I can hardly wait till Friday to see the fall depth chart

[gUrthBrooks]

I’ve been trying to play it cool and leave Utah football out of my mind but, but at last my impatience is ramping up. What will the two deep look like at the LB and DB spots? Who will shine in fall camp? Which newcomers will break out?

[Trailgoat]

Crazy thing is there are likely 3-4 DB kids we know nothing about right now that will be starting to get NFL draft chatter in the next 1-2 years.

[Central Coast Ute]

My guess for LB, obviously Devin Lloyd. Starting with him, my guess is Nephi Sewell. K Whitt said on the radio the other day that Andrew Mata’afa is up to 225 now so maybe he’ll make the 2 deep.

[Yergensen]

Judging by his play at safety last year, we’re in trouble if Sewell is next man up.

[KiYi-Ute]

I’m not sure that’s entirely fair. Being thrown in as the third string safety in the P12CG against one of the best offenses in the country is tough. I’m not sure we saw enough for an accurate impression of his ability.

[Yergensen]

Perhaps not, it was a 2 game sample, but it wasn’t good.  Sewell’s name has been mentioned multiple times on this board when it comes to potential starters at both safety and LB, why?

[Central Coast Ute]

Whitt said he’s built more as a LB. The difference in playing the position is huge.

I’m not sure why you’re hearing he’s going to play Safety. All I’ve heard Whitt say is that he’s made the switch to LB.

[Charlie]

Utah has done very well adjusting to the Pac.  However, anyone that has arrived at the expectation that we can fall to our 3^rd string FS during a game and for the following game, all with little drop-off, has very unrealistic expectations.  We have seen holes created in much more talented teams like USC and embarrassing losses when they have multiple injuries in a single position.  On the other hand, Alabama may have a pretty good 3 at FS.

Utah’s defense depends less on raw talent and more on disciplined assignments and practice as a team.  This style has more difficulty with unexpected changes than does a defense that takes advantage of talent to win most individual matchups.  Until Utah enjoys recruiting like Oregon and USC, this is the style that will allow us to compete, but injuries will take time to recover from.  The good news is players rushed into the Utah defense, including star freshmen, generally improve quickly with game experience.

We need to see where the position changes and freshmen settle into the depth chart, listen to the reviews of practice and see what rolls out against Arizona.  The schedule that is very short does allow the team to get a couple of wins as the playing together gets refined.  Sewell may or may not figure in, but I expect the eventual 1s to be much better than they were as backups last year.  Still, USC and Oregon will take everything we have to beat them.

[Yergensen]

Fine, maybe it’s a better fit and we know he will be coached up, but he comes to us as a 2 star transfer from Nevada who looked lost in a couple of games played, admittedly a tough situation. I would rather our LB starting options offer more ready and talented (TBD) candidates.

[Central Coast Ute]

Thate fine. I’m not at practice so all I know is what i hear the coaches say on the radio. Whitt seems to like him at LB.

[Utah5410]

Hubert is our next NFL safety. He played a ton last year. And he’s back.

[UtahMan17]

LB: Lloyd – Mata’afa

LB: Sewell – Furey

Lloyd and Sewell are close to locks to start, Furey will run as the 1st guy in when we go 4-3. A lot of guys in contention for the next spot up…I bet Sione Fotu will turn heads in camp too, great FBIQ and kind of guy who looks better once the pads go on. 

 

CB: Bronson Boyd – Faybian Marks

CB: Clark Phillips OR JT Broughton – Kenzel Lawler

N: Malone Mataele OR Clark Phillips – Aaron Lowe

S: RJ Hubert – Kamo’i Latu

S: Nate Ritchie – Vonte Davis

Getting together a 2-deep here is tough…CP3 will start somewhere and 2 of JT, Boyd, and Mataele will slot in for the other spots to begin camp then hopefully another of the young guys steps up to challenge them…Should expect RJ and Ritchie to be our mainstays at S this year, with Vonte Davis being the first guy in for either spot. 

[UtahMan17]

Breakout Newcomers: Jaren Kump, Ty Jordan will be STARS this camp and season.

Van Fillinger, Nate Ritchie, and Clark Phillips also of course, but they get talked about enough. And rFR Semisi Lauaki should cement his status as the next great Utah DT.