[MDUte]

Hopefully everyone sees now what AJ and staff are doing. They know exactly the model that’s needed to win big in today’s college basketball. And it’s not the old model of getting the best local, below the rim, talent and mixing in a few great athletes/players from out of state. You need DUDES to win in today’s game. And Al has the NIL commitment from the Huntsman family to spend away before July 1st and we’re all seeing it unfold. Funny to see that TSPP fans are beginning to see it as well.

Al and staff are just getting started…Utah’s COMIN’ baby! Go Utes!!

[MDUte]

Another big pickup! Moore was on Kentucky’s list of targets. Great get for AJ and staff!

https://x.com/TiptonEdits/status/1912649725393633411

[MDUte]

I posted some of my thoughts on the NIL thread but I like how Krindorr shared his thoughts by position group. I’ll try and do the same.

First of all, Utah has a big advantage in talent over TSPP. And it’s across the board. This is due to our NIL advantage when it comes to Football. We are head and shoulders above them when it comes to Football NIL and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise because it simply isn’t true.

QB: HUGE edge to Utah
Dampier’s performance this Spring has everyone completely giddy up on the hill. He’s the real deal and it’s gonna be one helluva an exciting offense to watch next year because of Dampier…CAN’T WAIT!! He’s almost impossible to sack he’s so elusive and electric. And his arm is terrific and has been showcasing his ability to make all of the throws all Spring long. If there’s one area he needs to continue to improve on is his accuracy as he will miss an occasional throw here and there that he should make. But make no mistake about it, Dampier is LEGIT!

We all know what Retzlaff brings to the table. He’s performed well but nothing out of this world by any stretch of the imagination. He’s been below 60% accuracy and slightly above for the time he’s been in Provo which is serviceable but nothing to write home about. And he’s been known to miss reads that have led to critical INTs at key times in games. After seeing him for the past 2 years, I wouldn’t expect him to all of the sudden make a ginormous leap forward this coming year. At the end of the day, Retzlaff is not going to beat you with either his arm or his legs.

OL: MASSIVE edge to Utah
This might be the best OL in Utah’s history. Our 2 starting tackles (Fano/Lomu) are likely 1st round draft picks. And our middle 3 have had a tremendous Spring and the “gelling” has already started to happen WAY ahead of schedule than typical years where Utah’s OL starts slow. This year’s OL is the best position group on the team. And Dampier is going to have all the time in the world behind our OL which he never had at NM. The OL is stronger in Pass Pro right now than Run Blocking but that’s nothing to be worried about. Harding will get those kinks worked out in Fall, like always, and we can fully expect our run game to be solid like we’re used to.

TSPP has talent across the OL with guys like Gentry and others who saw time last year. But they have big shoes to fill with the loss of Pay. They’ll have a long ways to go to get their OL fully in sync but not even close to the level of Utah’s OL this year.

RB: Edge to Utah
Both Wayshaun Parker and LJ Martin are talented RBs. But if I had to place a bet on who is going to average more yards and rush for more yards, I’m going with Parker because of the big advantage he will have running behind Utah’s OL this year. Additionally, Martin has struggled with injuries and I’m not so sure he makes it through the season next year. Behind Parker, Na’Quari Rogers appears to be a solid #2 that gives Utah a 1-2 punch with Parker and Rogers. And then add in our speedster, Daniel Bray, who’s going to bring some electricity to the backfield…and I’m feeling very bullish about our RBs. Still hoping Utah brings in 1 more bruiser from the Portal after Spring who can run between the tackles to pick up that 1st down on short yardage plays.

WR: Advantage BYU
Utah’s WRs are starting to come along. But for the life of me, I don’t understand why BYU can continue to roll out 3* talent at WR every year and get solid production and yet Utah has to always struggle in this regard. I’m hopeful that Beck is the answer to fixing our WR production this year. But until I see it, you have to give the advantage to BYU with Roberts, Marion, and Phillips. For Utah, I’m expecting big things from Z. Williams, Creed Whittemore, Otto Tia, and Ryan Davis. Lots of talent and potential with those 4 to be every bit as good as what BYU has at WR. But they have to prove it on the field. One note worth mentioning is Utah does have an X-factor with Nate Johnson as our gadget-guy this year. Sounds like he’s been showing promise at Receiver with the ability to mix in some jet sweeps, reverses, and quick slants or outs to make plays in space.

TE: Advantage Utah
Sorry, but BYU has not shown their ability to utilize the TE in years. The reports out of Provo have all been very favorable about Carsen Ryan being a major weapon for BYU. But I’ll believe it when I see it. For Utah, Bentley has had himself a massive Spring with every bit as much buzz as Carsen Ryan. And Landen King is filling the Brant Kuithe role, incredibly well in Beck’s new offense. And Hunter Andrews might be the most exciting new weapon to emerge in the offense for next year. He has electric break-away speed and has been making big plays all Spring. And aside from receiving, Andrews has shown to be a very capable blocker as well.

