The University of Utah was finally back in action on Saturday against the other no. 20 USC Trojans. While it was a relief to finally have the season get underway, the rust was obvious and hopeful optimism soon faded they saw their new quarterback, Cam Rising leave the game from a fluke injury, due to a Trojan landing on top of him for a loose ball.
Here are the takeaways from the game:
An injury takes the juice out of Utah’s offense
Cam Rising was the star of fall camp, which led to him being the starting quarterback against the Trojan. That optimism lasted all of six passes, in which he completed three for 45 yards and also threw an interception and fumble. Unfortunately, that fumble led to his night ending early due to injury and early indications are that it could unfortunately keep him out the remainder of the shortened season.
When Jake Bentley took over, the offense struggled to really click. Part of that was due to the effects of their previous Covid complications. Bentley was one of the guys who was contact-traced and forced to sit for a week’s worth of practice, even without having it. He’ll need to improve on his 57.1% completion percentage, for the offense to have success going forward.
With the offense being out-of-sync, there was one group that a week off really hit hard.
The offensive line struggled
Perhaps the hardest hit position by Covid protocols which limited their practice time over the last couple weeks, was the offensive line. Still though, that should be no excuse for an experienced group that ended up breaking in three new starters—two in Keaton Bills and Jaren Kump, who beat out previous starters.
Look for there to be a rotation there until offensive line coach Jim Harding has a group of five that he’s happy with. The change from Rising, a mobile quarterback, to Bentley, a pocket passer, could also play a factor in how they line up going forward.
Linebacker is a strength, not a question mark
Everyone knew that Devin Lloyd would be the star and leader of the Utah defense. The questions came in regards to the other starting spot. Nephi Sewell showed everyone that that group is in great hands. Two days after his dad won the 5A UHSAA football championship and on the same day his brother Noah suffered a bad season-ending injury with Oregon, it was an eventful weekend for his family and Nephi ended it on a great individual note.
Sewell was second only to Lloyd with 10 tackles, he had two tackles-for-loss, an interception, and a scoop-and-score fumble recovery. It was the type of performance to silence doubters and potentially win him Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
Of course, the depth behind Sewell and Lloyd will remain a question, but it looks like Utah has another dynamic duo in the middle of their defense.
The true freshmen were prominent
14 true freshmen saw action during the opener, four starting: Jaren Kump, Keaton Bills, Clark Phillips, and Nate Ritchie.
Running back Ty Jordan was easily the most effective of the group with seven carries for 32 yards and one reception for 21. During his reps, he showed that he’s a dynamic playmaker—every bit what our sources have been excited about. He’ll unquestionably have a prominent role going forward and at 5-foot-7 200 pounds, he showed that he can pack a punch and also withstand a hard hit, meaning he could very well end up as the featured back.
Up Next
Utah is scheduled to travel to Tempe next weekend to take on Arizona State. Will ASU have their Covid issues resolved? That’s the big question. The Utes will undoubtedly be without their no. 1 quarterback and they hope to have their star, Britain Covey, back from a day to day injury.
