Utah Utes
Overall Rank: #34
#7 Pac-12
Utah Team Page
2010 Record: (10-3, 7-1)
2010 Bowl: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Boise State (L 3-26)
Coach: Kyle Whittingham (58-20 at Utah, 58-20 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Norm Chow
Defensive Coordinator: Kalani Sitake
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Griff Robles, RB, 124 yards
Passing: Jordan Wynn, QB, 2,334 yards
Receiving: DeVonte Christopher, WR, 660 yards
Tackles: Chaz Walker, LB, 113
Sacks: Trevor Riley, LB, 2; Derrick Shelby, DE, 2; Chaz Walker, LB, 2
Interceptions: Brian Blechen, LB, 4
Other Key Returnees: OT Tony Bergstrom, OT John Cullen, LB Matt Martinez, WR Luke Matthews, TE Kendrick Moeai, DT Derrick Shelby, G Tevita Stevens
Key Losses: RB Matt Asiata, WR Jereme Brooks, CB Brandon Burton, CB Lamar Chapman, DE Christian Cox, LB Chad Manis, G Caleb Schlauderaff, DT Sealver Siliga, WR Shaky Smithson, S Justin Talplin-Ross, C Zane Taylor, RB Eddie Wide
With USC ineligible to play in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game, the South division is pretty wide open. That leaves Utah with a pretty good chance at making the conference championship game during their first year with the Pac-12 after leaving the Mountain West. Coach Kyle Whittingham does not have an easy slate in front of him and now it is time for the Utes to prove that they can beat pretty good competition on a weekly basis.
Strengths:
The passing game Utah has showed off in the MWC will move over to the Pac-12 with just as much talent and efficiency. Jordan Wynn is building off of a successful sophomore season in which he threw for 2,334 yards and 17 touchdowns. Expect those numbers to go way up if he can recover from shoulder surgery and stay healthy the entire season. Wynn, like the rest of the Utes, has to endure some changes. Nobody knows the Pac-12 better than new offensive coordinator Norm Chow and he is bringing something that is more of a West Coast offense than the spread attack that Utah has been for nearly a decade. There will even be a fullback and everything. That does not mean Wynn will not spread things around and throw the ball around quite a bit. DeVonte Christopher is a superb receiver who led the team with 660 receiving yards and six touchdowns a year ago. Luke Matthews and junior college transfers Dexter Ransom and Reggie Dunn should be in the mix as well. And do not forget about tight end Kendrick Moeai. Often ignored in the past, the tight end should get plenty of pass catching opportunities under Coach Chow. With the offensive line returning Tevita Stevens, John Cullen and All-MWC honoree Ton Bergstrom, this offense will be tough to stop.
Weaknesses:
That is unless the Utes fail to find a new running back. Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata are gone and that leaves a host of inexperienced players looking to take over the position. Freshman Harvey Langi is the back of the future, but may have to be the back of the present as well. Like Langi, junior college transfer John White was at Utah during the spring and those two should split a majority of the carries. However, it was former rugby player Thretton Palamo who made the most noise in the spring and he could turn into a great goal line back. The defense has some quality players to replace, most notably in the secondary where the unit was not particularly productive. Without Brandon Burton, Lamar Chapman and Justin Taplin-Ross, the secondary is going to be full of junior college transfers and inexperienced returnees. The front four can help out the secondary, but they have some questions as well. Christian Cox was the best rusher on the line and he is gone and so is tackle Sealver Siliga. Derrick Shelby should be able to pick up the slack at one of the end spots and there are plenty of options on the other side, including youngsters like Joe Kruger, junior college transfers like Tevita Finau and Division I transfers like David Rolf. Yet, for the defense to be better than it was a year ago, the front four has to continue to get pressure on the opposition and the secondary has to start making some plays.
The Bottom Line:
One spot where there is little concern on defense is at linebacker. In fact, the strength of the linebackers could easily mask the weakness in the secondary. Chaz Walker will be a household name on the West Coast now that he gets to show off his stuff in the Pac-12. Brian Blechen had a great freshman campaign at safety, but is now making the move to strongside linebacker. Matt Martinez is a slightly less productive version of Walker and will make any tackle that comes to his side of the field. With plenty of depth, the linebackers will make this defense manageable. But in the Pac-12 you have to stop the pass and the secondary lacks the playmakers to do so and that is what will leave the Utes out of the first Pac-12 title game.
Projected Bowl: Kraft Fights Hunger Bowl
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 152.92 (62nd in nation, 5th in conference)
Passing Offense: 236.08 (47, 2)
Total Offense: 389.00 (52, 4)
Scoring Offense: 33.08 (23, 3)
Rushing Defense: 111.69 (11, 2)
Pass Defense: 225.15 (73, 7)
Total Defense: 336.85 (27, 3)
Scoring Defense: 20.31 (24, 2)
Turnover Margin: -.08 (63, 4)
Sacks: 2.23 (40, 1)
Sacks Allowed: .92 (13, 4)
Madness 2011 FBS Football Recruit Rankings:
#144 Harvey Langi
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