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A

Indiana can sort of cement itself as

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we are no longer this team that's

C

going to be fighting for six wins anymore.

B

It's Malachi Toney.

C

Is he going to be ready?

B

Dante Moore, he showed improvement, better command.

C

What's going on y'?

D

All?

C

Bud Elliott here of the COVID 3 College Ball podcast. Back again for another episode of Summer School. We are in session today talking to Utah with J.T. worill, which I had to practice a couple times before we went on air. Jt, welcome to the show man.

B

Bud, great to be on with you man. So excited to get this upcoming college football season underway, especially from a Utah perspective. There's a lot to talk about here. Really excited to dive into it all with you today.

C

Yeah, for sure man. Obviously you're doing a Great job at Ute Authority for us. There are Utah 247 sports site and you know, obviously you know, having gone there, you know, been a ground, that site is in great hands. I guess we'll jump off with like the major question. So Kyle Whittingham's gone and new head coach who's been there. What's the general like feel around the

B

program right now, I think it's really good. I think everyone's really excited for the Morgan Scally era to start. There was some drama with Kyle Whittingham's exit, but I'll just say this. I'm a big believer it's okay to move on from something a little too early rather than too late. I know Utah won 11 games last year, but when you look at some of the reasons and the things that were set in place that some of those things weren't going to be like the dominant offensive line, there were things that Utah just had to replace, had to retool. There were adjustments any program has to make, right. Because Kyle Whittingham was a great coach and I actually do think he'll do well at Michigan for this next little stretch. But if he had stayed around, how long can you continue to keep Morgan Scaly, who's been one of the best defensive coordinators for my money for the last 10 years. So I think there was some fear in that. If you bring Kyle back, what happens with Morgan? Morgan is coming back and man, but has all he done win the offseason? I mean, every press conference, Big 12 media day just wrapped up. Every opportunity he gets, he knocks it out of the park. He is a Utah man. He not only played for this school, he grew up a fan. He has poured everything rising up from recruiting coordinator, you know, GA the whole story. DC now head coach, he gets the opportunity. He's giving his own money back to the football program. Even a 2 million donation. He I don't know if you could have a better start, like win the offseason more than Morgan Scally has. The fans love him. We're so excited for the this era to get underway. There's questions with all that Utah has to replace from last year, but I think everyone's really excited to see what Morgan Scally can do with this Utah football program.

C

I'm excited as well. Obviously, guys done a really good job as a DC for a long time and you know, like we've seen it work out like sort of the, you know, coaching waiting piece and you know, like, like Jimbo worked out well at Florida State. And then you know, Muschamp who was the coach in waiting at Texas, obviously they didn't want to get rid of Mac Brown or you know, like he moved on to Florida and you know, was went from a really awesome DC to just kind of a terrible head coach. I'm excited to see how this goes for sure. I Do want to start talking offense though. So obviously Jason Beck, I'm a big fan of, followed Whittingham to Michigan. They bring in Kevin McGivin from Utah State, which if y' all don't watch Utah State, like, that was a really fun offense. How much of like Utah's kind of condensed run first identity do you think they will still have? And like, where does McGiv's vision, like, differ if you know it all?

B

Yeah, I, I feel this was, it was an interesting hire for sure too because, you know, McGiv was only one year at Utah State. He actually worked with former Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes there, had some success, and then boom, now he's going to be working with Morgan Scally. And that was one question. When Morgan kind of took over, it's like, okay, you've always just been at Utah, so where do your coaching connections and things of that nature come from? Who do you bring in? But he ends up going with McGivin. And I think there's a lot of reasons for excitement, I think in large part because of the head coaching change. And I just think Morgan is more willing to let his offensive coordinators air it out. Kyle's biggest thing was do not turn the ball over. I mean, all cost. This is an old school football coach we're talking about the definition of. So I do think Utah will air it out more than ever. But because Morgan learned from Kyle how to win and just based on the program and what Morgan talks about, what he wants his team to be, he said right away he wants to be physical and run the ball. This is going to still be a run first offense, but there's no question in my mind, bud, they're going to absolutely air it out more.

C

How do you think Dampier will handle that? Like, I'm not saying he's a bad passer, but it doesn't stand out in my mind as like a guy that's like, yeah, I want him throwing the ball 30 or 40 times a game. I guess I agree with that.

