Clayton Isbell with 3 INTs Tonight for Coastal Carolina

[The Miami Ute]

Utes could have used him this season.

[RedUte14]

he didn’t start over hubert.
also we have Vaki, Bishop, and Ritchie at his position, plus more.

[Utesbyfive]

Well, that’s kind of the point. He’s quite good, but those that we have remaining, are just better. 😏

[OldAsDirtUte]

Ah, that explains it.

[22Ute22]

Good for him. I absolutely trust our coaching staff on defense, so if they didn’t think he was worth keeping around, then it’s best that he left. I think with our coaching and development, he should make a great G5 safety.

[The Miami Ute]

Yeah, except he was playing against UCLA at the Rose Bowl…

[22Ute22]

UCLA is worse than last year and he intercepted Garbers who is trash, and Moore who is a true freshman in his first ever game.

[AZUTE]

Isbell is better than Vaki, Bishop, and Ritchie as a FS would be starting over all of them if he stayed at Utah.

His leaving came as a shock to the Coaches but they aren’t going to try and take anyone into staying.

You are either all in or in the way.

[The Miami Ute]

I saw the entire game versus UCLA last night and Isbell looked pretty damned good versus a top PAC team. He had one mental lapse where he failed to play center field which allowed Sturdivant to beat his CB for a long TD. Other than that, there’s no one here who can tell me, based on what I saw at the Rose Bowl, that having Isbell on the team wouldn’t be a net positive.

[RedUte14]

then why didn’t he start over Hubert?
and why did he go to a G5 team if he is so goated?
UCLA is not a “top” pac team. they are arguably 5-8

[The Miami Ute]

then why didn’t he start over Hubert? I don’t know. Why did Joe Burrow leave tOSU for LSU? Why did Justin Fields leave Georgia for tOSU? Since you asked the question, you probably already have the answer.
and why did he go to a G5 team if he is so goated? Who said he was the GOAT? All I said is that he’s a serviceable player that would help the Utes, especially as the season wears on and injuries take their toll.
UCLA is not a “top” pac team. they are arguably 5-8…LOL, there are 12 PAC teams, if you finish 1-6, then you’re a top PAC team…plus they whooped Utah’s ass last year in a way no other team did and won nine games.

[22Ute22]

UCLA beat Utah last year because they had probably their most veteran and experienced team they’ve ever had since the conference formed. They returned basically all their O-lineman in the 2022 season, and of course, they also returned DTR and quite possible the best RB in the pac-12 in Charb. We also have one of our youngest and most inexperienced front 7’s that we’ve ever had. None of that is true this year though.

[The Miami Ute]

Did you see the game last night? It looks to me like UCLA reloaded. In Dante Moore, a guy who was a Top 3 recruit in the country, they have their next great QB. They have a good running back tandem in Harden and Steele and Sturdivant is a better WR than anyone on the Utes’ roster. I would not take them lightly.

[22Ute22]

That O-line doesn’t look better than last year, and they were playing Coastal Carolina. RB’s look good but not on Charb’s level. Moore looks good but he’s a true freshman and we are his first pac 12 game and hostile road environment. He also isn’t anywhere near as fast or evasive as DTR was. I’m really not scared of UCLA at RES, especially if Rising is back by then.

[The Miami Ute]

I’m not scared of any team but I respect them all. I’m sure Baylor wasn’t scared of Texas State or Texas Tech scared of Wyoming but both those teams are now 0-1. We just have to make sure that Rising is available for the game against UCLA.

[AZUTE]

He wasn’t ready to start over Hubert.

Ask the person/family member that talked him into leaving Utah why he picked CC

Vaki, Ritchie, and Bishop are playing out of position at FS.

They are all just holding their places til Johnathan Hall takes over the FS spot next season

[RustyShackleford]

He was listed as starter going into spring ball

[Ma’ake Kava]

Key difference – CC plays a lot of zone.

There are certainly times when it would be nice to be better polished at playing zone, but then we don’t have the flexibility to attack Mertz and force early / errant throws while not leaving receivers open.

Happy for Isbell, but I like our scheme.

[2008 National Champ]

are you saying that you can’t have a good pass rush if you play zone?

[Ma’ake Kava]

I’m including the various pressure packages as part of the pass rush.

If you’re getting pressure with just DL, then zone vs man doesn’t matter as much.

If you need to pull guys out of coverage – safeties, LBs, the occasional CB or NB blitz – then the need for tight coverage goes way up.

[2008 National Champ]

I disagree. You can commit the same numbers to pass rush and/or pass coverage whether you are playing zone or man. And I would further postulate that 95% or higher of the audience doesn’t have a clue whether the defense is in man, zone, or combo coverage on any given play. The same goes for whether the team blitzed or not.

Whether in zone or man, the defense is going to commit one more defender than the receivers. It just matters whether the defenders will stick to an assigned receiver or whoever shows up first in their zone of responsibility. Having an effective pass rush has very little to do with the coverage call. Each can benefit the other but they are not dependent.

[ProudUte]

I think (don’t know) that Isbell thought that he would not start with Vaki and Ritchie in the mix, so he went where he could start for his senior season. I respect that and wish him well.

[The Miami Ute]

That’s quite likely the case…I’m sure that, whether correct or not, he’s got NFL aspirations and the only way those could be fulfilled is by getting plenty of playing time.

[RustyShackleford]

He was listed as a starter coming into this season. Idk why he transferred

[Central Coast Ute]

I was disappointed when he left, but Vaki is the clear choice. Isbell left for playing time because he was beat out. Would be nice to have him sure.