The Utah 2011 Football Thread

[hostile]

Your moniker could become confusing. You'll probably suffer for having your posts mistaken for mine. I think a lunch is in order one of these days. And welcome to the board!

[LA Ute]

Whoa there is an LA Coug.

I think this is what you wanted to show us:



LA Coug is on the left, LA Ute on the right.

[UtahDan]

I think this is what you wanted to show us:



LA Coug is on the left, LA Ute on the right.

I thought about it, but it seemed a little homoerotic and I didn't want to offend you, particularly since Superman (you) is catching and Bizzaro is pitching there.

[LA Ute]

I thought about it, but it seemed a little homoerotic and I didn't want to offend you, particularly since Superman (you) is catching and Bizzaro is pitching there.

[LA Ute]

Pre-Snap Read is a pretty interesting football blog by a guy who seems to be pretty non-partisan. His (very) pre-season rankings have BYU at 22 and Utah at 25:

22. (50) B.Y.U. (7-6, 5-3)
Welcome the Cougars back to 10 wins....

25. (34) Utah (10-3, 7-1)
The Utes seem to play better when counted out.

[TripletDaddy]

Pre-Snap Read is a pretty interesting football blog by a guy who seems to be pretty non-partisan. His (very) pre-season rankings have BYU at 22 and Utah at 25:

Looks like they ranked Auburn 26 to start this season.

[LA Coug]

after signing day.....i still like Utah to win the pac 12 south. I've spent way more time looking at the schedules of the p-12 south teams for next year than I should have. Utah gets a relatively favorable draw of the north teams, gets asu at home (and ASU has to play @ Oregon) and usc is still inelgibile.

UCLA and Colorado are extremely unlikely to compete next year....Even if USC wins their eligibility appeal, they have to play stanford and oregon. Arizona also has to play stanford and oregon, then USC on the road, they could very easily start the year 1-4.

Who would you put ahead of Utah in the South next year?

[Jarid in Cedar]

after signing day.....i still like Utah to win the pac 12 south. I've spent way more time looking at the schedules of the p-12 south teams for next year than I should have. Utah gets a relatively favorable draw of the north teams, gets asu at home (and ASU has to play @ Oregon) and usc is still inelgibile.

UCLA and Colorado are extremely unlikely to compete next year....Even if USC wins their eligibility appeal, they have to play stanford and oregon. Arizona also has to play stanford and oregon, then USC on the road, they could very easily start the year 1-4.

Who would you put ahead of Utah in the South next year?

ASU returns a lot of starters. I wouldn't necessarily put them ahead, particularly considering the faceplant that Sun Devil Football has had the last 3 years, but they should be a tough game and will probably be listed as favorites to win the south by several pundits.

[TripletDaddy]

I put SC's chances at winning the appeal at slim to none. However, IF they do win any portion of the appeal, my guess is that the reduction of bowl ban will be the area with the most flexibility.

I'm holding out hope that SC will be eligible to play in the post season for the upcoming season.

Regardless of SanCtions, I would take SC over any team in the P12S, no question.

I would not discount ASU and the Zoo seems to be good enough now to win games here and there. I expect almost nothing but a glorified scrimmage for all teams playing Colorado next season.

[LA Ute]

Smart Ute players:

Utes Place 18 on 2010 Academic All-MWC Team

It's always interesting to see which players are doing well in the classroom:

Brian Blechen, John Cullen, Dave Fagergren, Sean Fitzgerald, Patrick Greene, Joe Kruger, Nick Marsh, Matt Martinez, Luke Matthews, Dallin Rogers, Caleb Schlauderaff, Sean Sellwood, Derrick Shelby, Tevita Stevens, Zane Taylor, Westlee Tonga, Michael Walker and Tyler Whittingham.

[LA Ute]

Kind of a nice piece by Mandel on high-impact coordinators. He mentions Chow at Utah first:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/02/16/impact-coordinators/

Norm Chow, Utah (offense): Revered for his work with quarterbacks at BYU (Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer), NC State (Philip Rivers) and USC (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart), Chow did not fare well with the Tennessee Titans or UCLA. But Utes coach Kyle Whittingham must figure the Utah alum, 64, still knows a little something. Chow will take over the development of talented quarterback Jordan Wynn, who shined as a freshman in 2009 but struggled over the second half of last season. And it doesn't hurt to add a Pac-10 coaching veteran just as the Utes move to their new conference.

[LA Ute]

Ted Miller previews the PAC12 South for the spring:

Utah

Spring practice starts: March 8

Spring game: April 16

What to watch:

* Gotta run: Utah must replace its top two rushers, Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide, and it also lost its No. 3 guy Sausan Shakerin to recurrent concussions. The good news is the signing class included three good ones, and two will participate in spring practices: Harvey Langi and John White IV. Both need to learn the offense and a pecking order needs to be established. Toss in new coordinator Norm Chow's more pro-style approach to offense -- versus the spread Utah has mostly used in recent years -- and there will be some tinkering with the running game this fall.

* Rebuilding the secondary: The Utes knew they were going to lose a safety, cornerback and nickelback, but when cornerback Brandon Burton opted to enter the NFL draft and strong safety Brian Blechen was moved to linebacker, the secondary was left with no returning starters. Athletically gifted senior Conroy Black and junior Reggie Topps should be in the mix at cornerback, while senior Greg Bird and sophomore Quade Chappuis were the backups at safety in 2010. But there's a clear path for some younger players to make moves for playing time, too.

* With Wynn watching: QB depth: While it's not good that starting QB Jordan Wynn is sitting out spring practices while recovering from shoulder surgery, the depth behind him is devoid of quality experience, so they will get plenty of quality reps. Behind Wynn is a sophomore Griff Robles, who's seen some limited action, and true freshman Tyler Shreve, an incoming grayshirt. Considering that you never really know with shoulder injuries, getting Robles and Shreve up to speed is important.

[ame="http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10"]Pac-10 Blog - ESPN[/ame]

[myboynoah]

Ted Miller previews the PAC12 South for the spring:



Pac-10 Blog - ESPN

Totally gutted at running back, new offensive system, injured starting QB missing spring practice, very limited experienced at backup QB, big holes to fill in defensive secondary. I'm selling.

Is Miller equally negative in his assessments of the other schools?

[Surfah]

I didn't know Blechen moved to LB. How do you Utes feel about that? That guy was a homerun or strikeout at SS.

[DrumNFeather]

I didn't know Blechen moved to LB. How do you Utes feel about that? That guy was a homerun or strikeout at SS.

I think it'll be a better fit for him. That and Safety seems to be one position the Utes have recruited well over the last few years so guys like Damian Payne, Eric Rowe, Chris Washington, Keith McGuill and the like should fill in nicely.

Anything is an upgrade over Taplin-Ross...I feel like he was caught out of position and missed a lot of tackles this year.

I suspect that Blechen, Feheko, and Walker will be the starting LBs, though Walker might get pushed by someone quicker...I just think Whit will have some loyalty to him. Matt Martinez should come off the bench.