B

Yeah, I mean he was Big 12 newcomer of the year last year and a lot of his best plays were with his legs. I'd say he made some impressive throws, but a lot of his best plays were with his legs. I think that with what Utah has in place and I think how they're going to structure and set up this offense, I think it was really important for Kevin McGivern coming in to also cater this offense to what Dampier does. Well, Bryson Barnes wasn't the greatest passer last year either in that Utah State offense had a lot of success too. So when I look at what Devin Dampier can do and also let's remember last year played with a sports hernia after week three, got hurt against the Wyoming game. Really only missed the Colorado game outside that played in every other one so wasn't even fully healthy last year still was tremendous. I think we could see more scrambling from him too now that he'll be fully healthy, which he'll have to do. We'll talk about the state of the offensive line. He's going to have to be on the move more too. But I really think in his senior year as he continues to get better year over year you2 at the power four level he lost his top three pass catchers but most of the wide receiver production is actually returning for Utah with a couple of really exciting new additions. So I think the chemistry will be there as well too. I think there's a lot of reason to believe this could be the best season of Devin Dan Pierce career even if he's going to be under more duress.

C

How do you feel about the backup situation there? And I just say that because like Damp here at least as an outsider, like in my mind, like man this guy's frequently banged up and yet he plays, you know, he still plays. Do you like the backup there?

B

I think Bird Ficklin is one of the best backup quarterbacks in the country. I will say that much too. He is not a great thrower but when you look at what he can do with his legs it is such a threat that it also opens things up in the past game too. Bird Ficklin, true freshman last year actually led the team in rushing touchdowns with 10. That's how athletic this guy is we're talking about. So he's still growing and developing as a passer. He's only going to be a sophomore this upcoming season, but man he is one of the more exciting players in the Big 12 Conference and Utah is going to involve him frequently. Still, this isn't going to be a thing where he's not going to touch the field with Dampier out there. They ran multiple sets and different things to get him involved in the offense even when Damp here was the one under center. So I'm really excited to see Bird Ficklin out there too. He'll be involved in this. Outside of that, like Brandon Rose is probably the third string quarterback. He was at UMass last year before Utah before that. So it's the behind that it gets a little murky But I really like Bird Ficklin and I think if something were to happen with damp here, this is a Utah team that hey, I'm not saying win the Big 12 with Bird Ficklin, I but I think Bird Fickling could absolutely win them some games just like he did last year.

C

So running back wise, obviously the team does still want to run the football. How does this shake out? I saw that they added Chavez Soto from San Jose State in reading some of the spring coverage looks like Daniel Bray maybe stood out. But like obviously they, they still have some studs there. How do you think the carries get split up?

B

Yeah, I think it's still going to be a large way. Sean Parker, dose way Sean Parker, former Washington State running back, came to Utah last year, just missed out on a thousand yards rushing. But again he was splitting carries early on with Naquari Rogers, who Jason Beck came over with from New Mexico. So I think there was a familiarity thing there. But as the season wore on, it just became so clear that way. Sean Barker was this team's best back. He can do it all. He can catch the ball incredibly tough between the tackles to physical runner. So I think he's going to be one of the better backs in the Big 12. Is he LJ Martin? I'm not saying that. Is he right below that? I do believe so. I think he's a really good running back. So I think he's the guy. Morgan Scally basically said that Daniel Bray won spring ball in terms of breakout guys. So I do expect him to be the second back right now his speed is so impressive and that's where his breakout game against byu, he really showed a lot last year. So now to hear that he's just taking that sophomore leap, I expect him to be the second guy. But you already mentioned, I mean Steven Chavez, Otto has been incredibly productive even just his first year at San Jose State. So to me that's a guy I'd love to see get some touches and get involved in this offense too. So you could argue the running back is one of this team's strongest position, maybe right up there with quarterback because we know what Devin Dampier can with his dual threat abilities. But man, this running back room. I think you got three guys that I feel really good about and that's without even getting into some of the, the deeper stuff. But if you got three at a position like that where the hits obviously add up, I think you're in a

C

good spot receiver wise and, and, and tight end, they, they do lose a lot in terms of no names, I, I think Buchanan is a big loss. Like, I, I, I was like a total stud. But then I saw Scally called it maybe the best receiver crew ever at Utah, which is like pretty high praise. I, I, who do we need to know from like a, you know, if you, if you're watching this and you're not a Utah fan, like, is there somebody who has a chance to be like the guy on this?

