Bleacher Report Calls Utah's 'Entire Offense' Bounce-Back Candidates for 2024
Utah caught a terrible injury bug in 2023.
The team entered their final season in the Pac-12 without two of their best players, Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe. Lost contributors like Mycah Pittman and Micah Bernard early on in the season. And were without backup quarterback Brandon Rose until the Las Vegas Bowl thanks to a training camp injury. Even more sad to say, these injuries only account for the offense, as unfortunately, there were plenty more on the defensive side.
As a result of their lackluster health last season, a recent article from Bleacher Report analyst David Kenyon pinned multiple Utes as candidates to have bounce-back seasons in 2024.
Nov 25, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes during the moment of loudness in the fourth
Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports
Kenyon’s list includes six individual players from non-Utah programs positioned to thrive in 2024, but in the Utes' case, including the team’s entire offense:
“I mean, should we actually pick just one?” Kenyon wrote.
Utah’s list of “bounce-back” players included four members of the team’s offense: Cam Rising, Micah Bernard, Dorian Singer, and Brant Kuithe.
Rising and Kuithe missed the entirety of the 2023 season recovering from knee injuries suffered at different points during the 2022 season. Two of the country's best before their respective injuries, both are expected to have a meaningful impact when they return to the field in August.
So far, Rising and Kuithe have looked healthy during the team’s preseason practices. The duo opened the spring with a connection for a leaping touchdown, a play that seemingly set the tone for each player’s triumphant return, capped off by impressive performances in the 22-Forever Spring Game.
Bernard played in Utah’s first and last game of 2023. The star running back, who netted over 700 scrimmage yards in 2021 and 2022, suffered an off-the-field injury after the team’s contest against Florida and only returned for the team’s match against Northwestern.
Nearing full health, and hungry to prove his doubters wrong, the senior back has split first-team running back carries for most of the offseason. Should Utah’s running back room remain the same amidst the opening of the second transfer portal window, Bernard should serve as the team's primary back in 2024.
Unlike the other Utah players on Kenyon’s list, Singer was healthy for the 2023 season. However, despite good health, he suffered from an unfortunate situation within the USC Trojans' crowded receiver room. Singer produced only 24 receptions for 289 yards and three touchdowns, in 13 games with the team.
What makes Singer’s 2023 season such an anomaly is his performance in 2022. The 6-foot-1 wideout was one of the country’s best when he played for the Arizona Wildcats that season, putting together an amazing 66 receptions for 1,105 yards and six scores as a sophomore.
In 2024, Singer should revert to his 2022 Arizona form. The talented route-runner and contested catch threat has already shown he has chemistry with Rising, flexing some of the team's most impressive catches this spring.
All in all, there’s a case to make for just about all of Utah’s 2024 expected offensive playmakers to have a bounce-back year in 2024. Utah’s offense is the most talented it has ever been, as it should be able to compete with the best of the Big 12 for a conference championship.