DL: Advantage Utah
Had concerns about DT before Spring but no longer. Vimahi, Vakalahi, and Lea’ea are all stout and on the level of what Utah has every year at DT. The question was with depth behind our Big 3. And both incoming Freshman, Karson Kaufusi and Sione Motuapuaka as well as Sophomore Mike Tauteoli have all shown the ability to be in the rotation next year. Likely only 1 or maybe 2 of them will make the rotation but the fact that we have a legitimate 6 deep at DT is HUGE news coming out of Spring. BYU added Tanuvasa obviously and that was huge for their DL but they don’t have near the depth Utah has.

DE: Advantage Utah
Logan Fano will headline Utah’s DEs this year as the unofficial Mayor Sack Lake City. But watch out for Lance Holtzclaw, Kash Dillon, John Henry Daley, and Paul Fitzgerald. All 4 have had a great Spring. BYU has brought in help at DE with the additions of Spencer Clegg and Tausili Akana. Clegg still has to get rid of the mission rust and many expect him to take until mid-season to be fully adjusted. Akana was a big get in the off-season but never saw the field in 2 years at Texas. Reports were that he has struggled to put on weight. So although BYU has talent at DE, the reports I’ve seen suggest a big question mark at the moment.

LBs: Advantage Utah
Barton, Hall, and Damuni are all 100% healthy finally (knock on wood) and looking nasty as ever. Barton was struggling most of last year with nagging injuries which hampered his play. And Damuni was out all year rehabbing. So Jonathan Hall got invaluable playing time which is going to pay big dividends this year. BYU has Jack Kelley returning who emerged out of nowhere last year as a legit star. Kelley is their one proven dude at LB and I’m not sure who will be their next 2 after Kelley. But I’ll put our 3 headed monster up against any trio in the B12 any day.

DBs: Advantage Utah
Headlined by Smith Snowden who is poised to take another big step forward and have a CP3-esque season this year. Scooby Davis has emerged as a legit Corner on the outside. Jackson Bennee is a name to watch out for this year and has had himself a tremendous Spring. Incoming transfers, Donovan Saunders and Rock Caldwell, should also help bolster our DB room but are still getting up-to-speed in Scalley’s defense. The hope is that Utah will add one more quality DB from the portal post-spring. I don’t know anything about BYU’s cornerback room but this is going to be another one of Scalley’s outstanding, nasty defense this year. And knowing that, I would find it very hard to believe that BYU has an advantage anywhere on the defensive side of the ball.

Safety: Advantage Utah
Safety Pride has reloaded once again and is probably the strength of the defense. Rabbit Evans and Tao Johnson are going to be amazing. And the depth behind them with Nate Ritchie, Nate Tilmon, and Jackson Bennee is superb. From what I’ve heard, Scalley’s been pulling guys from safety to backup other positions because they’re trying to get the best guys on the field and we just have so much incredible talent in the Safety room. BYU has Raider Damuni returning at Safety who is solid. And I would expect Satuala to have a breakout season in his 2nd year, assuming the hype is all true. But I’m not so sure they don’t have a considerable drop-off in talent after these 2.

Special Teams: Advantage Utah
We finally have a kicker this year…enter Legatron, Dillon Curtis! This kid has the range to split the uprights from 70 yards out! He’s the best kicker we’ve had since Matt Gay and Utah is absolutely set at kicker for the next four years! At punter, Orion Phillips, has been averaging a solid 43.5 yards/punt. Nothing to write home about, but all reports are that Phillips appears to be solid. One nice thing Utah fans can look forward to is Curtis handling kickoffs and kicking the ball out of the endzone this year to not run the risk of giving up anymore kickoff returns. I give Utah the edge in STs over BYU because of Dillon Curtis. He’s a special recruit at place kicker and we’re super lucky to have him.

All in all, Utah’s talent avg is 2.5 points higher than BYU’s across the field. This is due to Utah’s NIL advantage. BYU massively overachieved last year with lower-level talent. And everyone knows Utah would’ve been right there contending for the B12, as expected, had Cam not gone down in the freak injury against Baylor with the gatorade truck. Utah didn’t run a plug-n-play offense under Ludwig like we are going to under Beck. This meant our season truly was derailed when we no longer had a backup (like Barnes who had been in Ludwig’s offense for 3 years) who could run Ludwig’s prostyle offense. But the most exciting thing to look forward to next year, without question, is Dampier running Beck’s offense. It’s going to be an exciting brand of offense that Utah fans are going to love…can’t wait!

Time to win us another conference championship and go to our first CFP! Go Utes!!