B

Yeah, I think, yeah. Braden Pagan from Utah State I think is absolutely where you go right away. He was first team all conference in Kevin McGiven's offense last year and now they're coming over in the Mountain West Conference to Utah. I think he's a guy that has a chance to be really special too. I think he can do, I think

C

he can do it all.

B

He's not the fastest guy, I'd say, but he's a good route runner. He can go up top, make the contested grabs. He made plays against Texas A and M when Utah State played them last year too. So this to me feels like the wide receiver with the best chance to maybe eclipse a thousand yards has seen in a long time. You know, bud, you mentioned Morgan's comments about this being the best wide receiver room. We've seen it sometime. It's not the highest bar, it's not the bottom, because it's been more at the tight end production. You kind of talked about that earlier and I'm really curious what the tight end room will look like for Utah. That's a massive enigma. I mean just a bunch of, hey, we'll see if they break out. But granted, Dallin Bentley at this time last year had 64 yards yards receiving, I think, for his Utah career, right. And then went over 600 in his senior year. Now new tight end coach and so we'll see how those things shake out. But tight end room, massive mystery. But whether it's, you get Pagan being the guy and the other guys in the room. Larry Simmons really came on strong as the year wore down last year. He was probably our second best wide out behind Ryan Davis, who was Dan Pierre's go to guy. Ryan Davis was the team slot receiver who steps up in the slot there. I'm looking at Creed Whittemore, former Mississippi State transfer. He's really shifty and man, even though he didn't even have 100 yards receiving last year, just seems like one of those guys in the limited sample size of ooh, you, you have a chance to be really good. And he just played exactly where Davis did. So that's why I think he didn't get as many opportunities. You know, last year Utah really needed Tobias Merriweather coming over from Cal to be a guy. Now he's a fun X factor. If he's great, awesome. If not. We have another guy in Kyrie Scholes as well who I haven't mentioned yet, coming over from San Jose State. He had over 700 yards last year in the Spartans offense. So there's another guy that's just all these guys. It's not like if this guy pans out, which has been in the past, the Utah needed this guy to hit or the wide receiver room isn't going to be great. And a lot more times than not that didn't happen. Now it's multiple guys you're looking to step up and there's a lot of reason for optimism. I feel like at the wide receiver core we've been burned before by wide receiver height, but this year feels a little different, bud, for sure.

C

Tight end wise, as you mentioned, Bentley, he's gone to the Broncos in, you know, round seven. Obviously Buchanan's gone. He was more of like a receiver slash tight end. Hunter Andrews got hurt last year. Right. Like is he. But obviously you said we don't really know but like do we know is he back and healthy? I know Utah is notoriously kind of silent as to injury stuff.

B

You already know this program well. But yeah, they're always keep it tighter lip on that. I will say a Big 12 media days. The reporters asked some of the defensive plays who are some of the sleepers on this team or breakout type candidates. And Bray was one of the first guys they mentioned as well as Hunter Andrews. So I do expect Hunter Andrews to be this team's tight end. What an interesting career for Hunter Andrews. Running back in high school, recruited to Utah to be a linebacker, then after. And then they moved him back to running back actually his first year. Then they moved him to tight end and he got hurt four games into the season. He had over 100 yards rushing last year, only about 60 receiving yards, but he looked really promising. There was a lot of good spring ball buzz on him last year. It's now two years right where he's been practicing and training as a tight end. So to me he's by far the most likely candidate to emerge in this room. And when you look at his athleticism, I think he's got a chance to be a productive player. That security blanket that Dallin Bentley was was a big thing for Devin Dampier because We've already mentioned Devin Dampiers questions as a passer right there was Utah had struggles moving the ball through the air deep. That wasn't just because wide receivers lack separation. That's also just damp here not being the greatest deep ball thrower. And while I think he'll do better this year at that, you really need that intermediate passing game to hit. That's where the Creed Wi Moors are going to be so important. And I do believe a Hunter Andrews, if this all clicks, will be very important to this Utah team in that short passing game. Dampier can do a lot when it's. Hey, when it's one read that's some of his best stuff. He can do multiple reads and get a. And get there. But sometimes that's also where he gets himself in trouble. That's where Jason Beck did a great job scheming stuff up. So it helps when you have that guy in the tight end spot be able to really step up and create outside of Andrews. Maybe Noah Benny who used to have that team then went to Weber State, made some plays. He could be another guy. But when will money transferred over from Oklahoma State but he didn't do much of anything down there. So very curious what this tight end room looks like. Hunter Andrews definitely the best bet to be a big producer for this team.

