The season is upon us. The Universe of Utah is ready to defend their Pac-12, back up the preseason hype, and improve on the 2021 team’s Rose Bowl season. Starting Week 1 at The Swamp, it won’t be easy, but this group looks to be ready for the challenge.

Let’s take a deep statistical dive on what Utah fans should expect to see from the team this year, based on last year’s numbers.

First, the offense.

Quarterbacks

Cam Rising: Rising was rated 84.7 overall and 82.0 passing by PFF last year on 798 snaps. Those scores put him right around 30th among college QBs and second in the Pac-12 (behind DTR in overall offense and behind Chance Nolan in passing). He went 204/320 (63.8%) for 2493 yards (7.8 ypa) with 20 TD and 5 INT.

Bryson Barnes: Barnes was rated 78.1 overall and 75.8 passing last year by PFF. He played only 11 snaps (10 against OSU and one against CU), but did an amazing job in the highest possible pressure situation. He went 2/2 for 23 yards and 1 TD.

Ja’Quinden Jackson: Jacksen played 14 snaps (4 against WSU, 1 against ASU, 9 against Stanford) and was rated 67.2 overall. He didn’t throw any passes.

Cam is the clear #1 guy, but right now there’s almost no experience behind him. If Cam needs some short breaks, expect to see Barnes and Jackson both, depending on the situation. Barnes was, on paper, named QB2 yesterday.

Running Backs

Tavion Thomas: Thomas was rated 89.8 overall and 88.0 rushing last year on 298 snaps. That puts him #9 overall (tied with UCLA’s Charbonnet for 1st in the Pac-12) and #27 in rushing (#6 in the Pac-12 behind Charbonnet, Ingram, White, Brooks, and Borghi). He had 204 attempts for 1108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 21 TD.

Micah Bernard: Bernard was rated 78.0 overall and 77.9 rushing last year on 310 snaps, while battling a shoulder injury. He was actually #3 in attempts behind Pledger, with 87 attempts for 523 yards (6.0 ypc) and 2 TD, but had the most catches of the RBs at 26/251/2.

Chris Curry: Curry was rated 61.1 overall and 61.3 rushing last year on 37 snaps. He had 14 carries for 55 yards (3.9 ypc).

Those are all of the returning RBs who have at least 1 carry, but keep an eye on Jaylon Glover. The true freshman obviously hasn’t played any snaps yet, but this 4-star recruit had offers from UF, FSU, GA Tech, Iowa, IA ST, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, MSU, Nebraska, S. Carolina, Tennessee, WSU, Wake Forest, and Vanderbilt, among others. He’s looked solid and intriguing in the spring and fall camps. He’ll have an impact this fall.

Wide Receivers

Devaughn Vele: Amazingly, Vele was the WR with the most offensive snaps last year (605), not Covey (471). He was rated 58.9 by PFF last year, catching 23/389 (16.9 ypc) with 1 TD and 3 drops. While his success rate was low (he was targeted 45 times), most of his failures are on the very long catches over 20 yards, where he was 5/18. Expect him to be heavily involved this year. Him and Rising have developed quite the connection.

Solomon Enis: Enis had 415 snaps last year and was rated 61.6. He had 22 catches for 248 yards (11.3 ypc) with 1 TD.

Money Parks: Parks played 62 snaps last year and was rated 52.3. He had 1 catch for 12 yards and 1 TD last year. Parks will fill the shoes of Covey in the slot.

Jalyen Dixon: Dixon played 49 snaps last year and was rated 74.5. He’s played 687 snaps as a Ute, however, making him the most-experienced WR on the team. Last year he had 5 catches for 76 yards (15.2 ypc) with 1 TD. Career he has 61 catches for 1008 yards (16.5 ypc) and 4 TD.

