We just don’t have that running back to compliment K-Whitt’s defense.

[Ute Dub]

The QB job is extra hard this year as Utah doesn’t have a good running back that punishes defenses like we’re used to the past 10+ years. JJ running the ball at 70% for 10 carries a game just doesn’t help shoulder the load and he certainly isn’t punishing the defenders. Consider Cam Rising had Tavion Thomas and Micah Bernard in the backfield compared to JJ’s most recent game carries of 10, 10, 13, and 12. Don’t get me wrong, JJ is a fantastic athlete, but at 70% on 10 carries just isn’t enough.

I get it, we can sh++ on the QBs and coaches as bad QB recruiters, etc., but if we had Z Moss or D Booker, it would make the QB job a lot easier. It would also help the defense a lot too.

[SalUteopia]

Agreed. I was just thinking about Moss when they showed Martinez’s YAC record. Whitt’s philosophy requires a proper threat at RB for our O to work. Bernard’s loss also made a huge difference.

[The Miami Ute]

Whatever happened to Bernard? Probably the strangest season ending injury out of the group.

[Ute Dub]

I think he broke his face in a scooter accident. I blame the RAM truck NIL guy being slow to deliver him suitable transportation. Haha.

[The Miami Ute]

I thought so too, but then I saw him on the sidelines a couple of weeks after his “injury” and he seemed completely normal. I would have thought he’d have bandages or swelling or discoloration in his face but he looked healthy and fit. Just another footnote in this head scratching season.

[Dog luuver26]

I assumed head injury, just because he always seems to have a hat on the sideline. Figured it was covering whatever happened

[SalUteopia]

Speaking of strange injuries, remember Moss’ knee injury caused by climbing into the bed?

[Ute Dub]

I agree with your agree. Watching Martinez put his shoulder down into the defender almost propels himself upright and forward with his momentum makes me so jealous.

[SalUteopia]

Would’ve loved to have Martinez at Utah! And while at that, maybe we should also get OSU’s OL.

[Ute Dub]

That right tackle for Oregon State, Fuaga, he’s a beast! 6’6′ and 340, he’s a road grader.

[Hellhound152]

Had Bernard been available JJ likely could have been brought along slowly and had a chance to heal up. I still believe JJ is the guy (1250 yards) but when he would inevitably get re-injured the change in the O was noticeable. Opposing Defenses could smell the blood in the water.

[Ute Dub]

627 yards rushing this year.

[The Miami Ute]

Yeah, he doesn’t even have 1250 yards rushing for his career. Maybe the OP meant to say that Utah needs JJ to gain at least 1250 yards a year for the system to work as intended.

[Hellhound152]

I believe he is a 1200+ yard back if healthy. If you mix in a couple more 400+ guys you are really onto something.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

We really need a couple of backs that are reliable. As good as Moss and Booker were both of them were run into the ground and in November games they were playing hurt. Just think if how different this season could have been if we had Bernard in the mix at RB.

[UtahMan17]

Martinez is definitely a miss by the staff. He’s from a big school in the Dallas area and had absolutely massive junior and senior seasons, so they 100% knew about him and watched him. Lightly recruited the whole way through. They ended up with Jaylon Glover that year, he’s good too, but definitely a miss to not even recognize that Martinez was going to be a beast at the next level and recruit him. We had just come off Zack Moss and Ty Jordan at that point, surely would’ve been an interesting offer to him. Inexplicable he barely got any offers. Coach McDonald never really valued bigger backs for some reason.

[The Miami Ute]

Appreciate the insights. I always wondered how Martinez slipped through the cracks. I guess stuff like that happens and it’s probably more often than we think.

[2008 National Champ]

I forget the actual numbers but I believe somewhere around 5% of high school football players go on to play D1 football and 5% of those go on to the pros. When you limit it just to P5 schools, you get closer to 1% in each metric. There’s just no way that any staff can be fully educated on more than half a million kids in any given year.

So many times we hear stories about a coach going to watch one kid and someone who wasn’t even on their radar had a great game and they started looking into it further. Add in the kids who are playing “out of position” at their high school just because they are the best athlete on their team as well as the differing timelines for when kids mature.

[The Miami Ute]

Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers both are one of those guys. Hard to believe that neither was recruited out of high school and had to go the JUCO route to play D1 football.

[Charlie]

I agree. Recruiting results are high beta and hard to predict. If it was better science Georgia and Alabama would wonder how other schools get All Americans. As athletes move to college many blow away expectations while others fail related to expectations. The key is to get lucky more often than unlucky and have a development plan that helps several more out perform expectations. We started the year with 4 RBs that were expected to provide a 1,2 punch but ended with 1 and a half without competition. Curry was a top 10 RB coming out of HS but seems to be slowed by injuries. Bernard is a stud that was not available this year.

Going forward it will be interesting to see who stays for next year and see what develops from Stanley and Randle who both started the year at 175 pounds. Currently, Utah has targeted a couple of athletes that may become RBs but I expect it may be the portal that will provide any addition to 2024 RB snaps.

[Author]

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