C

They may have to spread it out a little bit more obviously. All right, so now we got to talk about it. The offensive line.

B

Yeah.

C

The ninth overall pick, the 28th overall pick. I think the other three guys got picked up as undrafted free agents.

B

I think only. I think two of them did, one of them didn't. But they're all gone. I mean that the point stands.

C

I mean so I like a lot of the power rating metrics out there. Like I was a little surprised. ESPN FPI had Utah as like not only the biggest drop off in power rating of all the Power 4 teams, but it had it by like a lot. Even more like like significantly more than Iowa State which feels like it's lost its entire team to Penn State. And I, I gotta think this is one of the major reasons why in addition to the, you know what really any reasonable system is going to see as a coaching downgrade until Scally proves he can be a head coach. Do we have. Shoot, I don't want to ask like do you have any hope for this offensive line but like can they be okay?

B

Absolutely. I think there's def. There's no way to me this room they were top five in the country. I think you could argue Last year. No way this year. But is there a reason for optimism and but honestly I think there's a chance they could be even a top five unit in the Big 12 again. Wow. Seems like a lot. I think there's a chance. The early hype on them has been impressive too. And even if they're just top 10, just don't be bad. That's the biggest thing. Right? Like damn Pierre we talked about, he's a mobile quarterback. This is not a statue. So if a guy gets beat, it's not like oh well, plays over Dampier and can get himself out of trouble. But this is a group. And they also lost their offensive line coach, Jim Harding. And you mentioned those two first round draft picks like he established that. Now he's off to Michigan. So that was one of the bigger losses for this Utah team. But what Utah does have going for them is all is most of these guys are going to be starting are veterans. They have not seen the field but they've been trained by Jim Harding for a long time. Couple you got some six year guys on this offensive line who've been waiting, buying the time. So if you want to replace some of the most physical guys in the country, who do you want to get to do it up front? Grown men. And that is what Utah has. Also bud really excited about Utah's new offensive line coach. He has to prove he can do it this level. But it's Jordan Gross. He's a former Utah legend. He had a Hall of Fame career with the Carolina Panthers. He's in their ring of honor. So he knows what it takes to see it up on the hill. Well and I think he just really has to help a lot of these veterans and there's even a four star recruiter too waiting for their opportunity. So I just don't see, I don't see this unit being bad. And because we saw the two tackles opted out of the bowl game, the two tackles that I expect to start stepped in that spot. Offensive line didn't miss a beat. Granted Nebraska not very good at football down the stretch of the year. But I do think this offensive line should at least be solid for this Utah team. But they got to prove it and they got to come together quickly with those five new pieces.

C

So that's what zero way. And then the other tackle would be

B

who I think Keith Olsen. You also have the Montana State transfer that came over. Yep. He's got another shot to start too. And then on the interior, you know Alex Harrison was the backup center last year. He's been a veteran for a long time. Isaiah Garcia is a former four star recruit that's battled injuries. If he can stay healthy, that'd be huge for the team. There's a couple other guys and Alec, I'm just blanking on one of their names right now, but other guys who when they got in because also last year's offense did use the six offensive lineman frequently and when that was the case those guys did look promising. Gotta prove they can do it over a 12 game sample size. I will say though they actually they don't see a Texas Tech caliber D line so that's where they'll be a little lucky this year on the schedule. But BYU is no slouch so we'll see what they're made of. But definitely think this unit should still be solid for Utah, just not the dominant driving force. It was the biggest reason Utah was the top 15 team last year. If Utah is a top 15 team again, I don't expect it to be because of the offensive line.

