On the defensive side of the ball with six days remaining, it’s time to focus on a guy who is bound to be a breakout freshman, no. 6 Cole Bishop.

Bishop arrived for spring ball and immediately made a name for himself. The program, including Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, continuously refers to him as Nate Richie 2.0. After a strong showing as a freshman in 2020, Richie decided to delay his eligibility for an LDS mission.

From spring and deep into fall camp, the anticipation was that Bishop would be the starter at strong safety, but Whittingham delivered a surprise during one of his interviews, announcing that Washington transfer Brandon McKinney had initially won the role.

UteNation take

Bishop loves to hit and plays bigger than he looks. The 6-foot-2 and 205 pounder has a high football IQ and also does well in his backpedal into cover.

While he may not be the initial starter for the Weber State game, he’ll still see significant time. McKinney very well could be a late-bloomer and have a strong senior season, but it could also be likely that Bishop still needs to refine a couple things before Whittingham wants to unleash him as a mainstay on the Utes defense.

Alex remembers Bishops recruitment

A three-star safety rated a 5.6 and no. 61 overall at the position, Bishop held 16 offers with 10 being from P5 programs. He was committed to Duke for seven months before making the switch to the Utes.

After his commitment to the Blue Devils, Utah never backed off. The Utes NFL history at safety, they overall defensive success and they’re business program were enough to convince him to head west.