We have just six days left in the UteNation countdown to kickoff series before the Utah football season opens. That means we get to discuss no. 6, Justin Medlock. The redshift freshman played in five games in 2022 and finds himself in one of the deepest position groups on the team.

Linebackers coach Colton Swan has his work cut out for him trying to get all of his guys the playing time they deserve.

UteNation Take

Medlock is a fast and instinctive linebacker that, although slightly undersized, plays downhill and explodes through the tackle. The 6-foot, 220-pound Texas-native is in a loaded room led by Lander Barton, Karene Reid, Sione Fotu, and Stanford transfer Levani Damuni — not to mention Owen Chambliss, and Josh Calvert. Medlock has all the potential to become a great Utah linebacker, but he will have to rise to the top of an extremely talented group.

The key to Medlock increasing his playing time will be consistency. When that’s locked in, there’s little doubt that he’s one of the more talented backers that Swan has at his disposal.

Medlock’s game has drawn comparisons to former Ute Gionni Paul and praise from Coach Whittingham since he stepped onto campus. While he has quite the depth chart to overcome, Medlock’s talent could be too much to keep off the field, so it will be interesting to see where he finds playing time in 2023.

Remembering Medlock's Recruitment

The former University of Miami commit visited Utah on December 6th and his final decision came down to the wire. The Utes were fairly late to the party, as they offered him in late November, even before he decommitted from Miami.

Even with over 30 offers on the table, including Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and USC, Utah's track record with linebackers was too tempting to pass up, especially with the recent NFL departures of Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell.

Medlock kept his decision to himself until making the call mid way through signing day. He was an extremely pleasant surprise for the Utah staff.