Jim Vanderhoof

Coach Smith needs to recruit athletes and develop them. That’s been Whitts mantra for years. We have nothing on the bench to develop. The era of tall slow big men and non athletic shooters is gone. The game has changed. The portal should have plenty to pick from. USU coach brought point guard and center with him from Montana State. Both all c…[Read more]

He brought the best point guard and center in the conference with him from Montana State.USU has lots of athletic players. Watching all the tournament games we would be the least athletic team in the tournament. Athletic guards that can break down the defense is a must. Smith was our only athletic player that handled the ball.

We need athletes!! Being tall and slow gets you a couple dunks and rim protection. The offenses that are being run in college bb spread the court and create mismatches. You have to guard on the perimeter and be able to switch the screens. On offense be able to drive and finish at the rim and a couple of shooters. BYU has the same problem and it…[Read more]

I’ve been saying for a couple years that the game has changed and with pick and you need to switch on defense. You need long athletic players than guard all positions. Height doesn’t matter if you can’t guard the perimeter.

Good posts everyone! I attended games in the Einar Nielson field house with my dad. I have seen the history of Utah basketball. MBB would pack the arena while football struggled to get half the stadium filled. Seems the success of the football program has had an effect on basketball. Seasons overlap and with a bowl game it’s usually late D…[Read more]

If the Utes can utilize their speedy running backs. Obviously Rising Kuithe healthy.

Thanks proud Ute. That was awesome. I remember every coach on the list. Nice little synopsis of each. Lovat era was the low point and I was there to witness first hand.

Not so simple answer “defense”. You have to play defense on the road. Create a few turnovers and get stops. A bad team scoring 90 points is inexcusable. Smith has not been able to figure out you need athletes to compete on defense. Poor defensive game plans make things worse. Things will only get worse next year unless we can get some good pla…[Read more]

I’m getting there Miami. I’ve had season tickets since the early 70s. Seriously considering not renewing. Retired on a fixed income. Coaches salaries and nil money is out of control and somebody has to foot the bill.

First free agency for players (portal) now no salary cap or restrictions (nil). Sounds like a plan for success. Next pay per view ( streaming to watch), nil fee for season ticket holders. Welcome to professional college football.

All valid points Miami. Not sure where this will end up. NIL ESPN Fox NBC streaming are all ruled by subscriptions and advertising dollars. Maybe the fans should boycott cable, streaming and products that advertise during games. We have the power but not the will power. Ultimately we pay the price. My season tickets and cable bill go up every…[Read more]

Good find Miami. Too much money involved to just turn the tap off. Loop holes or new laws always follow the money.

Nice original post Ute Dub. I’ve watched us go from the WAC- MWC -PAC 12- Big 12. It’s been an amazing ride. Being in the Pac 12 or Big 12 was a pipe dream at one time. A good friend of mine that I went to Utah football – basketball games with for years died the year before Urban Meyers came. If he came back to life he wouldn’t believe what the f…[Read more]

Rick I respect your opinion but disagree. Our offense was better (compared to not good) with JJ. Teams were playing 8 man fronts and he was playing with a high ankle sprain. Our smaller backs did nothing against teams with big DL and an extra tackler.

He would be much more effective this year with Rising and the threat of pass. Woods could be a…[Read more]

Good post goat. CR needs to only run when necessary. The Nix Penix comparables kept them on the field. If CR wants to get drafted he needs to show more arm strength throwing down field. The WR room needs to step up if we want a chance at the CFP.

2021 22 seasons were power running TE passes and Rising running for 1st downs. It was effective and…[Read more]

With the portal every year is different. Pac 12 was at its best this year but down the previous several years. Big 12 was down this year but came off a year they put a team in CFP and played for the title. It’s hard to argue about this year comparisons unless you count Texas.

You make some great valid points. I hope you’re right! I’m not quite…[Read more]

Our top two receivers under Rising
2021 Covey 514 Vele 389
2022 Vele 695 Parks 414
2023 Vele 593 Parks 293 (Barnes)
2023 Bo Nix top two receivers 1400 and 1200 in comparison.

My point being throw to the WRs downfield more. 20-30 yrd plays. That will open the short range for the TEs and backs. We don’t have a power back but several quick shifty b…[Read more]

With our current RB room we have nobody to replace JJ size and power. WR we picked up 2 but lost 2. Pittman is a wild card. Bridges would have been big addition.

I hope Whitt and Ludwig change offensive philosophy and spread the field. Our RB are small and quick. Get the ball to them in space. With a better TE room utilize their skills. Throw the…[Read more]

Man I like the optimism of this board. I’ve been a Ute fan way too long I guess. I thought last year might be our best team since 2005 and 2008. Losing our two safties a healthy JJ and Vele hurts. If everyone would have come back to get to the CFP I would be more confident.

After 10 plus years playing in the PAC 12 you become familiar with o…[Read more]

Looks like 0-4 Houston 2-2 TcU 0-2 Texas 0-2 Texas tech. We won’t be playing Rice or UTEP to get easy wins. Just saying those wins on the road are not easy. Not saying we can’t get them. We could easily lose a couple toad games. Luckily we will be hard to beat at home. Big 12 teams will struggle first time playing us at home.