Number 24 in the countdown is a guy who will likely need to step up and show that he's ready to make an impact, a year after transferring into the program. When presumed starter Manny Bowen decided to leave the team to pursue other interests, it left the Utes with just one returning linebacker that had any starting experience- Francis Bernard. Aside from him, the Utes are long on potential but short on experience at linebacker, meaning that there's a golden opportunity for younger players to step up and earn a bigger role.

Sione Lund was one of the top recruits out of the state of Utah in 2017, and originally committed to Stanford to play running back for them, after standing out as both a running back and a linebacker in high school. In his career at Brighton HS, Lund totaled over 4,000 rushing yards, 600 receiving yards, and 50+ touchdowns. He also accumulated 353 tackles and 21 sacks, despite playing mostly offense as a senior. Though he went to Stanford as a running back, after he decided to transfer back home following his true freshman season, he made the switch to defense and has been steadily progressing over the last year.

Andrew Fronce's take

Lund has all the talent needed to be a great player for the Utes, and three years left to make his mark. Though he was disappointed to hear that his transfer waiver was denied last season, the year to sit out and focus on his health and getting his body right may have ended up being a good thing. He entered fall camp at 242 pounds, and is hoping to be around 235 at the start of the season.

Sione is going to have to battle for playing time this year, but with the sudden turmoil at linebacker, he has a golden opportunity in front of him to earn some quality reps on defense. In some ways, Lund reminds me of Maxs Tupai, in that it took a couple of years for the light to come on for Tupai, but once it did, he became a menace for opposing offenses. I have full confidence that the light will turn on for Lund and that he'll have a nice career up on the hill before his time as a Ute is done.

Alex remembers Lund's recruitment

As the no. 150 rated player overall and the no. 9 rated athlete of the class of 2017, Lund was a priority target for the Utes, ever since he was a freshman. The problem was, numerous other P5 schools felt the same. After committing to Stanford to follow his good friend, Simi Fehoko, Lund had second thoughts throughout the process, but stuck with his commitment to the Cardinal. The truth was, as he’s told me, his heart constantly said Utah.

Sione went to Stanford for one year, before eventually transferring to Utah, a place that if he had to do it all over, would have been his choice all along.