C

All right, this is great. Let's hit our first break here on the flip side, little little defense, little schedule expectations, we'll get back into it

A

week during the football season, the COVID 3 podcast is always on the road. Think about last year where we loved tailgating with our fans in Tallahassee before Florida State took on Miami. And the trips will continue this season as we head to Chicago for Big Ten Media Days, Las Vegas for the National Championship, and make stops at other campuses across the country along the way. With my house sitting empty on so many weekends, listing it on Airbnb is an easy way to make a little extra money while I'm already gone. It just makes sense to put the house to work while I'm out covering college football. While you're away, you could list your space on Airbnb. It's a great way to make extra money during these high demand weekends without having to upend your daily life or treat it like a demanding full time job. Honestly, listing my space feels like a smart thing to do because it's just so incredibly practical. I'm already going to be traveling anyway, so I could use a little extra money toward my upcoming vacation to help offset the cost of flights or upgrade my travel gear. It just turns an empty house into an easy opportunity. While you enjoy your own time off, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much@airbnb.com host hey, before

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we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break. But not just any break this is a refreshing break with Snapple. We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts, so let's take a minute to go over some of my faves. Snapple real fact 2064. The first college football game broadcast on TV was on September 30, 1939. Snapple real fact 1896. The tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving originated with College football in 1876. Snapple real fact 1983. The first player drafted to play pro football never played in the league. Snapple Real fact 11 19. The Grand Canyon could hold about 900 trillion footballs. That's a lot of footballs. So grab a Snapple, take a second and enjoy the moment. Because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day. Snapple, make your break more interesting. All right, now let's get back to the show.

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C

All right, guys, welcome back into the COVID 3 college football podcast. This is our Utah Summer school edition, talking to JT of Ute authority. Okay, so we have a little defense talk about here now. Morgan Scally staying, I think, like, it would be hard to think he's not going to keep, you know, kind of his, his fingerprint on this defense. But like in reading, some of the coverage looks like they're going to maybe a little schematic change, which I'm going to assume is personnel based or like, is this something they've wanted to do for a longer time or am I just misreading this?

B

Yeah, I think it's partially personnel change. Yeah. And Colton Swan gonna take over as a new defensive coordinator for Utah. He was their linebacker coach for a very long time, so he's done a really good job. But the run defense was atrocious down the stretch. I mean, let's, you know, there's all this talk about expanded playoffs and all these things. Let's say last year was a 16 team playoff. Right. Utah would have squeaked it, I guess potentially. There was some of those conference championship teams that they were a top 15 team. They would have gotten their doors blown off from a run defense perspective, like, yeah, all day. Yeah, that was terrible and so unrealistic. That's where it was like, how is this happening to a Utah defense? But the run defense really struggled and I think you're seeing Utah try to make changes and adjustments to make sure that's not the case this year. And there's. We'll get into some of the questions we have about this defense, but I think they need to make some changes to make sure Kansas State, even Kansas wasn't great budget. That cannot happen downstretch. And I know things look better against Nebraska. We already met that Nebraska team is in bad shape at that point in the season. So this is a Utah team that they have some favorable matchups on the schedule. We can also get into. I think there's room for the defense to build some confidence early on, but man, did that the last two regular season games for Utah did not resemble the Utah defense I've almost ever seen during my time covering this team.

C

Yeah, that was wild. Like they lose a lot here. At least it looks like to me. I mean, so two guys to Michigan, John Henry Daly, who I know has been hurt, but like I know Michigan's really excited about it if he can stay healthy. And then Jonah Lia, if I probably botched that name again to Michigan. And then Vakahali went to Penn State. Right. Vimahi, who name I do recognize. He is graduated. And Logan Fano. What off to the NFL. Yep.

B

So like we talked about all five stars and and defensive line gone too. So I think that's the biggest concern. Right?

C

Yeah, I, I who do we think we can count on here on this defensive front to like be a guy?

