Search Results for 'fano'

[22Ute22]

Ehh, some might disagree, but from a preseason perspective, this makes perfect sense. Now granted I don’t keep up with TSPP and their injuries, but if all those players ended the season relatively healthy, it makes sense why they’d be ahead of anyone Utah had.

Lassiter, and especially Roberts, both had better production than anyone Utah has returning. Singer didn’t have a great season at USC. Alford had a pretty damn good season, but you could argue, and I’m pretty sure it’s true, that Alford was still learning the offense, so he might not match that production. Not to mention that Utah historically isn’t pass heavy, and that we have a lot of TE’s and WR’s who can potentially steal receptions away.

As for DE, Batty had a pretty good season and he’s a big dude at 6’5” 275. O’Toole and Fillinger had decent seasons, but we know they were never fully healthy last year. Fano was looking really good, but he tore his ACL.

OL makes a bit less sense unless this Pay guy is really damn good. I’m curious to know where they list Mokofisi and Fano. Granted I’m not as high on Mokofisi as some people are, but he was a pac-12 honorable mention or 2nd team all conference I think?

Whatever the case, I HIGHLY doubt it will be this way at the end of the season. Utah will have 1 or 2 WR’s that will have better stats than anyone on BYU. At least 1, and maybe 2-3 if we remain relatively healthy, DE’s from Utah will have a better season than Batty. I also imagine that Spencer Fano will probably have a very good season. Although I will say that I am jealous of TSPP having a good center. It seems like we have not had good center play since Nick Ford in 2021.

[Tyler Henry]

Utah is in heaven in terms of OL depth now and in the near future. By next year Utah will have Caleb Lomu, Spencer Fano, Isaiah Garcia, and Aaron Dunn, all former Four-Star OL. Ironically, they are all OT’s. Who do you think gets moved inside? I think Garcia, he seems like the obvious answer to me, and maybe Fano depending on Dunn’s development, I am VERY high on Aaron. I would hate to see some of these guys sitting on the bench, I want to see them all in the trenches! What do you guys think?

[Charlie]

A couple of positions have extra starters. With Richie, Johnson and Gilman hopefully one can play both safety positions so the rotation can approach even. Same with DE with Fano Fillinger and O’Toole. When Damuni comes back, lots of LBers for the base defense. Rotations that benefit the end of the year need to start early. Maybe the defense stays fresh much better this year.

[ProudUte]

They had a good segment on Caleb Lohner. The coaches say that he has an amazing athletic body and is learning fast. I suspect we will see him on the field in some situations, especially in the red zone.

They interviewed Spencer Fano. Wow, he is big. You would expect him to be big since he plays offensive tackle. But, this kid has some broad shoulders and biceps. He said he has put on a lot of strength this past off-season. Spencer is outgoing and has a great personality. I expect great things from him in 2024.

Just TEN days to go. My favorite time of year is almost here.

[Onlyu]

Really excited about Mitchell. We’ll see how he looks with the lights on but he has the makings of a great back here. Micah is very good and so is Glover. They’ve all had good camps and Stanley (Doodle) just brings something different to the equation that will help.

I’ve said it at least twice before. I am NOT worried a bit about our backs. There is plenty there to be a very productive group.

Arm talent is night and day in the QB room compared to last year so feel great about that room, obviously because of what you know you have in QB1. Singer is an NFL guy and we have all kinds of options next to him. TE group has everything…physicality, size, pass pro, run block and pass catching skills, etc.

O-line is talented and deep, D-line is crazy deep. 4-5 P4 quality starting guys. 2 highly experienced DE’s with talent and depth behind them…Fano, JHD, Akana, Fitz, etc. 4-5 playable safeties with experience, including a HM all PAC 12 guy in Gilman who is likely a backup here (though he’ll play a ton). 4-5 very good LB’s with a potential AA in Barton. 4-5 CB’s with nickel flexibility. Strong K, strong P, good return game.
Excited to see how a few guys like a Bentley, Mitchell, Reynolds or Pittman just add intangibles to the equation.
Just so many potential playmakers on both sides.

There will be adversity, we’ll need a few bounces to go our way but this is the year we’ve envisioned for the past handful of years with those veterans coming back. So much to be confident about and they know it.

Stay healthy and this is the best team we’ve ever put on the field imo and it might not be that close.

[Central Coast Ute]

It’s clear this guy didn’t watch Utah last year, or like Tony said, it’s purely political reporting and not based in fact. Most of the pass blocking issues last were were Barnes’ fault. And if they weren’t, it was partly his fault.
To be fair, I do remember Fano giving up a few but he was a true freshman and will be better this year.

[22Ute22]

I want to see Cam, Kuithe, Barton, and Fano look back to their pre injury selves. I want to see QB2 (Isaac Wilson) get meaningful reps to build experience. At the end of the day, Cam might get miss some time, and we need to be prepared for that. I don’t wanna see a bunch of runs to close out a game. Let IW build chemistry with the WR’s against SUU

[ProudUte]

As of yesterday, they are at #17. I know that it means nothing, but it is interesting to see where the local media guys place players.