[MDUte]

Hey all, it’s been a minute since I was last on UteHub. I’m not sure if anyone will find my post helpful or not but I’ve noticed a lot of misinformation on social media in regards to NIL. I know there’s been a lot of hand wringing towards TSPP because of their splashy additions to their basketball team…I get it. But don’t confuse that to mean TSPP has an NIL advantage over Utah. Yes, the big TSPP donors have chosen to go all in on MBB. However, that is NOT the case in football. Utah has a 3 to 1 advantage in NIL when it comes to football. Our NIL is close to $14M whereas TSPP’s collective has been reported to be around $5M or just shy thereof. And it shows when you look at the avg/recruit talent rating across both rosters. Look no further than QB (the most important position on the field) and they decided to bring in a QB from the JC route who’s only real opportunity to play D1 was TSPP. He went to Provo for free just to have an opp. Utah was paying Cam $2M and is now paying Dampiers around $1.5M.

Utah is FAR more organized when it comes to Football NIL with a budgeted NIL amount available to spend towards every position group. TSPP is only able to utilize limited NIL resources to bring in a splashy addition here and there at positions of need (ie Tanuvasa). Give them credit for WAY overachieving last year with lower-level talent. And they are seeing an uptick in recruiting this year as a result along with more donors pitching in NIL. But they’re still FAR behind Utah in this regard. We all know why our last 2 years haven’t gone as expected. And we all know Utah would’ve likely won the B12 last year had Cam not gotten hurt…but that’s football. All reports out about Dampiers and the new offense as well as this year’s defense are OUTSTANDING! We have absolutely hit the jackpot with Beck & Dampiers and Utah’s going to bounce right back in a very big way this year…I am completely convinced!

And for all of the basketball lovers on the board, there’s great news to be excited about beyond just the hiring of Alex Jensen. Our biggest basketball donors have stayed on the sidelines for the last several years because they didn’t agree with Harlan’s hiring of Craig Smith. Now that they’ve finally gotten the leverage needed to get Harlan to replace Smith with Alex Jensen, they’ve committed $7.5M to MBB. That might not be what TSPP is spending on MBB but that’s more than enough to jump start next year’s team (before the new Clearinghouse is instituted on July 1st) with an influx of talent and make Utah competitive right away as Alex and staff put together this roster. Bringing Utah basketball back will be exciting for all Utah fans. And the excitement will only continue to grow from here on both with the product on the court as well as Utah building a new Huntsman Center. It’s still and always will be a great day to be a Ute!

First things first…time to have a HUGE year in football! Let’s win us another conference championship and punch our ticket to the CFP…Go Utes!!

[MDUte]

Yes, AJ and Staff are building the roster from scratch. They are focused on bringing in the best talent possible at each position. Getting Terrence Brown was a huge initial piece to get the ball rolling. They have some big headliners scheduled to come in on visits (Elijah Moore, Tyler Betsey, and Kelvin Odih). And they just added another big piece James Okonkwo from Akron. Coach Chillious is one of the best recruiters in the country! And we are bringing in some serious dudes to play at Utah. I realize fans wanted to see some local kids like Whalin stay and be successful. But honestly, we need to think bigger than that and we need to do better than that. And that’s exactly what our coaches are doing! We need a roster that can compete with teams like Houston, Texas Tech, and yes…TSPP. We need DUDES! And they’re coming. Be patient as it’s a work in progress to get the right kids here. But we have until July 1st (when the new Clearinghouse for NIL begins) to spend big on NIL. So that’s a target date to be aware of. I’m completely convinced and optimistic that the program is already well on its way to “coming back”. The goal is to get back to the Tourney in Year 1. Lofty goal for sure but it’s absolutely possible. Go Utes!!

[MDUte]

Noted and fixed…thanks.

[MDUte]

Admittedly, Krindor demonstrates an ability to be less biased than I am. I told myself I wasn’t going to drink any of the off-season koolaid this year….BUT when I started hearing all of the reports on Dampier, I said fill up my Stanley! It tastes soooo good when it hits the lips!!

The insiders who have shared what they saw in Spring practice admit that there is still a long way to go for the team to really clean things up prior to the start of the season. But there’s just so much to be excited about. If our coaches and players can just get it all figured out in Fall Camp, we’ve got every reason to believe this year will be what we are all hoping it will be.

But again, props to Krindor for being able to remove both Red and Blue goggles…it takes a big man to do that. I am not a big man haha!

[MDUte]

Yea I posted this on 247 as well but I was shocked to see the number of TDS fans on ClownBoard going after one of their own with Krindorr. He’s been on there forever and always consistent about his posting and connection to both schools. Although I found it strange when I first came across Krindorr and realized he was a BYU fan, once I saw one of his posts that explained why he has the dual fandom it all made sense. His data driven posts are fantastic and much appreciated. And whether he’s a bigger fan of the blue or not, there’s no doubt he’s a great guy. And it’s disgusting to see anyone get treated the way he has.

Krindorr, you’re always valued and welcome on any Utah fan site and thanks for all you contribute to the Utah family!

[MDUte]

OnlyU, will we get Karene Reid back in the starting lineup this week?

[MDUte]

Sec 236

See y’all at Eskimo Joes beforehand! Go Utes!!

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