My favorite Utah football players through the decades

[ProudUte]

1960s – Roy Jefferson and Norm Thompson

1970s – Steve Odom and Steve Marshall

1980s – Steve Clark and Scott Mitchell

1990s – Luther Ellis and Jamal Anderson

2000s – Alex Smith and Eric Weddle

2010s – Chase Hansen and Tyler Huntley

2020s – Ty Jordan and Devin Lloyd

Overall has to be Weddle!!!

[Tony (admin)]

Great list.  There are so many to choose from. 

[utefansince79]

Just for the class he showed when heartedly congratulating Beck after the breathtaking last second loss in 2006 and taking a knee against Tulsa to pass up a probable pick six on the last play of his college career makes Eric Weddle my favorite Ute ever. 

 

 

 

[Warrior Ute]

Another class act I’ll always remember is Troy Williams.  He showed class after losing the starting position.  Then as his last act in college football he takes off his shoe to let the walk on, Lisk, take a snap. 

[Utebeam]

Probably one of the most selfless things I’ve seen on the field.

[MauchDawgUte]

No Steve Smith?

[Central Coast Ute]

Luther Ellis and Jamal Anderson aren’t bad picks though.

[Rick]

Stevon was a JC transfer and a lot of fans had a love/hate thing for him while he was here.  He made some amazing plays and then would do some really dumb things too.  You could see his brilliance but then he would do something stupid or commit a penalty or run backwards.  It was similar to Shaky Smithson sometimes.  But when Steve was on, it was something special for sure. 

For me, the 90’s were Luther for sure and then probably Mike McCoy.  Jamal was good but really didn’t blossom until he got into the NFL.  I remember yelling “give the ball to Jamal!” to McBride from the bleachers many times.   He was often underutilized while at Utah.    

[Johnny]

Luther Ellis was someone who moved Utah defense meter to a completely different level. I think Kyle was his coach in 1994.

His dad was a mean defensive coordinator. Back in the day I used to ride my bike over to watch practices. Kyle’s dad was a very direct communicator with very good advice to help young men get to the NFL.

I vividly remember him screaming at guys and a little more. But, coaching was different back then. 

[Central Coast Ute]

I heard McBride say that after they landed Ellis, that’s when he knew they were turning things around and they’ll be able to make some noise.

[ALUF]

Ones not listed on yours that I like

2000s- smithson and Sean smith
2010s- Marcus Williams and joe Williams
2020s- cp3 and covey

[Johnny]

Yeah, Covey needs to be in there. Probably a Utah Hall of Fame captain material. 

Marcus Williams I met when he was a freshman. Oh my, how much he showed he was ready.

[Central Coast Ute]

I’m pretty much right there with you although in the 2010’s I’d go with Marquis Blair. I know he had a lot of targeting calls but I loved his style of play.

[Rick]

Eric Rowe is another one that deserves some recognition.  i still maintain that he was one of the greatest defensive backs we have ever had a Utah.  He was stellar at every position he was asked to play since he was a true freshman.  Very quiet solid player and he has had a great pro career as well.  Plus he plays for my beloved Dolphins which makes him extra special! 

[Johnny]

I was in Miami last month. Miami fans are geeks. They definitely love Rowe, and they definitely love the Utes.

[CincyUte]

2010s – John “the Wolfman” While IV

So many to choose from.

[MDUte]

Gotta add the all-time leading rusher in Utah football history….Zack Moss!

[Central Coast Ute]

Can’t leave out Moss. Watching him break records was a ton of fun. Also, I was at the UCLA game where Joe Williams set a school and stadium record for a game in rushing yards. That was a lot of fun to watch.

[Johnny]

Fantastic list. If only 2 per decade, I’d need therapy sessions after pondering this.

[ProudUte]

Yes, there are many great players to choose from.  Hard to keep Moss, Blackmon, or JJ off the list, but I really like Huntley and Hansen.  My list was not supposed to be a list of the best players, just the ones I liked best.

[Johnny]

That 1994 defense, Kareem Leery, Ernest Boyd, Bronzel Miller, Harold Lusk and many others I’m forgetting off the top of my head. They were long and freaky. Like this current defense.

[Ute95]

My favorite of the 1980s (maybe all-time) is easily Erroll Tucker. The season he had in ’85 was incredible. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget Eddie Johnson. Over 1,000 yards his freshman year in ’84 . . . not too shabby. 

[Johnny]

I want to hear more about the 80s. Before my time, I didn’t come to the U until 1992, when everyone said we sucked. After my stint at FSU(Florida State), I saw with my own eyes Coach Mac had a badass defense and great running backs. Along with people like the Dyson family who need to be included.

[Ute95]

’81 was a pretty good year under Wayne Howard. The Utes went 8-2-1. I remember the talk before Utah went back to Evenston to play Northwestern that the Wildcats were going to break their long losing steak (not sure how many games it was). The Utes ended up beating them 42 – 0. 

’82 – ’84 were pretty blah under Chuck Stobart.

In ’85 the Utes started out at 5 – 0. There was even a little excitement when the Utes got one vote in either the AP or UPI poll (there was speculation that it was Lavell Edwards that voted for the Utes). The end of the Arizona State game was fun with a couple of late scores by the Utes only to come up short at 34 – 27. I was at the New Mexico game in a snow storm when the Utes won 58 – 49. Erroll Tucker took at least one punt/kickoff/interception back for a touchdown (couldn’t find a box score). There was so much excitement in the stadium when Erroll was about the get the ball. The BYU game was very disapponting. Tucker took a kickoff back for a score and even “scored” again on a punt/kickoff only to be called back for a block in the back. It was pretty close @ 38 – 28. Btw . . . Tucker broke some NCAA single season record for touchdowns that year via punts/kickoffs/interceptions and, also, Larry Eggar was a darn good qb imo.

’86 – ’89: Not all that good (The ’88 BYU game, however, was epoch)

 

 

[Ute95]

*Correction: Egger

[Johnny]

Wow, nice!!!!

[Ute95]

1970s: Jeff Griffin and Randy Gomez were late in the decade, however, that is when I just started to become aware of Utah footall.

 

[PhiladelphiaUte]

My favorite was Chris Fuamatu Ma’afala.  Does he have any kids who are about ready to play college football?

[Johnny]

1995 against Air force. He was huge. So was Cal Beck. And Dyson. Using Ma’afala on the “Duck” play or the picket fence was sick.

My brother(who lives in Oregon), slapped high fives with cops scrambling out of the stadium missing in action only to find, Air Force still had a chance. 

I would bet my brother would consider that 1995 Air Force game his favorite because his dumbass was wearing a green coat. 

I think the Utes won 22-21. They were down 7-21 two minutes earlier. 

[Heike]

Anyone here remember Mapu Manutai? He was a bright spot in the otherwise dismal mid-70s. A defensive standout, he would come up with a QB sack once in awhile in the middle of games in which the Utes were getting pummeled.

[Author]

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