Immediate Thoughts On Utah's Depth Chart Ahead Of Season Opener
The time has finally come — it's Utah game week. The Utes will kickoff their 2020 season when they host Arizona on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. — and will air on ESPN2.
With the start of game week coming on, it means that Utah has released its weekly depth chart. And when comparing the latest release with the first release of the depth chart, some of the position battles are still undecided, while other players have emerged as starters after strong fall camps.
Utah Depth Chart — Pre Fall Camp
Utah Depth Chart — Week 1 vs. Arizona
Here are some immediate thoughts on Utah's Week 1 Depth Chart...
1.) R.J. Hubert Not On Two-Deep Depth Chart
Entering this season, it was already known how thin Utah would be in the secondary considering they lost all five starters to the NFL this past season. The only true returner was R.J. Hubert, played a consistent role for the Utes all season long when giving Julian Blackmon or Terrell Burgess a breather.
Shockingly though, Hubert was not listed as a starter for Utah's season opener — he wasn't even listed on the depth chart. And according to head coach Kyle Whittingham, it appears that Hubert is not fully healed from an undisclosed injury suffered in last season's Pac-12 championship game.
Utah safety R.J. Hubert (10) goes through Fall camp alongside starting linebacker Devin Lloyd.
Courtesy of Utah Athletics
“He’s coming off that serious injury that he had in the championship game,” Kyle Whittingham said at his weekly press conference. “He’s not himself yet. He’s still a little bit off the pace. R.J. is a fine football player and a guy that when he’s right, definitely a guy that is going to help us. But right now, he’s just trying to get back to where he was prior to the injury and it’s been a long hard road for him. But he’s still with us. It’s kind of like Britain Covey covered last year, very similar situation, other than R.J. is probably further behind than Britain was when he tried to come back. So that being the case, we’ve had to move past him for the time being. But I’ve got a lot of optimism that at some point down the road, he’ll get back to where he was prior to the injury and be able to start to help us.”
Freshman Nate Ritchie will now start alongside senior Vonte Davis at safety while freshmen Zemaiah Vaughn and Kamo'i Latu will serve as backups.
2.) Nephi Sewell Secures Starting Spot At Linebacker
After putting on 15-20 pounds in the offseason and switching positions, it appears it was worth it in the end for Sewell. He has been named Utah's starter at Rover Linebacker, taking over for departed senior Francis Bernard.
Sewell and fellow starter Devin Lloyd make up arguably the most athletic linebacking core in the Pac-12. According to Whittingham, Sewell has had a great camp and embraced the position change, throwing himself into the finer points of the spot.
3.) Offensive Line Still Largely Undecided
Nick Ford and Orlando Umana, two of the top linemen in the Pac-12, were returning starters for the Utes. With Umana anchoring the line from center position and Ford moving to left tackle to protect the quarterback's blindside, the Utes had three more positions to determine.
Senior Orlando Umana returns as a starter at center to anchor the offensive line for the 2020 college football season.
Courtesy of Utah Athletics
Then Sataoa Laumea emerged as the starter at right guard after a very good fall camp, leaving 40% of the offensive line still undetermined as to who will start.
The battles at left guard and right tackle have gone back and forth with neither of the four candidates giving in. Whittingham said the positions were so close that the team still needs a few more days to determine who will be trotting out with that first group.
Braeden Daniels started last season but has been pushed hard by Keaton Bills. Meanwhile, Simi Moala was long looked at as the starter at right tackle but Jaren Kump has had the best fall camp of anybody and has made this battle extremely interesting.
4.) Secondary Defines The Word Youthful
As per tradition, the Utes start five different defensive backs, three cornerbacks and two safeties. The starters are listed as two true freshmen, two sophomores and one senior, with the backups breaking up into three true freshmen (Phillips is also the backup at nickel) and one junior.
Ritchie and cornerback Clark Phillips III are listed as starters at strong safety and right cornerback. JaTravis Broughton (Utah's No. 1 cornerback) and Malone Mataele are listed at starters at right cornerback and nickel, respectively, although none of them have any starting experience.
Vonte Davis, who is the only starter in the secondary who is an upper classmen, will be relied upon greatly to bring stability to a very young unit.
Courtesy of Utah Athletics
Listed as backups are true freshmen Faybian Marks, Latu and Vaughn while junior Bronson Boyd is the veteran of the group.
There will be growing pains with this group and patience will be needed — but blessed with all the talent in the world, all this group needs is some experience to emerge as difference-makers.
5.) Wide Receiving Core Is Set
Whittingham and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig have alluded to as much last week when they said Utah has had six pass-catchers emerge from the wide receiver group. They will tailor the offense around those who can make the most difference and right now it appears to be the wide receivers.
"We're committed to doing whatever it takes to win," Ludwig said. "So if the strength of the offense is on the perimeter, and the quarterbacks are up to the task, then things will open up, and I really feel like last year we played to the strengths of who we were and stayed true to who we were through the course of the season."
After a phenomenal fall camp, Utah wide receiver Bryan Thompson is ready to be the breakout star of the season
Courtesy of Utah Athletics
This starters have a bit of everything when it comes to Britain Covey, Bryan Thompson and Solomon Enis. Covey is the elusive veteran who thrives in the open field while Enis is ready to take the top off of any defense while using his height as an advantage. Finally, Thompson is the player waiting to break out into a star who can do a little bit of it.
Their backups are very similar and possess the same traits with Samson Nacua as the wiley vet, Money Parks the elusive youngster and DeVaughn Vele as the up-and-comer.
6.) Starting Kicking Is Still Undetermined
Jadon Redding is the incumbent starter, having made 10-of-13 field goals last season as a true freshman with a long of 42 yards. He also went a perfect 56-for-56 on PAT's.
But he has been pushed by true freshman Jordan Noyes, a walk-on from England who has shown both great distance and accuracy in fall camp.
True freshman kicker Jordan Noyes has been battling with incumbent starter Jadon Redding for kicking duties this upcoming season.
Courtesy of Utah Athletics
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