B

I think it's Lance Holtzclaw, former Washington transfer. He's had a crazy off season. He was up on Capitol Hill. Talk about the collect protect college sports act with Nick Saban, the Notre Dame athletic director. He was set up there. And then Utah also sent him to Big 12 media days. And to me that showed a lot of confidence in him because with Holtzclaw, he was disruptive last year. We are talking about a guy who just had one and a half sacks and that sack came against Nebraska, so not even in the regular season. So this is the guy that Utah is almost marketing to me as the John Henry Daly replacement. John Henry Daly in many ways did come out of nowhere last year. I mean, he did not do much at all in his previous year than all American last year. Utah's hoping Holt's claw can make that jump. He's a really athletic, he's got good strength. There's a lot of reasons to think he can put it all together. So he'd be the name I'd watch for in this room, bud. But across from him, Cash Dylan comes over or has another year with this team. I liked what he showed in limited stretches. Ethan Day from North Texas. Oklahoma State's trying the whole mean green thing at the P4 level. We're going to see if Ethan Day can do it in Salt Lake City. And man the defensive tackle room ton of transfers that they're and and freshmen that they're last year. That's going to be sophomores they're hoping just takes a leap. But I assume yeah, Kafousi is a guy a lot of people are really excited about. But it's still freshman to sophomore leap. So that's going to be a step. I like his game. He was. He might have been a four star had he stayed healthy his senior year of high school too. So he's battled injuries. I thought he showed some things last year so hoping he'll be better. But man, a lot of these other guys like Lucas Samuelson coming over from Wyoming, Jamal Wallace, Tennessee, but he didn't really play there. So there is a lot of guys. Jair Mo is a guy I really do like out of San Jose State. That's the guy with project to start next to Kafusi. As of right now he looks solid in some games even against some P4 teams. Last year he was only a freshman too. So just a lot of unknown in the defensive tackle room. I think the DN room has more guys like okay, you saw Cash Dillon do some things, take the next step. Same with Holtz. Call this D tackle room. And. And you gotta be able to stop the run better. As we mentioned if these Utah team wants to have any shot at a conference title.

C

So linebacker I'm also pretty concerned about like Lander Barton and demuni. Losing those guys to me is. Is big. Now Jonathan Hall's back which I think is. Is a big help. How. How good do you think this room can be?

B

I think they can be good. I think they really. They need the defensive tackle room to be good though I don't think they can cover up the warts if UT getting blown off the ball right. Because. And I like Jonathan Hall. I think he's a solid player. But he is also still. I thought the last few years he was still navigating to being a P4 linebacker. He was a safety and they moved him to linebacker. Last year was his first full year as a starter and you could tell that at times. There were times he Looked out of place now. He still led the team in tackles, did a lot of good things. But when you have as much run defense issues as Utah had last year, he's going to bear some of the blame for that too. So he's the guy I look at to lead the team in tackles again. I think he is going to put it all together and be a good player for Utah. Trey Reynolds will be the other guy. He saw a lot of snaps last year. Demoney was was hurt and also just in and out. You know getting older as well too. He's actually on the recruiting staff now at Utah. So Dimoodie is still there. But Reynolds was solid last year. Another guy looked to just put it all together this year. Sure up some of the tackling things in the right place to make those plays. And watch for Cyrus Polo. True freshman last year was a four star recruit in the state of Utah. He contributed on special teams mostly. I think he's going to be this team's third linebacker when they do give him an opportunity out there too. So there is a reason to believe this room should still be solid. Lander Barton was hurt a lot of last year too. It just felt like two because he was. He's not the same player that I saw from his previous few seasons too. So I think there's reasons to believe this run defense can at least be improved. As you mentioned. Also the schematical things. I don't expect them to be bottom three in the Big 12. That's just not what Utah does and I just think there's been so much emphasis there to get them better. I don't expect that to be the case. But I don't look at this unit right now either. But.

C

And go.

B

Oh yeah, this will be a top three unit in the Big 12. One stop in the run. No, there's just too much unproven in the front seven for me to say that for certain. So we'll see how it goes. Come especially that Arkansas game. Right. Because there's questions about how Hogs are going to be. I still think they'll run the ball okay. So that'll be a good, good test for Utah up in Salt Lake City in week two.

C

I assume the secondary is probably the strength of defense as we enter the year. At least based on what we know. Like Smith Stone's gone to Michigan but like Scooby Davis is still back. Is Rabbit Evans back?

B

He is yeah. When it comes to Utah.

C

Right.

