First the good news for Sharrieff Shah’s cornerbacks group: The starters will participate in spring ball. Now the bad news: The top backups at cornerback will be out. Known for his ability to develop talented cornerbacks, the bulk of Shah’s attention this spring will be coaching the guys up who weren’t deemed ready leading up to last season’s Rose Bowl appearance.

With their two main backups out with injuries, one starter easing back from an injury, and two proven veterans, there will be plenty of reps for one of the young less-experienced corners to emerge.

Cornerbacks

The Starters

Clark Phillips III, Sophomore

5-foot-10 and 185 pounds

Clark Phillips III drew some of the toughest assignments in college football last season and led the Pac-12 with 15 passes defended (13 PBU, 2 INT) on his was to Pac-12 All-Conference Second-Team. While technically just a sophomore, “CPIII” has already earned a reputation as one of the best corners in the conference and an up-and-coming cornerback in all of college football. He’s the unquestioned leader of the secondary and the most versatile, as well.

He has nothing to prove this spring, but still might get more reps than typical for a seasoned veteran, as the position is so thin due to the injuries.

JaTravis Broughton, Sophomore

5-foot-11 and 190 pounds

After a breakout season in the shortened 2020 season in which he was awarded with being named Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention, Broughton’s 2021 season was cut short by a season-ending injury. This spring, he’ll look to work his way back into playing shape, as he’s the lone 2021 injured cornerback expected to participate.

His health will be key for Utah throughout the 2022 season.

Malone Mataele, Junior

5-foot-11 and 181 pounds

The starting nickelback, Mataele has been mostly dependable over his time at Utah, but he was exposed against Ohio State. In his defense, most would have been, but it’s also unfair to throw the Rose Bowl criticism on Micah Bernard—as he made the one game switch from offense to defense secondary.

The Backups (but injured)

Faybian Marks, Sophomore

5-foot-10 and 180 pounds

Before the 2021 season started, it could be argued that Marks would start in numerous P5 teams, as he was a freshman standout in the 2020 COVID season. The opportunity to start would come in the third game of the season, as Broughton went down with his season ending injury. From there, Marks started seven games, had 25 tackles and two pass breakups during the 2021 season.

His season would end with a leg injury in the Arizona game, and then it was Zemaiah Vaughn’s turn to shine. Marks is expected to miss spring ball.

Zemaiah Vaughn, Sophomore

6-foot-2 and 175 pounds

In 2021, after switching over from safety, Vaughn started four games and had 25 tackles. Three of those tackles were tackles-for-loss and he had four pass breakups. Despite being put into the starting lineup due to injuries, Vaughn was showing that he has a bright future in the Utes’ secondary. Unfortunately, he was injured in the Pac-12 Championship Game and he mentioned on his Twitter account that he was having surgery.

A healthy Vaughn would have been a huge boost to the Utah secondary in the Rose Bowl, but now the hope is that he’s fully recovered and ready to contribute to a CFP contending Utah squad in 2022.

The Backups (with golden opportunities)

Drew Rawls, R-Sophomore

6-foot and 184 pounds

Kenzel Lawler, R-Freshman

5-foot-11 and 193 pounds

Caine Savage, Sophomore

5-foot-11 and 184 pounds

Elisha Lloyd, R-Freshman

5-foot-10 and 170 pounds

These guys are grouped this way for a reason, as spring is crucial to them. A golden opportunity awaits each of them, as both Marks and Vaughn are injured. If any show enough progress, then that’ll also mean that they can take spring developmental reps from the proven guys: Broughton, Phillips, and Mataele.

There’s one big issue though - Savage is the one that’s seen the most action with nine games mostly on special teams in 2021. Last season when all of Broughton, Marks, and Vaughn went down, this group wasn’t viewed as being able to answer the call. Instead it was Bernard, a running back. Perhaps the one of this group with the biggest opportunity is Lloyd, as he was a true freshman and Lawler is still a little new to the position after switching to it as a high school senior.

UteNation Take

If any position group could use an injury-free spring, it’s this group. There will be intrigue to see what Lloyd can do and “hope” that any of the others can breakout. If that doesn’t happen, Utah will hit the NCAA Transfer Portal for at least one proven cornerback. However, it’s a huge positive that all of Broughton, Phillips, and Mataele will be able to practice together.