: Safety Jeilani Davis, who has already visited Utah. Four-star RB Ca’lil Valentine, the Utes top RB target. Four-star tight end Elija Lofton.

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Alex and Halie discuss highlights from the spring game:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/takeaways-utah-s-forever-22-game

Most likely won't see many projected starters playing today, but it should be a fun opportunity to see all of the younger guys recruited on the past couple years.

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The Crimson Collective has an impressive group of Ute legends involved with their board and committee. It took some work to get them on board, but they’re all in:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/the-crimson-collective-board-is-armed-with-utah-legends

Here’s one of my articles on the new Crimson Collective. Matt Garff had a ton of great things to say:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/crimson-collective-becomes-utah-football-s-endorsed-nil-group

It was a great event today. I’ll have stuff with quotes coming. Here’s the website to take a dive into though.

https://crimsoncollective.org/

I was going to hold off until the event, but Newman has an article out on it this morning. This collective is going to be a strong push by former players and boosters that care deeply about the program. It’s been in the works for months and it all started when boosters were concerned about trying to keep some of the key players around and grew from there.

The group who organized this did a great job converting former players that weren’t exactly for the NIL initially and now having them as eager board members.

More to come, but one unique alumni name that is attached to this effort is Colorado Rockies owner Charlie Monfort.

The media was able to observe practice briefly today in the freezing weather. Here’s what we were able to see:

Bryson Barnes was on the field when we were able to start viewing. Had a couple plays, one hand off to Glover up the middle, only ran for a couple yards. Defense doing a really good job shutting down any open lanes. Barnes also threw a short out route to the left sideline to running back Charlie Vincent, he ran 30 yards after the catch for the touchdown. Vincent has had a nice spring with his increased opportunities.

Barnes came in for a couple more reps at the end, a couple inaccurate throws that resulted in dropped passes. One long 25-yard down the left sideline to Jett Meine.

Limited reps from Nate Johnson, short series from him. Threw a couple short passes, one hand off to Faysal Aden for a couple yards up the middle. Completed a crossing route over the middle for 10 yards.

Brandon Rose looked good, leading the offense down the field. Very accurate throws, had a couple nice throws to Devaughn Vele for 10 and 15 yards. He closed out with a couple short 5 and 8 yard passes down the right and left sideline.

Offensive line looked great, Kump continues to take a lot of reps at the center position.

Defensive line looked solid, as the running backs didn’t rush for more than a couple yards on running plays

This is a nice one year get for Utah because it’s a good risk to take.

https://utah.rivals.com/news/what-it-means-utah-lands-2019-rivals150-prospect-bajema

After visiting this weekend, Utah has landed Bajema. He’ll look to regain his top prospect form in his one remaining year with the Utes:

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Thoughts on closing out spring:

•Whittingham has seen steady progress all of camp. Said Brandon Rose had the best practice today in camp, he’s continuing to separate himself — nothing to settle as of yet with the QB position.

•Accuracy was big today for Rose. Whittingham thought he handled the elements well. Much better job in the huddle and taking leadership — also showed a lot of confidence.

•He was happy to see Nate Johnson back on the field getting reps.

•Wide receiver position is still needing a lot of development, doesn’t feel it’s where it needs to be.

•Offensive line is looking really good. He feels they have a solid two-deep group — confident in the 10 put in rotation on the field.

•Loaded on the defensive line, six deep at defensive end and defensive tackle.

Standouts from spring this far:

•Money Parks continues to take steps forward

•Falcon Kaumatule is running at the number one left tackle spot, really good spring.

•Conner O’Toole, Jonah Elliss and Logan Fano are looking sharp.

•Justin Medlock at linebacker is coming along nicely

•Sione Vaki has picked up right where he left off in the fall.

Sounds as though Brandon Jessie passed away.

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