As we enter into the final week of fall camp, the University of Utah seems primed to charge right out of the gates. While there still are some questions, anything less than a Pac-12 South Championship will be a disappointment.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham will be looking for a productive last week of camp, before the season grind begins.
Healthy on not, don't expect Moss to be fully unleashed on August 29th
Look, the fact of the matter is, Utah wasn’t likely going to fully unleash Moss against BYU in the first place. He’ll be healthy enough to run through and around BYU, but it’s also important to preserve him for the long season, as much as possible.
Utah has the luxury of having a stable of backs that's more than capable. True freshman Jordan Wilmore has been a star in the camp. Devin Brumfield has also received high praise. I fully expect Moss to maybe get around 10 carries, and look for him to maximize each one as much as possible.
The Utes are honestly loaded at running back. Now the question this week is, who will be Moss’s primary back-up, and do the Utes want to ignore their once-planned red shirt here for Wilmore because he’s proven himself more than capable of being ready?
So, while BYU fans and their coaches hope that the recent rumors on Moss are true, that does not mean that that’s why he would play less in the game in Provo.
Utah is going to miss Matt Gay. Who can step up?
Good news, Gay is lighting the NFL up with his insane kicks at Tampa Bay's training camp. The bad news is Utah doesn’t know who their kicker is going to be that replaces him. It’s unfortunate that Chayden Johnston chose to retire from football, but he was not a slam dunk pick to replace Gay after his performance in the spring. Whether it’s said or not in the upcoming fall camp interviews, there’s plenty of concern around the program that they don’t have a reliable kicker.
Then again, Whittingham wasn't the most confident in 2017 and all Matt Gay did was take over for Johnston and win the Lou Groza Award.
The Utes have an abundance of talent at receiver
It’s no secret, the Utes plan on riding Zack Moss as much as possible in the thick of their schedule, and will also rely on the run game with the others frequently, as mentioned above. That being said, there might be fewer opportunities overall for the wide receivers this year, but Andy Ludwig's scheme can set them up to make the most of those opportunities. In conversations with the wide receivers, they are fully aware of that and more than okay with it.
Demari Simpkins is having another impressive camp, but after a rough 2018 season, he needs to show that he’s more than a fall camp warrior. Britain Covey will be ready but not fully unleashed most likely for a few games. From there, they have five other guys looking to make big statements: Jaylen Dixon, Bryan Thompson, Samson Nacua, Solomon Enis, and Devaughn Vele.
That’s as deep of a group as the Utes have ever had. As crazy as it may sound, there are whispers throughout the program that Vele - a walk-on - could end up being the best of the bunch.
