So here's what we know so far:

Coming back to Utah:
QB Cam Rising (1,653)
CB Zemaiah Vaughn (1,532)
LB Levani Damuni (1,846)

Out of Eligibility:
TE Thomas Yassmin* (650)
RB Chris Curry* (318 but only 82 at Utah)
CB Miles Battle (1,258 but only 415 at Utah)
WR Emery Simmons (1,335 but only 67 at Utah)

Transferring:
CB JaTravis Broughton (1,535)
QB Bryson Barnes (740)
CB Faybian Marks (534)
WR Makai Cope (370)
WR Mikey Matthews (345)
QB Nate Johnson (262)
LB Justin Medlock (87)
CB Kenzel Lawler (34)
S Jadon Pearson (22; 13 at Utah and 9 at Air Force)
TE Hayden Erickson (19)
TE Noah Bennee (4)
DB Jocelyn Malaska (0)
DB Darrien Stewart (0)
LB Owen Chambliss (0)
QB Mack Howard (0)

Leaving Early:
OL Sataoa Laumea (3,016)**
OL Keaton Bills (2,624)
WR Devaughn Vele (2,198)
S Cole Bishop (1,726)
S Sione Vaki (998)

* Both Yassmin and Curry played 6 years, so they are both RS SRs including the Covid year. Both suffered season-ending injuries this year, but I believe both happened too late in the season to apply for a medical RS for a 7th year. I may be incorrect in this belief.

** Laumea is playing in an all-star game, but has not officially announced he's leaving for the NFL. He cannot play in that game without officially declaring, but until that game happens he could come back.

I won't speculate about kids who might transfer, but kids who might leave early have to declare by January 15, so still about 6 weeks. Potential players still on that list are:

DE Jonah Elliss (1,085)
TE Brant Kuithe (1,802)

There are always surprises, but right now we have Rising and Vaughn back, which is a very good start, as it means we won't have to find 3 new CB starters next year.

Anyone heard how ticket sales are going?
From some I’ve talk to there doesn’t sound like a lot of interest.

2nd tier bowl game at a bad time two days before Christmas. Multiple players out.

Doesn’t sound like Utah will even sell their allotment

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Let’s talk about the big win last night:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/takeaways-runnin-utes-beat-no-14-byu

Will be interesting if bunches of Y fans bought tix and will be way louder than Utah. Hope we can get a W against them.

Maybe it's just who I follow, but man, the silence is deafening, in a good way on mine. I am not seeing a lot of smack right now, nor should I. LOL Anyone notice the same?

Cole breaks down the most recent commitment:

BYU comes into this one ranked and undefeated into the Huntsman Center. First big test.

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What a journey if he wins the Heisman. He was our rag doll for a couple years.

Here’s Matt’s article on what the commitment of safety Maurice Evans means:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/what-it-means-utah-gets-safety-help-with-evans

Utah offered Thompson six days ago and wanted it quiet to get the flip.
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Utah gets a needed safety commit from Blinn College safety Maurice Evans. He’s friends with Landen King.
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Big news for the Runnin’ Utes, I was just told Branden is expected to play tonight.

This money being thrown at student athletes is rediculous now. If he is repping Ohio St and has that kind of deal, the dude should be held accountable to a passing GPA as well. Will be interesting to see graduation rates from football teams in 3-5 years. What a joke. All these kids our out to get theirs now. Gonna be tough for Utah going forward as has been mentioned multiple times in the past.

https://www.si.com/fannation/name-i...n-finalist-harrison-jr-at-ohio-state-michael9

After a pretty unique season, Vaki declares for the NFL:

Looks like it is official. He just posted on Instagram that he is declaring.

The Origins of College Football Team Names

After a stellar season, Sione Vaki has officially declared for the NFL Draft.

Utah has some work to do at safety looking ahead to 2024 with the departure of both Bishop and Vaki.


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To a class act through and through and one of the best players and leaders the Utes have had in the Kyle Whittingham Era, good luck Cole.

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It would've been nice to have him for one more season, but can't blame him for jumping to the NFL:

It's time for everyone's favorite math problem, how many scholarships does Utah have available.

Here are current players I am confident are on scholarship:

Quarterbacks: Rising (1), Rose (2)
Running Backs: Bernard (3), Curry (4), Glover (5), Jackson (6), Randle (7), Stanley (8), Mitchell (62)
Wide Receivers: Mbanasor (9), McClain (10), Parks (11), Pittman (12), Simmons (13), Zipperer (14)
Tight Ends: Jacobsen (15), King (16), Kuithe (17), Suguturaga (18)
Offensive Line: Alderman (19), Bills (20), Faaiu (21), Fano (22), Harrison (23), Kaumatule (24), Kump (25), Lomu (26), Maea (27), Moea'i (28), Mokofisi (29), Olson (30), Togiai (31), Williams (32)

Defensive End: Akana (33), Elliss (34), Fano (35), Fillinger (36), Kennedy (37), Lea'ea (38), O'Toole (39)
Defensive Tackle: Fotu (40), Pepa (41), Piland (42), Tafuna (43), Tanuvasa (44), Vimahi (45)
Linebacker: Barton (46), Calvert (47), Damuni (48), Fotu (49), Reid (50), O'Kelly (51)
Cornerback: Blocker (52), Davis (53), Johnson (54), Snowden (55), Vaughn (56)
Safety: Allen (57), Hall (58), Reeves (59), Ritchie (60), Vaki (61)

I assume the starting kicker and punter are on scholarship, so that's 63 and 64.