B

He was. He missed. I thought he was going to be the star of this defense last year and based on how he closed the previous season, he got hurt. Only played in the Wyoming game. But he is back and he's been healthy too. So there's a lot of buzz and excitement around him. Look, when it comes to this Utah defense and no. And Morgan Scally's not coaching the safeties anymore, but Derek Odom's actually come over. He was at San Jose State, he coached him. Eric Weddle back at Utah all the way back. So he's been doing this for a long time. And when it comes to the corners at Utah, I always just say and Sharif Shaw we trust. I mean year over year this guy just produces high level defensive back. We you mentioned Scooby Davis, right? But the some of the guys are. Rock Caldwell was a community college transfer, but he just showed a lot of promise last year. That's the name that could step in. Elijah Reed coming over from Akron Zips were better last year. I know what they normally are. He was solid in reps there. James Chenault from South Florida is another guy coming over that. I think he could step up and be good too. So there's just a couple guys in the cornerback room and safety might be the best unit the team has because Jackson Benny was fantastic last year, but breakout star went to high school about 20 minutes down the road. And with Rabbit getting hurt, it was like, okay, who's gonna step up next to Teo Johnson because he left for for UCLA and Benny was really that guy too. You got Nate Richie who has been another guy six year. He's been with this team forever. And outside of that, Richie Benny we already talked about Rabbit Evans. To me, just a tackling machine, can play at a very high level too. And Nate Tillman's another safety. He was solid last year too. I think the Utah safety room genuinely is four guys that I think could play at a high big 12 level. So secondary will once again be the strength of this team. Utah's goal will be. Is it plain simple, right? Stop the run and get these teams in third and long situations. And even though Morgan Scally is not calling the defense anymore, bud, the blitz packages that Colton Swan's gonna send still going to be incredibly effective. That had a lot of quarterbacks just absolutely panicked last fall.

C

So let's turn to the schedule here because like there's. I think there's promise and there's also like just so much uncertainty up and down the roster and then obviously with the new staff. But I like the schedule especially like given some of the strengths and Weaknesses here that we've outlined, like the ability to probably play a three safety defense, not have to go a ton of nickel because like a lot of these quarterbacks you play I think are, are pretty underwhelming for the most part. Especially like the start is if you're breaking in a bunch of whole new guys right going. And I'll just read it for our audio audience. Like Idaho, Arkansas, Utah State, all at home. Then a trip to Iowa State, which, you know, unfortunately like circumstance. I think they are in contention to be the worst Power 5 team. They're a powerful team in the country this year. And then we get the bye week and then Kansas comes to town. Like those, those first five games are, it's probably really important. And throw like at Colorado there as well. I think Colorado's improved, like lower ceiling but higher floor. Like they took a bunch of guys who I think are not NFL dudes but do have like real experience playing college football as opposed to a bunch of like former five stars who couldn't hack it at Georgia or Ohio State type roster. Like they've been building and well, tried to build last year. I guess it's like so critically important to me. You figure out what you have and, and still find a way to go like five and one in those first six if you think you have a real shot to, to make it to the Big 12 title game. And then the back half starts and they better have their stuff figured out by then because this is pretty tough. Like Houston obviously, which is a good football team. Luckily for Utah, they come to Salt Lake at Cincinnati, which should still be really salty in the run game, you know, past game, I guess we'll see with, with JC French coming over from Georgia Southern. Then you get BYU in Salt Lake, which certainly helps. At Arizona, which I think is still a really good team. But like their, their schedule this year is brutal. Like, I mean they, they got the real short end of the stick schedule wise from the Big 12 and then at TCU. So back to back difficult road games there and then I think an improved West Virginia team, although they do come to Salt Lake. Like how do you see this shaken out? I, I love that there's no Texas Tech. I love to get BYU at home. And really like the two road games being at Arizona and at tcu, as far as like ones, I would say like those are the two that would be difficult if you're like a realistic conference contender, you know, if you're a real conference contender at Colorado is not tough, you know. And like At Cincinnati and Iowa State, I don't think are. So how do you see this shaking out?

