One old man’s grades on our position groups

[ProudUte]

This is simply some preseason thoughts without seeing our Utes play.

QB – B+ I do not know who the QB will be, but I think both guys have the talent needed to win the PAC12.

WR – B I think we are good but not great

TE – A We are very good and deep

OL – I I just don’t know.  If I go by what OnlyU is saying it may be as high as an A-.  But, I have not seen that level yet, so I am saying Incomplete.  If it is based on what I saw last season it would probably be a B-.  But, 2020 was all messed up, especially for the Oline.

RBs – A- We are loaded and deep with talent.  RBs have almost always done well under KW and I have to think with this talent pool – we will do well again.

DL – B+ I think we are good, but not nearly anything close to 2019 good.

LB – A+ We have a preseason AA and some 4-stars who will be backing up the starters.

DB – B+ We are young but talented.

Special Teams – B+

[Larry B]

I would agree with everything except for Special Teams. Obviously Covey can be electric in the return game but from what I saw last year (small sample size, I know) our kickers weren’t very good. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled with guys like Hackett and Gay but I would say C+ is more like it until proven otherwise.

[chinngiskhaan]

Did you see anything at all last year? How much better can our kicker be? Did he even miss last year?

Even if the new punter is just as bad as Lennon, we have a 1st team all pac12?level kicker and returner. How is that not at least a b?

[Hellhound152]

First team all Pac12 just doesn’t move the needle anymore…  That seems to go for all positions on the team.

[dwainegf]

Our place kicker is good, the return game is excellent the punter is the ? That to me adds up to a c+ as well.

[chinngiskhaan]

Actually it doesn’t. Not if you actually do the math. 1st team all pac12 guys are a solid 95 A in my conservative estimation. Let’s be super safe and assume our punter (who Whitt seems to think is at least better than Lennon who wasn’t a total failure) is a 70 C-. That puts the unit at an 86%, a solid B, and that’s being conservative.

[Central Coast Ute]

Yeah but these are HIS grades, not yours. Feel free to do your own.

[chinngiskhaan]

Mhmmm… and I’m just saying, if you grade it using some semblance of logic, our ST is what I said it was… unless our punter is the worst we’ve ever had

[Anonymous]

 

The only two units you can honestly grade without reliance on another unit is O/D line. For which I would give the Dline a B+ and the Oline ? ( right now between a C- and B)

 

[Charlie]

A+ is too much for the LBs. Lloyd is great and there is a lot of new young talent, but there are several other great LBs and good defense groups in the Pac.

The DL will surprise you. Even without more big names, this group is deep and will wear down a lot of OLs with relentless rotation without drop-off. Forth quarters will be interesting for me to watch.

The special teams may also surprise you. Kicker and returner are very solid. Cover teams will be very good due to so many awesome 2s and 3s that are very athletic. If the punter comes thru, our special teams may become the envy of most the Pac.

[Utah]

Our CB group will be the best CB group we’ve ever had (up to this point). By the end of the year, they will be elite and a group of TO machines. They are special. 

[Hellhound152]

Uh, Julian Blackmon, Jav Guidry and Jaylon Johnson were the corner group in 2018.  They hold the crown until proven otherwise.