Countdown to Kickoff: No. 17 Devaughn Vele

With 17 days left until kickoff, it’s time to talk about no. 17, Devaughn Vele. The 6-foot-4 205 pound playmaker has opened a lot of eyes ever since he arrived on campus as a walkon—which came after a two year LDS mission. Although he started as a walkon, he earned a scholarship within his first year. Unfortunately, untimely injuries have kept Ute fans from seeing the jaw-dropping plays that the program and media have witnessed over the last two years in practice.

Vele did however give everyone a sneak-peak in the 2021 spring game, in which he led all receivers with some of the best receptions of the scrimmage. Those plays included a deep ball from Charlie Brewer in which Vele stretched out for a diving catch. There was also his touchdown in which he out-jumped everyone, tipped the ball and maintained his body control, before catching it and being leveled at the same time.

Will he be the team's big play threat and lead all receivers in yardage? That’s to be determined. Will he be an extremely reliable target when the Utes need a play to move the chains or put points on the board? Unquestionably. It’s okay for the fans to have high expectations of Vele, those expectations have been quietly in the program the last two years.

UteNation take

Vele seemingly came out of nowhere when he first arrived on campus, and made waves almost immediately. Though he's not a burner, Vele shows the ability to use his size and good route running to create separation. He also has proven to have some of the best hands on the team. With his huge catch radius, Vele’s more than just the prototypical red zone threat. He’s a weapon on short intermediate and deep routes. Still, the scariest situation for an opponent to be in is having to defend him in the red zone. They’ll likely find that out fast, as the season gets underway.

Alex remembers Vele's recruitment

This was a unique situation. Vele wasn't really on anybody's radar for a scholarship prior to his mission. Upon returning, he went on an unofficial visit to Utah and asked the staff when he could come to walk-on tryouts. Utah already knew about him and didn’t hesitate by telling him there was no need for a tryout, they had already seen enough from his high school film. It's rare that you see a walkon make an impact so early on, especially at receiver, but Vele is definitely one to keep an eye on. He could turn out to be a steal.