With just 9 days left until kickoff, today's countdown brings us to single digits and recent transfer running back Tavion Thomas. The 6-foot-2 sophomore from Dayton, OH found his way to Salt Lake City via Independence CC after a two-year stint at Cincinnati. Thomas played in four games last season, rushing for 347 yards on 50 carries with five touchdowns. During his two years at Cincinnati, he played in 10 games as a freshman, tallying up 89 carries for 499 yards and six touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2019, he played in four games with 40 carries for 190 yards and a touchdown on the season before transferring to Independence.

UteNation take

At 6-foot-2 and currently around 230 pounds according to Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, Tavion is the biggest back on the roster. As the Utes search for this year's feature back in wake of Ty Jordan's tragedy, a host of transfers in Thomas, Chris Curry (LSU), and TJ Pledger (Oklahoma) join Micah Bernard as contenders for carries this fall. Thomas is creating some buzz in fall camp as one of the most talked about players, but will still need to work hard to fend off the other three backs. Regardless of who starts, the cupboard appears full of good options for Kiel McDonald.

For Thomas, the key for taking the lead back role will be consistency. Throughout camp, he’ll dazzle on numerous plays and then look lost on another. When the consistency comes, Utah will have a tantalizing talent.

Sean remembers Thomas' recruitment

Prior to Utah, Thomas was a 5.8 rated 4-star recruit by Rivals, ultimately picking the local school, Cincinnati, back in February of 2018. Originally an Oklahoma commit right up until the end, Thomas had a long list of suitors, holding offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Iowa State, LSU, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pitt, Purdue, Texas, USC, Wisconsin, and a few others. The reason for his change in commitment had to do with qualifying at Oklahoma. Instead of taking a redshirt after four games into his sophomore season and starting fresh the following year, Thomas entered the transfer portal and landed at Independence.