Utah currently has 11 players committed, so that's 75. That leaves 10 spots for either recruits or transfers. I suspect I'm missing a couple of scholarship players on the roster, but I'd expect there's room for about 8 more players.

This is a big blow with him being a starter. I’m curious if he wants to be close to home now or if a school gave him money that Utah wouldn’t. I’m guessing Utah feels pretty confident on landing a quality starting CB.

It's a little early, but the first bowl game is 11 days away, so if you want to start betting, lines are already up for some of them (some won't be up until early next week). All rankings are the AP Poll, as the CFP committee has proven completely worthless at ranking teams.

First, Utah.

Utah -7.5 @ Northwestern. Utah is the "road" team for the Vegas Bowl, but hopefully we wear reds, not whites. Total is about 41, so expected final is 24-17. Don't bet on your own team, but if you want to bet the Vegas Bowl, take the under. Two top-50 defenses and two sub-90 offenses are going to put points at a premium. FPI would have Utah 10.5 point favorites.

Next, the Pac-12.

#3 Texas -4.5 @ #2 UW. Washington gets shafted having to go to the Sugar Bowl instead of getting the Rose Bowl. I think part of the line bakes some of that in. Total is 64, so expected final is 34-30. I don't love this Washington team, they don't play defense, but I'm also not sure about Texas. The total is high, but both of these teams score and don't play much defense. I'd take the over. FPI would have Texas favored by about 6.
#18 Liberty +16 @ #8 Oregon. Total is 65, so expected final is 40-24. I'd take Oregon to cover. Liberty sucks and is evil, I think Oregon is going to be pissed and blow them out. FPI would have Oregon favored by 21.
#14 Arizona -4 @ #12 Oklahoma. The game is in the state of Texas, Oklahoma is ranked higher, but Arizona is favored by a field goal. I'd say take Arizona right now, although watch for people sitting out. Oklahoma is shaky, BYU almost beat them, and Arizona is solid. Total is 62, so expected final is 33-29. FPI would have Oklahoma favored by 11, so there might be some value on OU here.
#21 ORST +10.5 @ #15 Notre Dame. Yikes. Vegas isn't buying the Beavers without their head coach. I'd take Notre Dame, but 10 is a big number. Total only 46, so expected final is 33-23. FPI would have Notre Dame favored by only 6.5.
#16 Louisville -7.5 @ USC. USC hasn't played well, but Louisville also hasn't seen many offenses like USC's. If Williams was playing, I'd take USC to both cover and win, but he's sitting out, so we'll see if Riley can coach. I think USC covers, but who knows. FPI would have USC favored by 1.5, but without Williams who knows.
UCLA @ Boise. No line yet. I'll update when we get the line.
Cal @ Texas Tech. No line yet. I'll update when we get the line.

Now for the teams currently getting votes ahead of Utah. Utah's #28 right now, so I'll go up to 17. Liberty, Oregon State, and Louisville getting blown out would be good for Utah ending the year ranked.

#17 SMU -10.5 @ Boston College. SMU has looked pretty good this year, although they lost to a bad TCU team. Still, they're on a run of huge wins, I think they'll easily beat BC, although I probably wouldn't take them to cover 10. Total is 51, so expected final is 31-20. FPI would have SMU favored by like 18.
#19 NCSU +3.5 @ #29 KSU. KSU is right behind Utah in votes, so them winning probably jumps them over Utah. If KSU wins a nailbiter, Utah might stay ahead of them while NCSU falls out. Total is 47, so expected final is 25-22. FPI would have KSU favored by 12, so might be some value on KSU here.
#20 Iowa +7.5 @ #25 Tennessee. We want a blowout, so the loser falls below Utah. Total is only 36, so expected final is 22-14. FPI also has this line at about 8, so they agree with Vegas.
ATM -3.5 @ #22 OK ST. Total is 53, so expected final is 28-25. Again, ATM to win is good for us, as ATM is 7-5 so they won't be ranked with a win. FPI would have ATM favored by about 9.
VA Tech -7.5 @ #23 Tulane. Total is 46, so expected final is 27-19. I'm surprised 6-6 VA Tech is favored by more than a TD over a good Tulane team, but go Hokies. FPI would have VA Tech favored by 1, so Tulane might be the value pick here.
#24 JMU -3 @ Air Force. Total is 41, so expected final is 22-19. Air Force is hard to prepare for and JMU lost their head coach, so don't be surprised by AF taking this one. If I had to put money on it, AF would be my bet. FPI doesn't agree with me, they have JMU 6 points better than AF.

The Big 12:

Memphis +6.5 @ ISU. Total is 58, so expected final is 32-26. FPI agrees with Vegas here.
UNC +3.5 @ WVU. Total is 57, so expected final is 30-27. FPI likes UNC by 4 here, so might be some value on the Tarheels.
Kansas -12 @ UNLV. Total is 65, so expected final is 38-26. FPI roughly agrees with Vegas here, they'd favor Kansas by 10.
GA Tech +4.5 @ UCF. Total is 64, so expected final is 34-30. FPI would favor UCF by 6 here, so not too far off.

Also, the Aggies made a bowl game:

GA ST -2.5 @ USU. Total is 63, so expected final is 33-30. FPI would favor USU by 1, so might be some value on the Aggies here.

I’ve been told all communication is cut off with BYU.

Sounds like Utah will be by Vaki’s name when he’s drafted, but coming from multiple sources, it’s a big possibility that it’ll be the upcoming NFL Draft.

Stay tuned…