Holladay Ute

I’m directionally in the same camp, but probably a little more pessimistic generally.

I initially would’ve said B+ for Beck (given he was the third choice), but maybe it is an A- now that A) we got Dampier and B) it looks like Whitt isn’t going to micromanage as much as feared.

I’m meh on Detmer (so a C), mainly b/c I don’t know much about him…[Read more]

I wonder why they haven’t fixed this. It feels like it’s been bad for years now. On top of what you mentioned…

FG kicking has been spotty (unreliable) and it’s a miracle if we gain positive yards on a punt return. It’s been a dumpster fire. I think the only positive thing is that our punting has been good…but haven’t we had one or two…[Read more]

Agree w/ this. Utah has limited resources and we just have to trust that the program allocates them in the best way possible for the team. Would love to have Calhoun back if it works out.

Hopefully, the coaches are smarter in how they allocate NIL going forward. I still don’t fault them for bringing Cam back b/c we’d be in the playoff if he…[Read more]

I’d take him back in a heartbeat. He showed a lot of upside. He seems to have better odds than anybody else we’ve had of becoming that lockdown CB we’ve lacked over the past two years.

I’m guessing that he had a good NIL package from Utah until right before the transfer portal opened and then somebody offered him meaningfully more. Maybe we…[Read more]

For us to contend for the B12 championship (and given a typical Utah team that has a good run game + defense), we probably need at least 2,400 passing yards (200 yards per game)?

It’d be rare for a freshman to provide any meaningful production / a consistent role on the offense. The only ones I can think of have been slot receivers (Covey,…[Read more]

Whitt himself said that the top 25 ranked teams will increasingly look like the top 25 NIL teams.

That said, I do think there’s a balance. We’ve seen a lot of bad teams w/ a ton of talent. NIL will be the #1 factor, but coaching, development (helping players prepare for the NFL), culture, etc. are still important too.

I agree w/ what you said.…[Read more]

I’m confused by the 247 RB rankings. They have Eli Sanders at #10 and Jaylon Glover at #11. Is Sanders undervalued or is Glover overvalued? I sure hope it’s the latter (or we might be in trouble)!

Anyway, we need the Washington State RB. According to On3, he’s visiting Arizona, Utah, UCLA, and USC. I feel pretty good about our odds based on…[Read more]

I’d be surprised if Bronco didn’t want to keep Beck. They had a very successful offense and Bronco didn’t change conferences. So if it worked at UNM, it’s highly probably that it would’ve worked at USU too. They mostly lost games b/c of their defense. And, who could Bronco have gotten at USU that’s better than Beck? Beck was the best that…[Read more]

BYU took some of our favorite guys too. Jay Hill (the biggest reason BYU took such a big step forward this last year). Kalani Sitake (coached at Utah for > 2x as long as he played at BYU). Aaron Roderick wasn’t our favorite though haha.

Fair points. I wasn’t saying they’re inherently lower quality coaches just b/c they were Cougars. Obviously, I just want Utah to take the best possible coach that’s available. I’m just saying that, all things being equal, I’d prefer a coach that wasn’t a Cougar. I don’t want to listen to all my BYU friends take jabs and say, “Guess where all…[Read more]

Happy about the RB update. Love Ganther, but it just felt like that room was on a downward trajectory under his watch. Atuaia seems like a great fit. Unfortunately, he’s a Cougar. And his Twitter farewell to WSU was kind of strange. Sounds like he had some beef w/ the WSU fans.

Not sure what to think of the WR update. I wouldn’t call Alvis…[Read more]

It’s tough. Part of me wants to protest college sports and boycott everything until they fix it, but the only team I would be hurting is the Utes. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. My solution for now is to only watch Utah Athletics and nothing else.

I thought this was kind stupid when I first heard about it, but dare I say I am also now honestly wondering if I really want to support the Jazz or the Utah Hockey Club to the extent that I have historically. The Jazz suck and the halfway rebuild has been frustrating. This is just another reason to at least take a breather for a few years. The…[Read more]

Man, so disappointing. All the stuff the guy tweeted over the past 1-2 weeks, it feels like a stab in the back. I’m trying to remember that all of these players are just 20 years old, but that’s just another reason why this system is so jacked up. Not only is there no salary cap, no contracts, and no draft…but we’re dealing w/ employees that…[Read more]

I’m not a troll. I’m a diehard Ute that’s been a season ticket holder for 15 years (for basketball and football). I’m also an active member of the church. I genuinely don’t understand what you’re saying.

If he wasn’t getting paid, he obviously wouldn’t be going there. I don’t think that means the church values winning more than its principles though.

Clark Gilbert didn’t say the university wouldn’t allow pay for play. They obviously had a bunch of NIL deals in place for years before he even made that comment. Per the above, he said that it…[Read more]

I don’t understand your example. What do you mean by standing in the church?

If you’re going to argue that they could/should enforce it, it’s definitely on you to provide an example of how they could do that legally.

I’ve read everything you wrote, but I can’t tell if your issue is w/ NIL in general or if you’re just discriminating against religious institutions. Based on everything you wrote, it sounds like both.

This is way painful. Especially considering how he led us on (the fans, the team, etc.). Hopefully college sports changes something sooner rather than later. It’s pro sports but w/out salary caps, contracts, or a draft. Hard enough for small markets to compete in pro sports w/ those things in place.