Utah Receivers Progressing Under Bumphis

The University of Utah wide receiver group has seen a lot of change over the last few months with Bryan Thompson and Samson Nacua transferring and the parting of ways with receivers coach Guy Holliday. However, when you’re in the Pac-12 with a team built to compete for the conference title, there’s no time for excuses, you find a way to get the job done.

Enter Chad Bumphis, a former Utah graduate assistant who played under Dan Mullen at Mississippi State and had a brief stint in the NFL. He’s tasked with lighting the fire within a group that has had talent, but has consistently seemed to underperform over the last five plus years.

With a mix of veterans and young guys in the two-deep, Bumphis is taking a simple approach in his first camp leading the group.

“Just understand the fundamentals and technique right now,” said Bumphis. “We got some guys who played a lot of ball and we've got some young guys with some talent, so my goal is just get the most out of them and help them understand where they can be successful and help understand which positions they are their best at. I think Coach (Ludwig) does an awesome job putting guys in positions to be successful and plans for the strength of our offense and right now we're just trying to find those guys on the perimeter who we think going this will fall camp can help us.”

Along with the proven players like Britain Covey, Solomon Enis and the return of Jaylen Dixon, two other targets have begun to emerge: Devaughn Vele and Money Parks. For Vele, it’s never been a question of his talent, he’s just had some injuries at unfortunate times. Vele has really upped his game to a whole other level this spring, and it comes at a much needed time.

Regardless of the depth of the room though, it’s the new voice over them that could lead this receivers group to a big improvement. According to Covey, hiring former graduate assistant Chad Bumphis was an obvious choice.

“First thing is, I think all of the guys that were here with coach Bumphis in 2018 when he was a graduate assistant recommended him so I'd say they were about five or six guys in the room that were around him when he was here and when coach we asked us about him, all of us I gave the highest recommendations,” said Covey. “So, it's been nice to have someone that you know well. Also, having a fresh new face that brings fire to the room, we really respect.”

That respect is partially due to the fact that he’s competed at the highest level and that type of mind in the film room is a valuable commodity.

“He’s walked the walk and he's very practical,” continued Covey. “He reminds me a lot of my first receivers coach 2015 coach Stubblefield in terms of his technicality of things very good with footwork very good with hands very technical and I think that that's kind of what I live for I love that aspect of the game and of receiver play.”

The familiarity goes both ways, as Bumphis knows the key guys know what to expect from him and vice-versa. It also helps as leaders in the group emerge.

“They understand my style of coaching, so first time I was here I was actually mostly inside with the slot guys, so I got to spend a lot of time with Covey and that was Solo’s freshman year,” said Bumphis. “Him coming in and being in that room they understood what I was about and now that we've had some time together you get to see them help the younger guys and so I've done individual meetings and everybody I've talked to I asked him who are the leaders in the room and you get those two guys along with others but those are the two main guys that jump out just because of how much they help the guys in the room under the help them understand.”

So for Enis, the transition has gone as smooth as possible.

“(We) didn’t miss a step at all,” claimed Enis. “He came in, we just got things rolling and it’s just like seeing him just from my freshman year all over again. I love and appreciate him and he pushes me to the best I can be which I love every day. It's crazy how similar we are though like competitive-wise that we are butting heads a little bit, but you know I love it. We love the game so much so you know having him here and me being an older guy seeing what he brings to the table you know it provides a lot and you know I'm just glad he's here and I'm ready to work with him.”

Bumphis is an energetic coach who brings a lot of fire to the sidelines. It’s a temperament that fits right in with college athletes, as he also knows the right balance and has the respect of his players because they know it hasn’t been long since he threw on the pads as a player.

“I'm not far removed from what they're going through, so I've very relatable to what they do and what they're saying on campus what their feeling, when they're waking up with these morning workouts. I was going through that a few years ago so like I tell them, ‘Come talk to me.’ There’s nothing that you can say or do that's going to surprise me at this point, so I’m very relatable, very energetic and again I use my youth to my advantage. I run around with them and then try to have fun. I mean, I'm going to coach them hard, but love them just as hard and we're getting better. We’re building those relationships and they're starting to trust me and see that I only want the best from them and so it's working out.”

When asked what Bumphis brings, Covey gave an interesting take.

“He was a great slot receiver and he's so technical,” said Covey. “I've always felt that and maybe I'm biased because I'm like 4-foot tall, but I've always thought that short guys make great wide receivers coaches because they could never rely on all these crazy gifts or athleticism to be great players. You’ve got to rely on a lot of the technical side of things and so when you get someone who has that athleticism or heights you know someone like Solomon Enis or Devaugh Vele, and you can teach him that side of things the technical side that they're way better than anyone without those could ever be. They exceed everyone's expectations including their own and I think that that's what he brings to the table that I'm really excited for.”

Bumphis and Kyle Whittingham will look to hit the NCAA Transfer Portal for one more impact receiver to integrate come fall camp. Until then, things have gone about as good as they could have with all the changes to the position.