It seems so quiet on here lately.

Here’s Halie’s takeaways from the win over Cincinnati:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/runnin-utes-hold-off-cincinnati-69-66

From sky-high expectations to a a serious knee injury at the start of the first game, this is too bad. Utah needs CB depth.

This could be either really interesting or really not. I'll be honest, with this year's squad, I could easily see either happening.

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After a quick start, Utah couldn't handle Baylor's early change and the Utes played from way behind most of the game:

I don’t think this has been discussed, but it adds a little bit to the 2024 season post mortem.

I though Bajakian’s playcalling was absolute butt cheeks. Worst I’ve seen under Whittingham. But I take this as a very, very clear indication that Bajakian was at least smart enough to be completely off the Wilson bandwagon. This seems like very clear evidence that playing Wilson was NOT a Bajakian decision.

Ludwig got picked up as TE coach at Wisconsin, but I can’t take much from Wilson not heading to UW because:
1) Wilson clearly isn’t good enough to be a P2 transfer
2) as TE coach Ludwig likely wouldn’t have the pull to bring “his guy”.

Wilson getting another shot at UU tells me that KW was certainly complicit in having Wilson be “the guy”. But I still don’t have any feel for whether or not Ludwig supported Wilson. Honestly, I have a nagging feeling that Ludwig sort of got screwed with KW firing his long-time OC rather than giving Ludwig autonomy to make a QB change- only to relent and let Bajakian pull Wilson’s plug a few weeks later.

Nothing crazy, just a day difference.

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Final Rivals250: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals250/2025
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Gorney's position-by-position breakdown: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-final-2025-rivals250-released
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Five players who blew up during this recruiting cycle and finished as 5-stars: https://n.rivals.com/news/five-star-prospects-who-began-the-2025-cycle-as-three-stars

We’ve outshot our last two opponents from the free throw line.

A streak that will probably not continue. Haha.

Good for him. He's fighting hard to stay on the roster.

https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com...under-134-114-win-over-cavaliers/77774834007/

I truly felt like Utah could've run away with this one so many different times if they could have just made some open shots, including free throws:

The best thing about winning three in a row is the chance to win four in a row!

I say the boys shock the world and get a road win against the real cougars.

Nice win for the Red Rocks last night but seriously dampened by what looks like a serious injury to freshman star Avery Neff. Worst part of sports. Wishing her a fast and full recovery. 🙏🏼

Looking forward to Saturday.

Lovering vs. Keita - Edge to Lovering. Better defender, passer and scorer. Doesn't make highlight plays like Keita can but overall a better player.
Ausar vs Catchings - Edge Ausar. Even. Ausar has struggled imo. Catchings isn't the one and done guy people thought he was.
Wahlin vs Saunders - Edge to BYU. Saunders is their most reliable guy imo. Wahlin is coming along, but he doesn't play at Saunders level yet.
Madsen vs Hall - Edge to Utah. Gabe is much more dynamic on offense. Hall is solid and capable of high level play.
Sharavjants vs Demin - Slight edge to BYU. Both are inconsistent. Neither have shot it well to date. Demin comes in with a lot of hype that, so far, has exceeded his actual play.

Bench - Edge BYU. I think their bench is deeper than ours. Traore is a bull inside. Knell and Baker both add scoring firepower. For us, KD has been rounding into form but Mason and Miro have been fading as of late. Keller is solid in the frontcourt and Hunter Erickson is a solid sub in the backcourt.

Coaching - Edge Utah. Craig Smith is getting more out of his roster than BYU's new coach is.

Combing through the Spring Roster I found some names that I found interesting. Some due to their pedigree.., anyone know anything about the players below?

John Frank Jr: Son of John Frank, where has he been?
Jori Benson: 2023 Scout player of the year. Seems like a decent award.. can he ball?
Alma Tsleni: Is an Australian basketball player? 6-7 295.. do the coaches think they’ve found a diamond in the rough?
Mike Tauteoli: has the size..,, does anyone know how he’s looked in practice?

I got pretty sick yesterday, so this was delayed. I’ll get Beck’s out shortly after this one:

-He feels good but he’ll feel better after spring. He loves the addition of length. Outside of the incoming transfer, Scalley highlighted Elijah Davis saying he’s good enough he shouldn’t really leave the field.

-Regarding Tanuvasa: He loves every player that comes into this program and wants them to be the best they can be, and when they leave the program, he hopes that they are the man that the program taught them to be. He then said that he would do a disservice to the guy still on the team talking about guys that have left. Mentioned that he loves their defensive tackles they have currently: Dallas Vakalahi, Vimahi is back, Lea’ea has finally put on the weight and is a really athletic defensive linemen.

-His advice to guys like Snowden, Tao Johnson and Davis: Become compelling, bring others along with you. Basics talking about leadership with everyone’s development. They’ve done some of that, but all the new faces make it that much more important.

