With 71 days until kickoff for the University of Utah, today we discuss two-year starting offensive guard, Braeden Daniels, who has been a mainstay on a deep offensive line.

The 6-foot-4 and 310 sophomore from Carrollton, Texas has started 15 games at left guard and played in a total of 21. He’ll be a part of a rotation with 6-foot-4 and 313 pound redshirt-freshman Keaton Bills, who had also received rave reviews from head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive line coach Jim Harding.

In his two seasons, Daniels has plowed the way for two gifted running backs, current Buffalo Bill and former Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Zack Moss, as well as the late Ty Jordan who received Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American honors.

While those two were talented, the efforts of Daniels and his fellow offensive line can’t go unnoticed. Now faced with the tragic passing of Jordan and a revamped running back room, Daniels and the offensive line will need to step up even more to make life easier for the running backs.

UteNation take

It’s weird to say this, but as a two-year starter, Daniels’ starting spot might not be safe the whole season. This isn’t a slam on him, it’s a compliment to the depth of the group. Bills is short on experience, but the program has been high on his tantalizing talent.

While Daniels is a solid and reliable contributor—especially in the run game—he needs to reduce his penalties. If he can do that and also improve on his pass protection, Daniels will create separation in the competition between him and Bills.

With another year in the system and more stability after a reduced season that also saw the offensive line hit hard by the Covid protocols, UteNation expects Daniels to reduce those penalties and also make it more difficult for Harding to take him off the field. Even if Bills does overtake him at one point, that’s a great problem to have and not necessarily an indictment on Daniels.

Alex remembers Daniels’ recruitment

A long-time Illinois commit, Daniels remained a top Utah target throughout the 2018 recruiting process. That persistence would pay off just weeks before signing day, as Utah’s chances looked better and better even with his initial commitment. Daniels eventually became a silent commit to the Utes in the waning weeks and announced his decision to flip, just before he signed his NLI. Overall, the Utes beat out schools from the Pac-12, Big 10, and Big 12 for the talented lineman that came to Salt Lake City ready to perform, right away.