Who is the leader of our defense?

[chinngiskhaan]

Going into the season, I think one question that many of us had was who was going to be the general on the field for the Utes defense this year. While the defense has played quite well as of late, I’m still not completley sure who the guy is that quarterbacks the defense these days. That is mostly because I haven’t been able to watch many games given my lack of free time, and living on the east coast now.

 

… So, Who is it? I know CPIII is probably the leader in the locker room and on the sideline, but he’s a corner, and thus probably doesn’t do much quarterbacking of the defense while on the field. He’s really the only one I can think of, nobody else has really been a standout awesome performer, though they all definitely pull their weight.

[MauchDawgUte]

I think it will be Lander next year. Dude is just going to get better and better.

[chinngiskhaan]

Yeah… I’m talking about right now though. Just wondering if there is anyone that has taken on that role, or if it’s more of a team effort

[UteFanatic]

Vaki, maybe? Dude brings the fire on every play.

[gandalf]

Seems like it’s Tafuna to me. Vocal leader and even tries to get the crowd going at times.

[cj13]

Best case scenario is Spencer Fano becomes the leader because he plays so well and is so dominant. He also ends up being one of the few defensive Heisman winners.

[RedUte14]

Spencer Fano plays offensive line, not defensive.

[LetItRide]

Gabe Reid has been solid all year. He’s my pick.

[NarfUte]

It’s generally the MLB, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it were Mo Diabate or Karene. Maybe not a coincidence the D got better as Diabate got more comfortable in our scheme 

[chinngiskhaan]

Glad someone actually took some time to try and answer the question I actually asked. Your theory makes sense I guess, just haven’t heard much about him being the leader on the field (or anyone else really). It will be interesting to see how the depth chart shakes out next year with so many solid contributors returning all over the field. There will be a logjam and DE and DT again (though I think the DT depth chart is pretty settled at this point). There are TONS of LBs deserving of playing time. Safety should be interesting as well. I think CB is pretty clear (Broughton and Vaughn on outside, Vaki at Nickel).

Oh man… Next year’s defense is going to be darn near perfect if Broughton and Vaughn continue to improve. I don’t see any weaknesses on that defense. Experience at every position. Talent at every position. Hopefully we can put together great offense to go with it, we could take a step forward next year.

[2008 National Champ]

If you base it on who the team has made available for post-game press conferences, that has been Karene Reid. In 2021 it was pretty much Rising/Lloyd along with whoever was the star of that game. 2022 hasn’t been as consistent for the defense but it seems like Reid is who the staff is putting out there to speak.