One player I’m hopeful will take huge steps next season
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- This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 6 months ago by Utesbyfive.
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Ghost of the HEBParticipant
Devin Lloyd
Chase Hansen, Cody Barton, and Francis Bernard were all players that seemed highly unlikely to make major impacts at the LB position at some point in their careers.
Chase was a QB converted to safety that seemed undersized to play LB in major CFB.
Cody was a no-star from Cottonwood heights that had underperformed as an underclassman.
Francis was a BYU honor code casualty and had major physical and academic hurdles to jump through when he arrived at Utah.All three of these guys turned into all-pac12 type LB’s and have received NFL opportunities. Lloyd is arguably more physically gifted than all three of them. With his increased experience and confidence, I see no reason why he won’t make a big jump like other recent Utah LB’s have.
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PhiladelphiaUteParticipant
Cody Barton was a mid-range 3-star LB: https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2015/cody-barton-10833
Not a “no-star” guy.
As for Lloyd, he was already our leading tackler amongst all LBs, so yeah, he’ll do well when next suiting up.
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Ghost of the HEBParticipant
What I meant was “no other offers” kinda guy
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leftyjaceParticipant
No other offers because he accepted the Utah offer on the spot…
If he’d played the game he would likely have gotten other offers.
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chinngiskhaanParticipant
Yeah… He’s an exciting player to think about. I’m so glad that the Penn St. guy didn’t work out, otherwise lloyd would not have done what he did this year. Lloyd is exciting because he has a GREAT physical frame, he was really good in his first season of full time action last year, and he still has TONS of room to grow.
That being said, he only needs to make a relatively small jump to become one of the best linebackers we’ve ever had. He could essentially be Gioni Paul in an elite NFL linebacker’s body. He has the speed to cover receivers, the tenacity to plug holes in the run game, the technique to tackle anyone coming his way… I’m really REALLY excited to see what he does for us over the next year or two.
I am honestly more exited about this coming season than I was about last season. We knew what to expect out of last year’s group, now we’ll have almost an entirely new team to cheer for. I can’t wait to see who steps up!
I’m most excited to see what happens with or passing game now that Tyler has moved on. I loved his attitude, and his determination, but I feel there were some glaring flaws in his game. One of the things that annoyed me most about him was that he consistently turned to the worst wide receiver on the field when he was in trouble simply because they are best buddies and have been forever. Tyler is gone, Simpkins is gone, and we can (hopefully) finally see what guys like Enis, Nacua, Thompson, and Dixon can do when they are targeted consistently.
I’m also excited to see what happens with the offensive line. Their inability to stay in front of smaller, quicker players directly contributed to Tyler’s struggles in his bad games. This is a make or break year for Harding. If we can’t protect the QB better this coming year, he needs to be fired.
I’m excited to see new guys step up on the defensive line as well. We have a TON of talent there, even more than usual. I can’t wait to see who steps up for us there.
I am also excited to see what a combination of Kuithe and Covey can accomplish. They are both so versatile yet so different. I think it is going to be very difficult for teams to gameplan to hold both of those guys in check. It could be fly sweeps galore and I can’t wait to see how it works out! Also, if you were to line those two up next to each other, I don’t see how one of the two doesn’t end up open pretty much every play.
There are a ton of other things I am excited about, but those are the big ones.
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bopahullParticipant
I’m excited to see if we have a season and what form it will take and when.
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rbmw263Participant
semisi lauaki
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UtesbyfiveParticipant
I’m hoping for Jordan Wilmore to take great long strides. 🙂
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