Next year’s team

[chinngiskhaan]

I know we lose a bunch of guys, and a lot of people are saying that next year will be the year we lose to BYU… but I honestly see a team that will still compete for the Pac12 south.

Oddly enough I think Huntley and Moss (their production at least) will be replaced without too much difficulty. I think Rising is more than capable of putting up similar numbers to Huntley’s, especially with what will almost certainly be a VERY good offensive line. Obviously we won’t have any one running back performing like Moss, but with guys like Willmore, Brumfield, Green (and so on) we should have plenty of production there as well.

We also have virtually all of our receiving talent returning (except Simpkins who makes almost as many mistakes as good plays). The combination of Thompson, Kuithe, Covey, and the others should be one of the best groups of receivers we have ever had.

I firmly believe that the improvement of the offense this year has had much more to do with Andy than most people realize (and most people think he’s had quite the impact). As long as he sticks around, our offense will be able to dominate time of possession, and give our defense time to rest on the sidelines (which has been the key to the defense being elite this year as opposed to just very good in previous years).

The defense: We are losing a bunch of dudes on defense, but this is a KW team, our defense will be fine. Our defensive line will reload. Our secondary is what I am worried about because I don’t know who is going to replace what we are losing. I know Hubert is going to be good for us, but who is going to play cornerback? Isn’t pretty much every contributor at that position graduating? I see that as what will be the weakness of the team. They will have their growing pains, but a solid defensive line will help cover their inexperience.

Overall, I see us having 3 or 4 losses next year. Not a great year, but pretty darn good for what some people see as a massive rebuilding year.

[alUmnUs]

Hopefully next year we have some fans with some stronger backbones. Utah’s not opening the 2020 season with a L.

[PhiladelphiaUte]

Most of the people I’ve seen predicting a loss to the tdS in 2020…….are the zoobs!  But don’t they predict a Utah loss before EVERY season?  

Rising won’t “replace” Huntley, as he’s not as mobile.  But he WILL be more than capable of the role.  I see him more of a “Justin Herbert” type guy.  But is that really so bad?  Ludwig has proven to be MORE than capable of tutoring our QBs.

Wilmore is about the same size, speed, and ability of Zach Moss back when Moss was a true Freshman, so given some more time in the program, he’ll fill in well, and provide a solid one-two punch with Brumfield.  And where it comes to required speed around the edges, there’s no RB on the team better than Green.

So yeah, I agree with you.  We’ll compete for the South division in 2020 — just so long as we don’t lose either of our Coordinators to other teams.

Getting a decent Kicker would be a huge bonus as well.

GO UTES!!!

[chinngiskhaan]

I gotta disagree on the kicker part of your post. I don’t know why everyone here is so worried about our kicking game. He doesn’t have a huge leg, but he’s done everything we have asked of him since the loss to USC. He is a freshman. I think he is going to be a very good kicker for us.

[Utah5410]

Very worried about our corner situation. Other than Guidry, there isn’t much there.

[Yergensen]

We emphasized secondary in last year’s class and picked up a couple of DB’s, Broughton and LCP, that should play and possibly start next year given their measurables (Broughton – speed, LCP – length).  Also, won’t Guidry be back?  Don’t know about DB depth, but we’re recruiting DB again this year.  We’ll be young, and inexperienced outside of slot, but we’ve been successful recently with a young secondary.  

One overlooked player continues to be DHC, in my opinion the best returning running back we’ll have (based on this year’s performance).

[crazyute]

Don’t forget about Bronson Boyd and Malone Mataele

[Atlas]

I think an underrated component of this year’s success has been the attitude, leadership, and the development of a winning culture by these outgoing seniors. Utah defenses have always had that but now the offense has finally caught on. If next year’s team can carry that forward, we will be more than fine.

I think Rising is our QB going forward and with guys like Wilmore, Green, Brumfield, Covey, Kuithe, and others, the offense will continue to be potent with Ludwig at the helm.

[AlohaUte]

I don’t know that I’ve heard any Ute fan predict that Utah will lose to BYU next season, as much as, if it is going to happen, next year is the most likely. If they don’t get it next year, it could be a while.

[Yergensen]

Has anyone looked at the DE depth chart?  Surprisingly shallow.  Restocking with Fillinger and Carlton would not only be a luxury, but fill a need.  They could both play right away.

[chinngiskhaan]

Good point, but we do have two guys that will be solid starters in Tafua and Tupai.

[Central Coast Ute]

Yes but Tupai will be a senior next year and the young guys will definitely see rotation time.

[Yergensen]

We have a 5* kicker from Texas, for what it’s worth, in this year’s class.

[mfaulk80]

Mission kid, I believe. 

[ayoriver]

Who would that be?

[Tacoma Ute]

I don’t think we’ll be as good as this year. We’re not gonna slip so far that we lose a home game to EPCC though.

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