Utah Releases Depth Chart: Offensive Breakdown

After months of waiting and speculation, game week has finally arrived for Utah.

The Utes will begin the 2020 college football season this Saturday when it hosts Arizona. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. MST from Rice-Eccles Stadium and will be broadcasted on ESPN2.

As per the usual, head coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff released their depth chart at the start of the week.

Here's a breakdown of the offense and what to watch for...

1.) QUARTERBACK
QB1: Jake Bentley, SR or Cameron Rising, SO or Drew Lisk, RS-SR

The battle that has the entire fan base watching, and literally speculating about because Whittingham has refused to show his cards as to who will be QB1. Most people expect it to be between Bentley and Rising, with cases being made for both of me.

“We’ll probably let him trot out there and do his thing. Why give the opponent any lead time to prepare?” Whittingham said. “Much like the running backs, there’s a fairly significant difference in the style and skill set of a couple of the guys. So we’ll probably just keep that to ourselves. It’s not the end of the world if it gets out somehow. I hope it doesn’t get out. But it works to our advantage if they don’t know who to prepare for. That’s the approach we’re taking.”

Whittingham did say that a decision has been made, and the team was told of it last Monday.

This gave the starter a full two weeks to prepare as QB1 ahead of the season-opener, and allowed him to get as much of the first-team reps as possible. This way, the starter is well prepared and won't have to be looking over his shoulder after every missed throw — which Whittingham is hoping is few and far between.

“I don’t see a quick hook, but that being said, we’re not going to continue to stick with somebody if we’re not getting results. You’ve got to get results and you’ve got to have a certain performance standard,” the coach said. “So nothing is completely set in stone. We know who the starter is. But to say that he’s the starter no matter what happens is not accurate. But also we don’t want him looking over his shoulder and the first incompletion he throws he’ll worry about getting yanked. The first guy knows that we have confidence in him."

2.) RUNNING BACKS
RB1: Devin Brumfield, JR or Jordan Wilmore, SO
RB3: Ty Jordan, FR or Micah Bernard, RS-FR

As per the usual, Utah has a staple of running backs ready to make a difference, now the question is who will actually rise to the top and emerge as RB1?

Brumfield and Wilmore are the more well-rounded running backs and have actually college-game experience. They'll get the first chances to emerge as RB1, but nobody should count out Jordan, who has had arguably the best camp of anybody thus far.

“As long as you’re getting production in the run game that you need and whether that’s by one guy primarily or two or three guys contributing, I don’t think that’s really a big concern,” Whittingham said. “So we’ll just continue to get them all reps and see if we can get some separation or see if there is any separation, and then go from there.”

Ideally Whittingham would like one guy to emerge over everyone else. But if that doesn't happen, he has no problem going with a committee approach as long as they're successful.

3.) WIDE RECEIVER
WR1: Bryan Thompson, JR; Solomon Enis, JR; Britain Covey, JR
WR2: Samson Nacua, SR; DeVaughn Vele, RS-FR; Money Parks, FR

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."

This starters have a bit of everything when it comes to Covey, Thompson and 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 Nacua as the wiley vet, Parks the elusive youngster and Vele as the up-and-comer.

4.) TIGHT ENDS
TE1: Brant Kuithe, JR or Cole Fotheringham, JR
TE3: Dalton Kincaid, JR

Utah has arguably the best collection of tight ends in the nation with the addition of Kincaid. He will be paired with Kuithe, a returning all-Pac-12 nominee who should be in consideration for All-American status this season. Then there'a Fotheringham, a tremendous blocker who has really expanded his game to become more of a passing threat.

“We feel we’ve got a great stable of tight ends and we’re going to maximize what each of them brings,” Whittingham said. “Andy (Ludwig, Offensive Coordinator) will do a great job managing that and already has, as far as personnel groups and making sure we get the playmakers on the field and get the ball to the right guys. There’ll be enough balls to go around for all involved.”

Expect Utah's offense to be centered around a lot fo two tight ends sets, especially considering the team can be very versatile out of this lineup. They can run the ball and go heavy or spread it out and throw. Either way, this is their best position group so expect Ludwig to capitalize.

5.) OFFENSIVE LINE
LT1: Nick Ford, SR
LT2: Luke Felix-Fualalo, RS-FR

LG1: Braeden Daniels, SO or Keaton Bills, RS-FR

C1: Orlando Umana, SR
C2: Paul Maile, SO

RG1: Sataoa Laumea, RS-FR
RG2: Bamidele Olaseni, SR

RT1: Simi Moala, SO or Jaren Kump, FR

Ford and 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.

Then 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.

Daniels started last season but has been pushed hard by Bills. Meanwhile, Moala was long looked at as the starter at right tackle but Kump has had the best fall camp of anybody and has made this battle extremely interesting.

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