-Having Levani Damuni back is huge. Johnathan Hall is going to be a star. Lander Barton continues to work through his rehab and will finally be 100%. He’s excited for the linebacker room.

-There wasn’t much difference between the Pac-12 to the Big 12.

-In the past players have left your program because they wanted a new or better opportunity to play. Now it’s a lot about money. He still believes that culture does matter and that they’ll get the right guys in this program.

-With being the defensive coordinator, he’s always watching offenses, especially during the off-season and he’s watched a lot of Jason Beck‘s offense. He loves it and says that it creates a lot of problems with formations, shifts, changing personnel groups. All of that causes defensive coordinators to have to really put in the work.

So with Alex suggesting there are no more transfer portal additions, and since players cannot enter the portal anymore, here's who is currently on the roster or announced they're transferring to Utah for spring. I'm not expecting any early NFL entries this year and no Utes have announced they're entering the draft. I didn't remove any players who have eligibility and have not announced they are done. I included recruits, but not missionaries because I have no idea when they come back.

Here's the offense.

Quarterbacks: Rose and Huard transferred (UMass/USC), Bottari graduated.
Cam Rising (SR). Cam has not officially announced his plans. I know we don't expect him back, but he's a Ute right now.
Devon Dampier (JR). Transfer from UNM, he went 265/454 (58.4%) for 3280 (7.2 ypa) with 18 TD and 12 INT the past 2 years and also had 216 carries for 1532 yards (7.1 ypc) with 23 TD on the ground.
Isaac Wilson (SO).
Brendan Zurbrugg (RFR). Transfer from OU, he didn't play there at all this year. 3* out of HS with his only P5 offer from OU.
Wyatt Becker (FR). 3* with offers from Arizona, ASU, BC, FSU, UGA, Indiana, UK, Louisville, Miami, Ole Miss, MSST, Oregon, PSU, Pitt, SMU, TCU, Tennessee, ATM, & VA Tech
Jamarian Ficklin (FR). 3* but no P5 offers. His highlights show some great throws, but he's also a fast runner, so we'll see how he gets utilized.

This is the order I'd expect for QBs, depending on Cam's return (which again, is not expected). Expect Dampier as the starter and Wilson as the backup.

Running Backs: Bernard graduated, and Woods/Mitchell/Stanley/Glover all transferred (UCLA/Arizona/NMSU/UNLV). Randle also entered the portal.
Hunter Andrews (RFR). 2 carries for 17 yards this year. Andrews is the only 2025 RB who was on the 2024 team.
Naquari Rogers (SR). 767/386 (5.1 ypc) with 5 TD last year for UNM.
Wayshawn Parker (SO). 136/731 (5.4 ypc) with 4 TD last year for Wazzu.
Devin Green (SO). 28/122 (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD last year for UNLV
Raycine Guillory (FR). 4* with offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, UGA, UH, UK, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss, Mizzou, ND, OSU, OU, OKST, Oregon, Pitt, SMU, TCU, Tennessee, UT, ATM, TTech, UCF, and USC.

I'd expect Rogers and Parker to start the year splitting a lot of snaps. If Guillory is ready, he may get involved early too.

Receivers: Parks and McClain graduated, Alford transferred to FAU and Pittman entered the portal, although I don't know if he found a spot yet.
Dorian Singer (SR). Not sure if Singer gets another year, but he's requested one. Up to the NCAA and/or the courts.
Luca Caldarella (SR). Played 10 games last year, had 2 catches for 26 yards (13.0 ypc).
Daidren Zipperer (SO). Played 10 games last year, had 8 catches for 122 yards (15.3 ypc).
Zacharyus Williams (SO). Played 6 games last year, had 10 catches for 101 yards (10.1 ypc)
Rayshawn Glover (RFR). Played 2 games last year, no targets.
David Washington (RFR). 4* out of HS, no snaps last year.
Cameron Mitchell (RFR). 3* out of HS, no snaps last year.
Justin Stevenson (SO). Played 468 snaps for Wyoming last year, had 17 catches for 204 yards (12.0 ypc) with 3 TD.
Nate Johnson (JR). Played 26 snaps for Vandy last year. I'm not sure where Nate will play, but it won't be QB. I put him at WR as that seems most likely.
Taeshaun Lyons (SO). It appears Lyons will be returning. He had 1 catch for 4 yards.
Otto Tia (SR). Played 739 snaps for USU last year and had 44 catches for 434 yards (9.9 ypc) with 7 TD.
Creed Whittemore (SO). Played 92 snaps for MSST last year, had 4 catches for 65 yards (16.3 ypc).
JJ Buchanan (FR). 3* with offers from Cal, ISU, and ORST.
Bryson Baker (FR). 2* with offers from Cal, MSU, UCLA, and WSU.