The WR are the least-experienced unit on the offense, but Enis and Dixon are long-time contributors and Vele was utilized a lot last year, despite playing through nagging injuries. Watch for Parks to emerge, along with newcomers Sidney Mbanasor (3-star with offers from TTech and Vanderbilt) and Makai Cope (3-star with offers from Arizona, Boise, CU, KSU, Michigan, Northwestern, OR ST, Stanford, USC, and WSU).

Tight Ends

Dalton Kincaid: Surprisingly, Kincaid had more snaps (669) than Kuithe (628). Kincaid was also rated slightly higher, at 79.2, and had 36 catches for 510 yards (14.2 ypc) with 8 TD (#1 on the team), plus 1 run for 4 yards. He should be in for a big year.

Brant Kuithe: 628 snaps, a 77.6 rating, and 50 catches (#2 on the team) for 611 yards (#1) (12.2 ypc) with 6 TD (#2 on the team) plus 4 runs for 12 yards and 1 TD. He’ll also see time in the slot, as the Utes want to feature him as much as possible.

Thomas Yassmin: 19 snaps last year (and 46 in his career) plus 1 catch for 6 yards. With Kuithe seeing more time in the slot, buddy Yassmin is ready for prime-time minutes.

Logan Kendall: While Kendall didn’t play for Utah last year, he was on a team that has PFF ratings (Idaho) where he played 281 snaps (and 1095 career snaps) and was rated 86.4. That would have put him as the #7 TE nationally, if he’d played FBS football. He had only 2 catches for 26 yards last year, and 18/204 in his career, so consider him more of a FB or blocking TE than a pass catcher. He’ll slide into Cole Fotheringham’s old role.

Expect to see a ton of Kincaid and Kuithe, plus there’s a lot of young talent behind them, including Taniela Pututau, Landon Morris, Isaac Vaha, and Munir McClain. There’s a ton of talent at TE and I expect to see a lot of it getting utilized this year.

Offensive Line

RT Braeden Daniels: Daniels played the most snaps on the OL last year, at 959, and was also far and away the best-rated OL at 84.4. He had a fantastic year and I fully expect him to carry that over to this year.

RG Sataoa Laumea: Laumea played 903 snaps last year (#3 on the team behind Ford) and was rated solidly at 68.2.

LG Keaton Bills: Bills played 573 snaps last year and was rated okay at 62.3.

C Paul Maile. Maile played 280 snaps last year and was rated pretty well at 70.0.

LT Jaren Kump. Kump played 149 snaps last year in four games before being hurt. Was rated 55.5 last year, but was actually rated significantly better the year before (66.4).

LG Michael Mokofisi. Mokofisi played 49 snaps in 3 games last year and was rated pretty well (69.4).

Those are the six experienced OL. I actually expect them to be very good, as Kump is an excellent young tackle and the others are all highly rated by PFF. The fall, the guys have focused on mastering primarily one posi, instead of shifting around and working on versatility. By doing this, the group hopes for a stronger start to the season.

The offense has a ton of experience. The QB, RB, WR, TE, and OL all return a significant number of snaps, and the loss of only 3 starters, one of whom (Bam) was only a starter due to injury.

Last year’s offense was impressive. They were 8th in 3rd down conversion percentage (.482), Rising only threw 5 picks, which would have put them tied for 10th (Brewer threw 3, which moves that to 28th), 13th in rushing offense (216.8 ypg), 14th in scoring offense (36.1 ppg), 36th in TOP (30.8 mpg), and 40th in total offense (431.1 ypg). This despite facing Sagarin’s #33 toughest schedule.

Now let’s take a look at the defense.

Defensive Tackles

Junior Tafuna: Junior played the most snaps at DT last year at 504 and was rated 59.2. He had 33 tackles, 11 QB pressures, 5.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, and 1 PBU. There are sky-high hopes for the leader of the defensive line heading into 2022.

Devin Kaufusi: Kaufusi played 282 snaps last year and was rated 53.5. He had 13 tackles, 8 QB pressures, 1.5 TFL and 1 PBU.

