The time is nearly upon us. Pac-12 media day is in the rearview mirror, we’re less than a week out from the beginning of Camp Kyle 2019, and game one is five weeks from today. Utah was able to largely answer the questions facing its roster in spring camp, as two new reliable starters at safety emerged, and Manny Bowen transitioned to a new defense seamlessly, giving the Utes another quality pair of starting linebackers for the 2019 season. Yes, there are still some issues that need to be figured out, like who will take the two open starting jobs on the offensive line, and who will be Utah’s kicker this year, but overall, the Utes’ roster looks talented, deep, and ready to make another run at the Pac-12 championship game, and maybe something even bigger.
Before fall camp begins, it’s always fun to take a look at how the team will shape up and prognosticate on how things will fall into place. It’s time to take a look into the crystal ball and make five bold predictions for how things will play out in fall camp.
1. Utah’s kicking game will be fine
Without a doubt, the biggest concern facing the roster this year is how to replace Lou Groza award winner and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer Matt Gay. He is the type of kicker that comes along once in a generation, and Utah was lucky to have such a dependable and rare talent on their team to handle the field goal duties. It may seem like a scary proposition, but keep in mind that just two years ago, after Andy Phillips had graduated, that there was a lot of doom and gloom forecasted about the kicking game after both Gay and Chayden Johnston looked unimpressive in fall camp. That’s not to say that the Utes have a kicker of Gay’s caliber currently on the roster, but they don’t necessarily need one, either.
Kyle Whittingham and his staff have done everything they can to address the need at kicker, bringing in freshman Jadon Redding, graduate transfer Andrew Strauch, and junior college transfer Nels Haltom to compete for the job. At Pac-12 media day, Whittingham also mentioned that there could be a fourth kicker arriving for fall camp. Though none of those options will necessarily be on Gay’s level at any point in their career, Redding looked pretty reliable from inside 40 yards in spring camp, while Strauch brings a good amount of experience and Haltom went 14-15 on his attempts in junior college, with a long of 52 yards. Utah has built a reputation of having excellent special teams play, and you can bet that Whittingham will do everything in his power to make sure that tradition continues this year, especially with this team having so much potential.
Alex’s Take:
Placekicking? No way. For the Utes to live up to the media’s expectations, they’re going to have to convert a lot more touchdowns in the red zone. I’ll be honest, I’m concerned with this group. Sorry, Andrew.
2. One of Utah’s starting offensive linemen is not yet on campus
As with the kicker position, Utah’s staff has done everything within their power to solidify their offensive line situation, by bringing in two graduate transfer linemen and five new signees, along with a pair of returned missionaries. While three of Utah’s starting five have already been determined, the competition for the last two spots will be fierce during the coming weeks, with up to 12 men vying for those jobs.
However, one of those 12 isn’t even on campus yet, and probably won’t be until next week at the earliest. That is, of course, four-star junior college transfer Bamidele Olaseni, who is finishing up classwork at Garden City Community College before joining the Utes. It’s always risky to predict that a junior college transfer who wasn’t here for spring camp will be in the starting lineup come game one, but Olaseni is that talented, and Whittingham expressed confidence that, if Olaseni is as good as they think he is, then he would be one of the five best players, come game one.
Alex’s Take:
I’ll go with Bam starting by game four. So, I slightly agree with Andrew.
3. Devin Brumfield will force his way onto the field
Brumfield had his fair share of rookie struggles last year, receiving only limited game reps as a freshman, even after Zack Moss went down with an injury. Though his numbers weren’t all that impressive last season, Brumfield has put in the work this offseason, getting his body right and taking time to learn from Moss. That work manifested itself in the form of an impressive spring camp, where Brumfield looked strong, confident, and much improved. Brumfield capped his spring performance by leading both teams in rushing yardage in Utah’s Red/White game, accumulating 67 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Obviously Zack Moss is your number one, and Devonta’e Henry-Cole appears to have a firm hold on the RB2 spot, but Andy Ludwig has proven time and time again that he’s not opposed to giving two, three, or even four running backs plenty of carries if they can get the job done. Just look back at Wisconsin in 2013, when James White, Melvin Gordon, and Corey Clement combined for 3500+ yards and 32 touchdowns, or at Utah in 2008, when Matt Asiata, Darrell Mack, and Eddie Wide shared the load. Brumfield may not be quite ready to take on a huge role, but he’s improved enough as a runner and a blocker that he will give the coaches a reliable option for situational packages or when Moss needs to be spelled.
Alex’s Take:
Welcome to the Devin Brumfield bandwagon, Andrew. Brumfield will be Utah’s next big-time back. I was right about Moss as a freshman over Armand Shyne, and I strongly believe I’ll be right about this one—mark it down. There’s a reason so many refer to Brumfield as, “Baby Moss.”
4. Devin Lloyd will do the same
Utah’s starting linebackers are already set, with Francis Bernard returning and Manny Bowen winning a spot in spring camp. However, depth is important, and though the Utes have plenty of bodies, the depth chart is still fluid behind the starters. Several players, such as Sione Lund, Andrew Mata’afa, and Trennan Carlson will be competing for a spot in the two-deep, but another guy has been consistently earning praise since spring camp, and got another shout-out from Whittingham at media day. That, of course, is sophomore Devin Lloyd.
Lloyd may have the most impressive physique of all of the linebackers on the team, and looks to be 235 pounds of pure muscle. He has worked his tail off since joining the team as a bit of a tweener who played safety and receiver in high school, and had a solid performance in spring camp, when he practiced with the ones during Bernard’s absence. Now that Lloyd is starting to get the nuances of playing linebacker, look for him to break out during fall camp and be the first guy to rotate in when the starters need a break.
Alex’s Take:
I couldn’t agree more. Lloyd could really explode onto the scene this season, regardless of who is currently ahead of him.
5. Utah’s secondary will be even better than it was in 2018
Yes, this may be the boldest prediction of them all. After all, Utah’s secondary was very good last year, ranking 32nd in passing efficiency defense, 32nd in yards per attempt allowed, and 20th in passes intercepted. They also lost two senior safeties to the NFL, with Marquise Blair being drafted by the Seahawks and Corrion Ballard signing a free agent deal with the Panthers. Nonetheless, this secondary is primed to be even better than they were last year, thanks to two things.
The first is the move of Julian Blackmon to safety. Though Blackmon was a good corner, earning second team all Pac-12 honors two years in a row, his ceiling appears to be even higher at safety, and he looked like a natural at his new position in spring. Blackmon earned high honors and praise yesterday at media day, when he was named a preseason first team all Pac-12 safety, and Coach Whittingham compared him to former Utah greats Robert Johnson and Marcus Williams. If Blackmon can even come close to playing at the same level as those two in his senior campaign, teams are going to have a hard time throwing over the top on the Utes.
The other factor to consider is the emergence of Tareke Lewis at corner. Lewis and fellow senior Josh Nurse will battle for a starting job in fall camp, which speaks to how far Nurse has come since switching to corner, because late last year, Lewis started to show why the coaches were willing to wait an extra year for him arrive. With Lewis coming on strong and Jaylon Johnson and Javelin Guidry returning as starters, Utah’s cornerback situation looks to be one of the best in the conference, and perhaps in the nation.
Alex’s Take:
Part of me feels like this isn’t even a “bold prediction,” Andrew. It’s crazy to think that this group can top last season, but it’s true and I expect it.
