Don’t want to get ahead of my skis, but…

[Holladay Ute]

I’m cautiously optimistic about where we’re headed.

In terms of recruiting, our overall rank is currently #38 on 247 (a few spots higher if you go by average rating). Historically, we’ve been in the #30-40 range and done very well w/ that kind of talent. We did miss out on getting a marquee guy like we’ve had in so many past recruiting classes (Myles or Dunn would’ve given us that and put this class about where we’re used to being). In a down year like we’ve had though (really, a couple of down years), it makes sense that we didn’t quite get there w/ one of those marquee guys. Still, I think we should all be encouraged by what we saw from today. We’re technically #5 in the Big 12, but #3 if you go by average rating (this always seems to be the case for Utah). Demonstrates that we perhaps haven’t lost much ground from all the progress we’ve made over the past 10+ years. And, hey, we’re still meaningfully higher than BYU!

A lot will change depending on how the transfer portal goes for us and we obviously have a lot of very critical needs (QB, RB, etc.). But at this point in time, it feels like the program is trending in the right direction (considering the circumstances). Otherwise, I would’ve thought that A) our recruiting class would’ve seen a meaningfully worse step back and B) we would’ve seen an exodus of talent transfer out of the program. We were all worried about those two things for much of the last half of this past season.

From what I’ve been able to see (on social media), it looks like a lot of the promising players from last year have already announced they’re staying (e.g. Spencer Fano, Smith Snowden, Cam Calhoun)?

We should have a good defense w/ a number of young solid/strong contributors returning (Tanuvasa, Logan Fano, Calhoun, Tao Johnson, Hall, Snowden, etc.). D line should be good. Secondary should be good.

Linebacker is the area that feels very iffy. Maybe another year will help Lander Barton get closer to the player he was pre-injury? I remember Cody Barton was a frustrating player to watch for a couple years before breaking out. And I heard that it’s possible Levani Damuni could return w/ a medical redshirt.

Plus our 2023 recruiting class (which was, on paper, our best year ever) will start to mature some. Most of those guys are still on the roster. And we get the missionaries from that class back (Clegg, Fonoimoana, etc.).

I am a little nervous b/c it did feel like we really missed Karene Reid when he was out.

Anyway, I’m confident our D will be good like it always is. And that should at least keep most of the games close. I think we were better than a 5-7 team this year. All the losses were close and we had a chance to win all of them in the 4th quarter (even Colorado, though they were clearly the better team). If you play in that many close games, it feels like the odds are that you’d win 1-2 more than the Utes did.

And on the offensive side of the ball, it really can’t get much worse than it was. That was arguably the worst Utah offense we’ve seen under Whittingham (a lot of it having to do w/ the QB situation).

We’ve been pretty good in the transfer portal in recent years. We can sell players on A) playing time in a P4 conference that’s pretty open in terms of contention and at what has consistently been a nationally relevant program and B) at least some NIL money (now that we’re no longer paying Cam and Kuithe so much).

I won’t form much of an opinion on our new OC (whoever that is) until I see an actual game against a P4 opponent, but I’m hopeful whoever that is will be better than what we had this year. If it’s Leftwich, the noteworthy results are putting up 42 points in a win @ Baylor last year (a lot more points than we scored @ Baylor) and 28 points in a close loss at home against ASU this year (again, more points than we scored against ASU).

Let’s see how the transfer portal goes, but they must be telling a pretty good story or else I would’ve thought things would be much worse since the end of the season. I would assume they already know the coaching situation and are telling all the players/recruits.

And if you’re still feeling pessimistic, it could be worse. Look at our peer, OK State. OK State is probably one of the most comparable programs to Utah over the last decade (the Utah of the Big 12). Consistently good, consistently bowl eligible, played in and won some prestigious bowl games, similar recruiting position (#30-40), etc. And yet their recruiting class has taken a material step down over the last couple of years. Their team checked out of this season early. Our team could’ve done the same thing, but didn’t. They just fired both their coordinators. I think it’s fair to say they have less talent returning than we do. Anyway, it could be a lot worse for us. I think we can be cautiously optimistic.

[EagleMountainUte]

Incredible breakdown and good read thanks!
I will be sacrificing to all the gods Utah can get over this injury curse and the upcoming three years propels Utah to being dominant once again!

[jshame17]

Good thoughts and I think you’re right here, however, I think we see the same issue at QB.

Again, we will enter the transfer portal with a possibility of Cam returning again (🤢) and a highly recruited sophomore that is the perceived starter (and a good chunk of NIL?).

Without knowing exactly who the new OC is and what offense he runs, I think portal conversations with QBs will be tough again since they move fast and we need to be having those “conversations” now.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

The pieces are still there to have a good defense. Offense needs a new direction to keep our best players. The team never quit and hopefully some of the younger guys will step up and get things back on track. Competitors want to stay and fight.

[lgt4141]

Thanks for bringing us back down to earth. I think we will all be feeling different at the end of next season.

[Author]

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