Aliki Vimahi: Vimahi played 261 snaps last year and was rated 57.4. He had 12 tackles, 13 QB pressures, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, and 3 PBU.

Tennessee Pututau: Tennessee Pututau played 110 snaps last year and was rated 51.5. He had 4 tackles, 4 QB pressures, 1 TFL and 1 sack. He’s had a standout offseason and is the unquestioned starter alongside Tafuna.

Fua Pututau: Fua Pututau played 18 snaps last year and was rated 65.9. He had 1 tackle, 1 QB pressure, 0.5 TFL, and 1 PBU. He’s struggled staying healthy, but if he has a relatively injury-free season, he could break out.

The DTs are very young outside of Kaufusi, who is a SR. Fua is a JR, but hasn’t played much due to injury and talent ahead of him. Then Tafuna, Vimahi, and Tennessee are all Sophomores, plus Simote Pepa (RS FR), Tevita Fotu (RS FR), and Keanu Tanuvasa (FR), although all three of them are returned missionaries, so all three physically 22 or 23 years old. There is a lot of talent at the DT position, and while there are some returning snaps, there’s certainly room for the younger players to step into some snaps.

Defensive Ends

Van Fillinger: Van was the clear #2 DE last year behind Tafua, getting 650 snaps and rated 63.7. He had 41 tackles, 21 QB pressures, 9.5 TFL, and 5.5 sacks.

Jonah Elliss: Elliss had 118 snaps and was rated 62.6. He had 15 tackles, 11 QB pressures, 1 TFL, and 1 sack. He broke out towards the end of the season and is running a 4.5 40 at 240 pounds.

Miki Suguturaga: Suguturaga had 75 snaps and was rated 70.0. He had 4 tackles, 4 QB pressures, 1 TFL, 1 sack, and 1 FF.

Gabe Reid (SR): Gabe played all over the place for Stanford last year, with about 200 snaps at DE and another 350 at LB, and about 50 covering TEs in the slot, but he’s listed at DE for Utah. Gabe played 630 total snaps last year (and 1,916 in his career) and was rated 73.5 last year.

There are several other young scholarship DEs who haven’t yet played that position for Utah, namely Connor O’Toole (SO), who played WR/TE last year, plus freshmen in Ka’eo Akana (3* with offers from Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, OR ST, UCLA, UW, and WSU) and Chase Kennedy (3* with offers from BC, CU, Illinois, KSU, Nebraska, OK ST, TCU, and WSU).

Van is a stud, Jonah was really coming into the position at the end of the year, and Connor has immense potential after his position change. Same as with DT, there’s a lot of room for the younger players to get some playing time here.

Linebackers

Karene Reid: Reid is the LB with the most returning snaps (381). He was rated 58.5 last year, but he had very good ratings in three of his last four games, with a rating of 68.3 against UCLA, 66.4 against Oregon, and 73.8 against OSU. That suggests he’s learning the position, which we all know is one of the positions at Utah that requires the most time for adjustment. He had 45 tackles, 6 QB pressures, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT, and 2 PBU.

Hayden Furey: Furey played 135 snaps last year and was rated well at 72.6. He had 13 tackles, 3 QB pressures, 2 TFL and 2 PBU.

Andrew Mata’afa: Mata’afa played 50 snaps last year and was rated 46.0. He had 5 tackles and 1 PBU.

Josh Calvert: Calvert played 16 snaps and was rated 33.8. He had no recorded stats.

Mohamoud Diabate: Diabate played 561 snaps last year and 1,202 in his career at Florida. He was rated 56.5 last year and had 89 tackles, 19 QB pressures, and 2.5 TFL.

Those are all of the LBs who played defensive snaps last year. The roster also lists Lander Barton, Justin Medlock, Ethan Calvert, Lolani Langi, and Mason Tufaga.

