It seems like just yesterday that the 2018 football season ended, but the first day of spring ball has already come and gone for the University of Utah. Due to the NCAA-mandated acclimation period, there were no pads or contact today, but regardless, practice seemed more intense than your typical day one.

Theme of the Day: Loaded and ahead of the curve

Usually on the first day of camp, the talk is all about acclimation, but today it was different. The defense came in prepared and looking much more smooth than you’d initially expect. Despite Julian Blackmon's move to safety, the remaining cornerbackss all stepped in and showed they were ready. The defensive tackles are stacked, and even the defensive ends are showing that there could be a lot of spirited early competition.

This defense didn’t look like at all this was their first spring practice.

Key Moment

The defense had plenty of impressive moments today when they were going against the offense. Receiver-turned-corner Bronson Boyd, for example, had more than a few nice plays. However, Julian Blackmon had one that stood out far more than the rest. The team was practicing deep routes down the sideline, and one of the quarterbacks launched a long ball to Derrick Vickers that was under-thrown. From his safety spot, Blackmon read the pass perfectly, re-routing to the ball and laying out for an impressive interception.

Blackmon made the play look as if he’d been playing safety for his entire Ute career.

Standouts

Numerous guys stood out during day one, but then again, they practiced without pads, so it doesn’t mean much yet. As mentioned above, Blackmon looks to be a natural at safety, and Morgan Scalley could be heard giving him praise all throughout practice. The Utes really might have something special in Manny Bowen, but the thing that really stood out today was his hustle and his attention to detail. Bowen was really taking a leadership role and was often the first to attempt certain drills. Bronson Boyd is a guy that Sharrieff Shah has been trying to lure over to the defense ever since he arrived on campus. It looks like Shah’s instincts were right, as Boyd was playing suffocating defense all throughout practice. It’s important to remember that the position is new to him, so he’ll have his ups and downs, but the potential he showed today was tantalizing.

Another player that really surprised people today was defensive end, Fua Pututau, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can maintain the same level of performance throughout most of camp. The belief is that the defensive ends could have a similar rotation, just like the tackles, as Semisi Lauaki, and Keaton Bills also had their moments today.

Quotes of the Day

Morgan Scalley on Manny Bowen’s desire to learn:

“He’s hungry. He came into the special teams meeting with a notebook and a pen. I’ve never seen that from anyone before with anyone, especially in a special teams meeting. So, I was fired up to see that. He’s definitely got the ‘I’m going to prove myself’ mentality, not the ‘I have all the answers’ mentality.”

Tareke Lewis on the talent of Jaylon Johnson:

“Jaylon, he’s an awesome player, I lean on him for mental and physical aspects of the game. He’s just that one-in-a-million guy that rarely comes around, so I learn a lot from him.”

Sharrieff Shah responding to the comment of Bronson Boyd looking like a natural at his new position:

“Accurate. Accurate. I’ll tell you, I’ve been eyeing him for a long time. I’ve been wanting that boy for a long time. I just felt like, in my opinion, that he had a lot of natural attributes. He was tough—every time we were blocking against the receivers, he was the main one that would get in just an absolute tussle with us. The level of his energy and fire, I was like, ‘You’re not a receiver, bro. Come over and play for me.’”