Utah ranked No. 22 in 2020 Associated Press preseason poll

The culture that Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has built throughout his tenure with the Utes is something special — and it's never more evident than where Utah found itself in the Associated Press Preseason Top-25 poll.

Despite losing nine starters from last season's top-five defense and record-setters in quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zack Moss, the Utes will "enter" the 2020 season ranked No. 22 in AP preseason poll. It is just the third time in school history the Utes have been ranked to start the year.

.@Utah_Football ranked No. 22 in the @AP_Top25 preseason poll. It’s just the third time in school history the Utes have been ranked in the preseason AP poll. Another painful reminder of what we will miss this fall. https://t.co/jcrisrGINI pic.twitter.com/dENidgqUt0
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JeremiahJensen) August 24, 2020

According to most national pundits, they believe that despite losing so much, Whittingham has the sort of culture in place that just reloads, never rebuilds.

An anonymous Pac-12 coach gives their opinion on Utah Football. 👀 (h/t @AthlonSports) pic.twitter.com/4xfhBYUy1b
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 18, 2020

As announced on August 11 though, there will be no fall college football season for the Utes when the Pac-12 decided to suspend all athletic activities until Jan. 1, 2021.

“We’ve known for some time that this was a possibility, however, it is still disappointing news for our program, our fans and especially for our student-athletes,” Whittingham said. “We respect the guidance of the Pac-12 Medical Advisory Committee and the decision made today by the Pac-12 CEO group, and we will continue to put our focus on our player’s academics and their development. Our No. 1 priority is always the well-being of our players, and their health and safety come first.”

Whenever Utah does play football next, it does have pieces in place that can make the team successful.

The Utes return defensive end Mika Tafua, who after a breakout sophomore season is poised to be their next great defensive lineman. He's joined by Devin Lloyd and Stanford transfer Sione Lund as the anchors in Utah's linebacking corps.

The offense is expected to get a big boost from the return of Britain Covey, while Brant Kuithe is poised to become one of the best tight ends in the nation. If Cam Rising or grad transfer Jake Bentley can stabilize the quarterback position, the Utes could be in great shape on offense considering the wide receivers and the offensive line are the units with the most returners and depth.

One player isn't expected to take over for Moss as it should be a committee approach led by Devin Brumfield, Jordan Wilmore and TJ Green for the lead in carries. With the uncertainty that comes with the running back position, this might be the year that Utah is best suited to throw the ball even more — especially with a young defense that will experience growing pains and cause the team to outgun opponents to win.

This will be fascinating to watch to see if offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig puts faith into whoever is throwing the ball — especially to Kuithe — and dictates from his usual demeanor to go with an offense that is close to a 50-50 run-pass play call.

Utah's most pressing matter comes within the secondary, and how they'll replace all FIVE starters from the secondary as corners Jaylon Johnson, Javelin Guidry and Josh Nurse and safeties Julian Blackmon and Terrell Burgess all find themselves preparing to play on Sunday's.

There are without a doubt going to be some growing pains as the Utes must find themselves a new alpha dog in the secondary, a lockdown corner who isn't afraid to match up with the best the Pac-12 has to offer. While there a few a candidates already on the roster, the most intriguing by far is four-star freshman cornerback Clark Phillips III, one of the highest-rated high schoolers to sign with Utah.

There have already been whispers that Phillips is that guy, with the mentality and entire skillset to thrive as a freshman and more — but how he does jumping in against Pac-12 competition right away will remain to be seen. Either way, replacing the entire secondary is the biggest question of Utah's defense heading into the new season.

Utah is one of three Pac-12 teams ranked in the top-25, following No. 9 Oregon and No. 17 USC. Arizona State, Washington and Cal are other conference teams receiving votes.

Clemson is ranked No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma.

With the Pac-12 and Big Ten electing to not participate, it means that nine of the 25 teams ranked will be not be playing this fall — including three top-10 teams.

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