After two straight seasons of opening the season against the SEC's Florida Gators, the Utes get a well-deserved tune-up game against FCS Southern Utah to usher in the 2024 season.
That's not to say that Utah can completely overlook the Thunderbirds. Still, this kind of opener should give the Utes a great opportunity to allow Cam Rising, Brant Kuithe, and Micah Bernard to shake off the rust after missing most or all of last season.
In 2023, SUU nearly pulled off an upset to start the season, losing on the road by just a field goal to Arizona State, 24-21. They were able to keep up with the Sun Devils in the trenches, and it was almost enough to start the season with a statement victory.
Offense
Justin Miller, the T-Birds starting QB since 2020, was a big part of that team. He set several school records in his four years as a starter, but he has graduated and is no longer with the team. Juniors Jackson Berry, Bronson Barron, and Jordan Pachot are waiting in the wings to replace Miller.
"We've got a three-man race for the quarterback job right now," Southern Utah head coach DeLane Fitzgerald said in an online interview. "We're waiting on one of them to separate themselves...when you're playing a top ten program like the University of Utah, all three may play in the first game."
Perhaps an even greater loss from last year's team is WR Isaiah Wooden, who recently signed with the Atlanta Falcons. He was the main target for Miller over the past two seasons and had 904 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023. To replace Wooden, SUU brought in Mark Bails from Seton Hill University, where he had 926 yards and 8 touchdowns. They'll also rely on FCS Freshman All-American Zach Mitchell, who was second on the team with 460 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The offensive line and running backs are the strengths of the offense. The Thunderbirds bring back four starters on the line and both starting running backs from last season, including former Ute Braedon Wissler, who led the team with 684 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns last season.
Defense
Defensively, the Thunderbirds led the UAC with 14 interceptions last season. Former Ute Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson had one of them. However, most of the other top defensive players in the secondary have either graduated or transferred.
Both starting corners, AJ Felton and Cody Coleman, graduated. They combined for 5 interceptions last season. Top safety Trevon Gola-Callard took advantage of a season where he had 70 tackles, 2 interceptions, and a forced fumble to take his talents to Cincinnati.
In 2024, the SUU secondary will be led by senior safety George Ramirez, who had 48 tackles and an interception last season. They also brought in BYU CB Dean Jones and UT Tech CB Devyn Perkins to help on the outside.
On the defensive front, the Thunderbirds return DT Rylen Sua-Filo, who had 28 tackles and 2 sacks last season, but they lose Robert Horsey, who had 45 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2023. They also got DE Anisi Purcell back, who was second on the team with 4 sacks.
At linebacker, SUU returns several top players, including Kohner Cullimore, who had 73 tackles and 3 sacks last year. They also brought in Incarnate Word's Ricky Rich, who racked up 100 tackles in two seasons for the Cardinals.
Summary
With so many question marks at quarterback, receiver, and in the secondary, the Thunderbirds face an uphill battle this Thursday against the Utes. The veteran offensive line and pair of good running backs should allow SUU to run the ball a little, but facing Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in a season opener full of high expectations would be difficult for any FBS team, let alone a rebuilding FCS team.
The Utes will likely shred the patched-up T-Bird defense and cause all sorts of problems for any of the three quarterbacks that may take the field Thursday. The last time the Utes played Southern Utah in 2022, they crushed them 73-7, and it shouldn't be much different in 2024. Even if the starters are sitting by halftime, Utah has the depth to run up the score again. It's going to be a long night for the team from Cedar City.