B

I think it's crazy. We might not know how good this Utah team is till they see Houston. Because of what you mentioned, the schedule sets them up for success so much. But we've talked about what Utah lost, especially all nine starters in the trenches. Right? That's, that's a lot to have to replace. But when you have this kind of basically start to the schedule that really sets you up for success, you'll have the opportunity to figure a lot of these things out. It's not like we go to Arkansas. They said Arkansas comes to us. Utah State is, hey, they're a solid program, but we even took some of their best elements with us and now are using that on our team, our program. We know what Idaho is. And yeah, you mentioned with Iowa State too, like anytime you have to travel for a game like that on the road, it can be a little nerve wracking. But look, Utah's just clearly, even though both teams have new head coaches, this is so different with Morgan Scally stepping in than what they're trying to do over at Washington. Over at from Washington State, Coach Rogers now going over to Iowa State, that, that's a lot. And I think it's where this Utah team, even though they got worse to me from last year, there's a chance they could win 10 games again. Bud, when you look at how the schedule breaks, getting Houston at home, getting BYU at home, getting going to Arizona and TCU are tough. We don't even, as you mentioned too, what are those teams going to look like, especially with some of the gauntlet and tough schedules that they have on deck. This to me is absolutely a Utah team that had, they had to go like 2Tech, you know, next year's schedule, they go to Tech, 2 BYU, this year's Utah team with that, I think you're going to say, wow, that's going to be a tough roadmap to get to 10 wins this year's schedule. I think it's absolutely feasible, especially because this Utah team can figure things out early on and then be ready for those tough tests down the stretch. We, Utah will be ranked, I think for a lot of the early portion of the season. But we'll find out against Houston how good this team is because I do think the Cougars are a legit Big 12 contender this fall. But there's no question, Bud, the schedule sets this Utah team up for success and they very well, it could be one of the biggest Reasons if they get to Arlington, could be a wow. They missed Texas Tech. They got these teams at home.

C

Exactly. I look at this, you know, there's a lot of similarities here between this and, you know, Kansas State, right. You have a Utah guy, you have a Kansas State guy taking over year one head coach. It, the schedule is in some ways kind of a gift, you know, or at least it should be. And I think it's critically important to get off, off, you know, to a good start. If you rip off like a 6 and 6, 7 and 5, which I think it's hard to see Utah going like six and six, like 75 to me isn't crazy. Like if you were somehow four and two in the first six and then, you know, you, you split the back six, like that's, you know, fairly like, like within the realm of possibility. Clearly, if they're not, you know, quite as good as we think they could be. But like, you do have, if you're actually like, legitimately a good team, like the opportunity to rip off at 9 and 3 or 10 and two here is, is. Is really big and you know, like 9 and 3 with the right tiebreakers. Especially if those tiebreakers are BYU and Houston, who both come to Salt Lake like that could see you in the Big 12 title game, you know. Yeah, yeah, it's. The opportunity is in front of them for sure.

B

It absolutely is there. And that for Morgan Scally to even have a chance of that in year one, I think is. Is incredibly exciting for this Utah team, this program. It's why the fan base is so optimistic about this upcoming season, because you look at what the team still has coming back right at Devin Dampier way, Sean Parker we've highlighted. And then you look at this schedule and you go, okay, maybe we don't have the best offensive line in the Big 12, but I think we can have a good enough one to still win 10 games. I think this offensive line is good enough to go into Fort Worth, to go into Arizona and to get a home win. I mean, but as good as by I expect BYU to be this year, we saw that Utah a couple years ago when they were having their worst season they've had in a long time. Didn't miss the bowl game game, nearly beat the Cougars. There was controversial call on that. I'm not saying whether right or wrong, I'm saying controversial call away from beating a top 10 BYU team there. So why can't this year's much improved Utah team from that knock off the Cougars at home? Can Houston Beat a team like a Utah in Salt Lake City. When you look over the the course of the years, I know Utah, they're one down year with quarterback injuries. Outside of that, it's really hard to win in Rice Actle Stadium. So yeah, I feel good about Utah. Getting some wins on this schedule right by was always going to be tough but. But when you're at home in Salt Lake City, you got a great shot to do so. So the schedule sets it up for success too. There's a lot of excitement with Morgan Scally taking over. Bud. I think Devin Dampier can have a special year. He's one of the biggest names in the Big 12 and he can have a big year. And I really think this is a team. With all that's happened with Texas Tech, the door is opened enough for a team like Utah to have a shot to win this conference. Should they be picked over BYU and Tech? I'd say no. Are they to me in that next tier with a Houston Arizona like Utah right in that mix. Knicks? I do believe so. There's a chance Utah could win their first Big 12 title. And what a story that would be under Morgan Scaly.

C

That would be absolutely crazy. I totally agree with you on the home field. I mean like, like I, I road Utah is a very different team than home Utah is. And so like the when your road is in conferences at Iowa State, at Cincinnati, at Arizona, at tcu, like that's. You gotta like that for sure. JT really enjoyed this, man. Appreciate you're gonna do awesome things for us at UTE Authority and welcome to network man.

B

Thank you, bud. Great hopping on with you. Like I said, can't wait to get the season underway. Gonna be a ton of fun. This was a blast. Thanks again for having me.

C

Absolutely.

D

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