Expect Reid and Diabate to start at the beginning of the year. Barton will also start when they go with three backers. There’s a lot of depth here, and Medlock is viewed as the top reserve.

Cornerbacks

Clark Phillips III: Phillips was rated 74.6 last year overall and 76.4 in coverage on 928 snaps. That was the most snaps of any defensive player last year. He had 61 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, and 13 PBU.

JaTravis Broughton: I put Broughton here, despite the fact that he only had 118 snaps last year, because he was the starter at the beginning of the year and is the most-experienced corner as far as number of years with the team. He was rated 66.7 last year adn 65.4 in coverage. He had 9 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 PBU in 2 games.

Malone Mataele: Mataele was rated 62.8 last year overall and 61.0 in coverage on 542 snaps. He had 28 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT and 2 PBU.

Zemaiah Vaughn: Vaughn was rated 62.1 last year and 62.1 in coverage on 449 snaps. He had 24 tackles, 3 TFL, 0.5 sacks, and 3 PBU.

Faybian Marks: Marks was rated 60.3 last year overall and 56.5 in coverage on 385 snaps. He had 24 tackles and 2 PBU.

Caine Savage: Savage played 3 snaps on defense last year, plus 87 snaps on special teams. He was rated 61.3 on his three snaps and had 3 total tackles.

Those are all the CBs with game experience. There are several other young corners on the roster, including Kenzel Lawler, Elisha Lloyd, Elijah Davis, and Jocelyn Malaska.

This was a very young group last year, and they performed very well. I fully expect them to be even better this year, particularly Broughton who absolutely can be a lockdown corner opposite CPIII.

Safeties

Cole Bishop: Bishop was rated 62.8 overall on 399 snaps last year. He had 54 tackles, 9 TFL, 3 sacks, and 5 PBU. He’s on his way to being Utah’s next big thing at safety.

That’s the only returning safety with snaps last year, as Davis, McKinney, and Latu took most of the other safety snaps (along with a couple for Young-Smith). There is some good news however, as RJ Hubert is apparently fully recovered. Hubert played 222 snaps in 2019 and was rated 60.5 with 22 tackles and 1 PBU. There’s also transfer Clayton Isbell, who came over from Illinois State, where he played 507 snaps last year and 1,126 career snaps. He was rated 69.1 last year and had 59 tackles, 2 PBU, and 3 INT. Jadon Pearson out of Reedley College is also on campus after finishing up at his JUCO. The rest of the safeties are freshmen, namely Bryson Reeves, Bleu Stewart, and Sione Vaki.

The return of Hubert is big, and he’s slated to start alongside Bishop. If he can stay healthy, herd Drffd CC and Bishop could be one of the best safety tandems in college football. He needs to stay healthy, though. Getting Isbell and Pearson is also a huge help so that none of the corners are forced to move over.

Last year’s defense was very young, but did have at least one experienced piece at every level (Tafua and H Pututau at DL; Sewell and Lloyd at LB; Davis and McKinney at DB) and those guys are gone. Still, there are a lot of returning snaps everywhere except Linebacker, and I expect this year’s defense to improve on last year’s, although there may be some growing pains. The offense may have to win some quasi-shootouts early. Luckly, last year’s defense was average by Utah standards, nationally ranking 49th in 3rd-down defense; 60th in INTs; 60th in passing yards allowed; 39th in red zone defense; 35th in scoring defense; 53rd in passing efficiency defense; 27th in total defense; and 19th in rushing defense (the only major category where they were in the top 20).

This is going to be another unusual Utah team for a lot of fans. Expect Utah’s offense to be able to score consistently in the 30s but the defense could take a little time to get itself put together. I suspect the secondary will be very good, but it could take the DL and LB a minute to get on the same page. Once that happens, if Utah is able to beat UF and weather some early challenges at ASU, at UCLA, and USC at home, they should be ready to go for the second half of the season. This team absolutely has a chance to establish itself on a big stage next weekend, and should be very good all year.