[Rick]

Butters,
A couple of questions for you. Garcia at center is new information to me – not that I had any insider knowledge. I’ve assumed he’d be our next great tackle. Is he a tackle-in-waiting who gets playing time backing up Kump at center or is he going to be our center of the future? Do you know?

Dillon over Fitzgerald is another projection I’m wondering about. What do you know about his progress that suggests he starts? Fitzgerald is a solid defensive end who proved to be strong against the run last season but didn’t do much as a pass rusher. Not that anyone did much in that space. I do hope Dillon becomes at least a two-year starter for the U. He certainly has the physical makeup.

Lastly, is Kanai Lopes projected as a backup because you hope he will be or because his play demands it? He’s another one, like Dillon, whose positional size and athleticism would suggest he climb the depth chart but he’s also on the young end still. I know Scalley thinks highly of Trey Reynolds.

Anyway, just wondering whether or not you can share a little more information on those players/positions.

[Rick]

ALUF,
I think you’ve captured the floor – 7-5 is possible. I have a hard time believing Utah loses five road games. Defense travels and we’ll have a strong defense this season. I’m also sold on Dampier after watching him and talking to a few insiders about him. If he stays healthy, the offense can be special.

I like the U in the opener against UCLA and I feel like the other four losses you predict could go either way. Do we get two of those and end up 10-2 or 9-3? That’s where I’m hoping the U ends up.

[Rick]

He’s a one – slated to start at point guard right now. Definitely a score first one.

[Rick]

I don’t disagree with you Ute Dub but it will be interesting to see what Alex and staff do – or try to do.

Alex has said that he doesn’t want a “new team” every year. I’m hearing that the best way they think that’s done will be leaning into high school recruiting with a smaller mix of portal players with one-to-two years of eligibility left. I also continue to hear that the Houston model is closest to what they want to do. A lot of dawgs who play positionless defensively and who come up through the program.

[Rick]

Come on CC – we’re due – at least at the QB position.

[Rick]

Rangum,
I can tell you with certainty that what you’ve heard about Scalley wanting Arbuckle as number one choice is false. He liked Arbuckle and would have supported the hire but he wanted Whittingham to interview Beck from the start and when Arbuckle “used” the Utah position to get Oklahoma Whittingham agreed to bring in Beck.

The second guy interviewed, I forget his name, would not have been offered the position. Neither Whittingham nor Scalley felt like he was the right fit. Not a negative, just not the right fit. The media and fans assumed that the second guy interviewed was the second choice. It was not the case.

Beck was then interviewed separately by Whitt and then Scalley. They both agreed quickly that he was the guy.

Technically, you could say Arbuckle was the first choice; but if you got Scalley to speak candidly, he’d tell you that Beck was his first choice. That matters a ton given the inevitability of Scalley.

[Rick]

I’d love it if Fotheringham finally grabbed a roster spot. I believe he’s been on the Raiders practice squad the last few seasons. He’s had some strong preseasons.

[Rick]

I’ve discussed rim-protecting with my sons a little. We do hope for someone with true center size who can protect the rim and be a nice lob threat.

Don’t you think that Dawes could play the role of rim protector? I seem to recall a few moments in the season where he came from the weak side and made some nice blocks. I realize that’s only one aspect. I wonder if Traore has the ability? We don’t know anything about him except that he redshirted after making great impressions on the coaching staff last fall.

Anyway, I do think we need rim protection and I’d love a more traditional point guard; but the roster construction does look promising – filled with positional length and athleticism.

[Rick]

I get it Champ. I just don’t know that it’s subterfuge. I see that it could be. I’m just saying that Whittingham was driven by knowing two things – he wanted Rising on the field if at all possible, and the U didn’t have a suitable backup.

[Rick]

Champ and Gator,
I don’t mean this to argue with either of you about Whitt’s handling of the Rising situation the past two seasons. I think it could have been better, especially last season more from a personnel standpoint. We simply did not have the right back up.

I do think a lot of us forget context from Coach Whitt’s perspective. I talk to fans all of the time who forget that Rising had three seasons ruined by injuries, not two. Remember that he started against USC and experienced a season-ending shoulder injury 15 to 20 plays into the first game (in the first quarter). He had earned the starting position over Jake Bentley.

The next season Whittingham made what I think was perhaps his worst decision as head coach. He started Charlie Brewer over Cam Rising. I don’t know that Utah would have defeated BYU but we surely would have defeated SDSU.

I’ll get to my point. I think Coach Whitt will forever regret that decision. I think it weighed significantly on his handling of Rising the next two seasons. Whitt knows what a winner Rising is, and he never wanted to doubt him or put him behind anyone again. He wanted him on the field.

I realize that this is an apologist viewpoint, but I believe it’s fundamentally what has driven Whitt’s thinking about the QB situation until the leg injury against ASU.

On a related note, think of Rising having to rehab and return from so much injury. The physical and mental toll must be brutal. I admire him. I also don’t fault Whittingham as much as others given the context above.

[Author]

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