Tight Ends: Kuithe, Lohner, and Suguturaga graduated, Ryan transferred to BYU. Jacobsen entered the portal but I don't know if he's landed anywhere yet.
Landen King (SR). 3 catches for 54 yards (18 ypc) with 1 TD.
Dallen Bentley (SR). 2 catches for 9 yards (4.5 ypc).
Drew Clemens (FR). 3* with offers from Arkansas, Illinois, IAST, and MSU.

There are some good receiving pieces, but TE is going to need some recruiting/portal help.

Offensive Line: No transfers out, Kaumatule (376 career snaps, 161 last year) and Maea (351 career snaps, 40 last year) both graduated.
Michael Mokofisi (SR). 2,012 career snaps.
Jaren Kump (SR). 1,998 career snaps.
Spencer Fano (JR). 1,382 career snaps.
Tanoa Togiai (SR). 1,077 career snaps.
Caleb Lomu (SO). 797 career snaps.
Solatoa Moea'i (JR). 332 career snaps
Alex Harrison (SR). 11 career snaps.
Roger Alderman (SO). No snaps yet.
Isaiah Garcia (RFR). Played some ST snaps this year.
Kalolo Ta'aga (RFR). Didn't play at USC this year. 3* out of HS with offers from Arizona, ASU, Cal, UF, and Utah
Soren Shinofield (FR). 3* with offers from ISU, KU, Nebraska, Pitt, and Purdue.
Milz Asiata (FR). Another Asiata! 3* with offers from Utah, BYU, and ORST
Nick Hallock (FR). 2* with Utah his only offer (not sure if he's walking on or not but he's listed as a recruit, which suggests a scholarship)

OL should be very good next year, with essentially 5 returning starters plus Moea'i with a good amount of playing time.

So that's what the offense should look like in the spring. I'll do another post for Defense soon. Lots of talent at OL and some potential at QB. RB and WR have bodies and some good recruits, but not much returning production (unless Singer gets another year). Decent transfer production came in, but no immediately obvious superstars.

Here’s a bulleted breakdown of Whittingham‘s responses today, Beck and Scalley will be coming, as well. Please forgive any typos.

-They have about a 50% roster makeover with 30 mid year additions and 12-15 more coming for summer.

-He knows all schools say it, but he felt like their portal additions were not positive.

-Whittingham is excited for the new coaching additions. Beck brings virtual schemes and the goal in Whittingham’s mind is to be 3500 yards passing and 2500 yards rushing on the season, which off the top of his head he said New Mexico was near this last season. Atuaia brings a ton of energy into the building. (Alex note: this is something I’ve heard a bunch lately and that it’s revived Whittingham‘s love for being in the building.)

-Wilson is the only returning scholarship quarterback. Rising is not listed on the spring roster and he will announce any of his intentions at the time that he chooses.

-He feels like they’re in really good shape now in the quarterback room, but then he did say that they felt the same way last year and then suddenly were on their fifth string quarterback. Whittingham is extremely excited on what Dampier brings to the table and what they could do with him within the offense.

-With no returners in the running back room, Whittingham is eager to see how it shakes out in the spring. They will likely add one more to the room during the spring portal period.

-Whittingham spoke very briefly on Tanuvasa and Calhoun. Basically saying they’re both very good players that just chose to go elsewhere. He made a comment that Calhoun would be in the mix for a starting spot, but also didn’t acknowledge that he would be a starter had he returned.

-Beck is a really good judge of talent, known for tweaking things to his personnel in a spread system.

-As it currently stands, whittingham has heard some schools have $30 million yearly in NIL funds while others have $5 million. It’s quite the discrepancy.

-Utah uses a NFL system with waiting the value of the position groups for the money, for the most part. It stays true to it, but there are some exceptions and outliers.

-With the loss of Tanuvasa, Utah has three returning defensive tackles, and four freshmen coming in. They really like all of the three returners. Vimahi was able to get an extra year. Vakalahi has it really bright future, and Jonah Lea’ea he’s finally been able to get enough necessary weight put on to where they’re really intrigued by his future at the position. (Alex note: as I’ve been saying, Tanuvasa is definitely a loss, but Utah is gonna be absolutely fine at that position.)

-The dual-threat capabilities of Dampier are huge. His completion percentage should continue to increase with the more experience that he’s gained. He’s the perfect fit for the current offense, and the fact that he was only sacked four times last year because of his pocket presence and elusiveness, is pretty incredible.

-Despite no returners in the running back room, Whittingham still has full expectations that that position will be efficient at Utah, just like it always has been.

-They’re eagerly awaiting the appeal decision that Dorian Singer has submitted. The NCAA has been weighing the five years of eligibility with no red shirt rolling and so it could come down to when they decide to implement that and if it’s retroactive.