The biggest underrated player so far, IMO, is Tao Johnson at #40. I think he is going to be a great safety for the Utes. BYU has a couple of DBs ranked better than him, which makes no sense to me.

Singer got ranked #21 (which will be the best ranking for any Utah WR). BYU’s Lassiter is #17. Pittman and Parks have already been rated and I don’t think Alford was on the ballot since he was signed late.

I think O’Toole is under-ranked at #23, but I can understand this because he has not had a full, healthy season at Dend yet.

Key Utah players yet to be ranked include: Rising, Kuithe, Spencer Fano, Reid, Barton. Tafuna, Fillinger, Bernard. (I might be missing someone.)

[Onlyu]

My best guess as of this week. Things could change throughout camp.

Rising/Rose
Bernard/Mitchell
Kuithe/Bentley
Singer/Pittman/Parks
Lomu
Togiai
Kump
Moko
Fano

O’Toole
Tanuvasa
Tafuna
Fillinger
Barton
Reid
Snowden
Tao
Ritchie
Vaughn
Kenan

[UtesRule]

Continuing with the position reviews of the 2024 Utah football team, today I’ll focus on the D-Line!
The depth and dominance of this all-important part of the team will allow Utah’s Defense to match the potential strength of the Offense, in what could be a fantastic season for Utah!
Defensive Ends currently listed on the roster includes:
Logan Fano – So., 6’4” 250 lbs
Van Fillinger – Sr., 6’4” 265 lbs
Elijah Eliss – Fr., 6’2” 200 lbs
Paul Fitzgerald – So., 6’3” 240 lbs
Vili Taufatofua – RS So., 6’3” 250 lbs
Ka’eo Akana – So., 6’3” 233 lbs
Connor O’Toole – Sr., 6’4” 250 lbs
John Henry Daley – Fr., 6’4” 253 lbs
Kash Dillon – Fr., 6’5” 222 lbs
Defense Tackles currently listed on the roster includes:
Keanu Tanuvasa – So., 6’4” 301 lbs
Junior Tafuna – Sr., 6’3” 308 lbs
Simote Pepa – Jr., 6’3” 332 lbs
Jonah Lea’ea – RS Fr., 6’5” 247 lbs
James LeBaron – So., 6’3” 279 lbs
Bobby Piland Jr. – RS Fr., 6’0” 308 lbs
Aliki Vimahi – Sr., – 6’4” 305 lbs
Jori Benson – So., 6’4” 302 lbs
Dallas Vakalahi – Fr., 6’2” 305 lbs
Tevita Fotu – Sr., 6’5” 299 lbs
Another loaded and highly talented position group on this team. Let’s start the breakdown with the Defensive Tackles.
Defensive Tackles most likely to get significant PT and wreak havoc on opposing team’s include (listed in order of most significant impact, IMO):
Junior Tafuna – This senior is a beast and should be 1st Team All-Big12!
Aliki Vimahi – Also a senior and poised for a 1st Team All-Big12 type season!
Simote Pepa – Junior is a wrecking ball of destruction who often demands a double team, just to try to contain him!
Tevita Fotu – Another senior who should have an outstanding season!
Keanu Tanuvasa – After a surprising Freshman season, Keanu is likely to have an even bigger impact as a HIGH quality backup, getting starting reps.
DT’s who will provide the depth needed to keep this unit fresh and dominating throughout games and the season:
Jonah Lea’ea – RS Freshman out of Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas has been making waves in Spring Ball and early in Fall camp.
Dallas Vakalahi – The freshman, home from a mission, was a BIG TIME get out of West High School in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Expecting big things out of this beast!
Defenseive End’s most likely to re-ignite Sack Lake City in 2024 include (listed in order of most significant impact, IMO):
Logan Fano – Has been 100% recovered from his knee injury suffered while recording a sack in Corvalis for several weeks and is ready to continue piling up sacks in 2024. My top candidate for Mayor of Sack Lake City this season.
Connor O’Toole – Also coming into 2024 FULLY healthy and will create an incredible 1-2 punch and push Fano as Mayor of Sack Lake City.
Van Fillinger – Is Van really a Senior…already??!! As healthy as he’s ever been at the start of the season, expecting a solid season from Van, recording high single digit, possibly low double digit sacks and putting a lot of pressure on opposing team’s Quarter Backs. With his size and physicality, he will also be a beast in rush defense!
Backup’s with high potential to provide depth this season include:
Kash Dillon – Sleeper pick as a freshman contributor on this 2024 team. Kash was the # 6 recruit in the State of Utah last year, out of Corner Canyon, who has quickly become the top talent producer in a state that (after California, Texas and Florida) is quickly becoming a pretty solid D1 producing football state. As a senior at Corner Canyon, he recorded 35 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss and 10.0 sacks.
John Henry Daley – Freshman transfer from the TDS, has a great pedigree, size and motor to be a contributor in 2024, and a leader in 2025.
If the 2024 D-Line lives up to the high expectations it has, this will provide the backbone of what could easily be the best defense Utah has put on the field since 2019!
Go Utes!

Next position group I’ll review will be the O-Line.