The only kicker of note i can remember who left college early was Sebastian Janikowski. Andy is good, but I doubt he is 'OMG, get this kid out of college so I cab take him early in the draft!' good.
If Andy wants to go to the NFL next year, he had better put all 6 kickoffs through the end zone against the zoobs next week.
I'm not in Andy's head but I doubt it's so much about the NFL as it is about just being ready to move on with life. Isn't he about 27 now? I know he's older because of his ski team experience and a mission in there. My guess is that he has a family, probably has a degree and is ready to start making money. (Sure, he'll try to make the NFL whichever year he comes out, but that's not what's really driving the decision IMO).Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan
OK, I've been putting this off for too long. An update on Utah's offense next year. Those with small children should switch channels.
QB's returning: Brandon Cox, Conner Manning, Chase Hanson
Overview: The end of the Travis Wilson era is a bittersweet one. Travis did not consistently improve since his freshman year, but he was a good quarterback and he fought through a lot of things that would have forced a lesser man to retire. He is without a doubt our best QB since the Sugar Bowl. Unfortunately, that isn't a very high bar. That leaves Chase Hanson, Brandon Cox, and Conner Manning on the roster. None of them have inspired great confidence. I think for all the long-suffering Ute fans out there that desire someone who will light up the scoreboard (LAUte), it's not going to happen.
Key newcomers: Hope springs eternal and new QBs are always the next great thing. Troy Williams, the former UW signee, comes to us from Santa Monica College (Santa Monica is also the home of Steve Smith, his cousin). He's the projected stater. Also, Tyler Hundley from Florida will join the Utes next year.
WR's returning: Tyrone Smith, Raelon Singleton, Jameson Field, Delshawn McClellon, Kenric Young, Siasoi Wilson, Tim Patrick (can he get a medical redshirt?)
WR Overview: We lose most of our production from the WR position in Scott (graduation) and Covey (mission, subject to approval by SU). What's left is underwhelming. Smith will be our big target next year, but he disappeared towards the end of the year. Someone needs to step up.
WR Newcomers: Alec Dana is a JC guy who had an offer from Wazzu. Demari Simpkins choose us over Wisconsin and Alabama! Oh, Alabama State. But, Wisconsin! A bunch of other lower tier guys, including a guy from Snow who might flip on his commitment to BYU over concerns about the triple option. Basically, a bunch of WR commits, which is good. Problem is, they might all be mediocre and we just have a ton of average WR.
TE's returning: Caleb Repp, Siale Faikaloatonga, Harrison Handley, Evan Moeai (med redshirt possibility)
TE overview: Finally! A position that is (for the offense) stacked. With another year of experience for Repp and Handley, while getting Siale and hopefully Evan back, this should be a position of strength.
TE Newcomers: Cole Fotheringham is a frosh from Cali with offers from BYU and Boise.
RB's returning: Joe Williams, Troy McCormick, a bunch of guys that are young
RB overview: With Joe and (a healthy) McCormick, we're in good hands. But they aren't DeVontae Booker. We will definitely need more out of the "throw game" (I hate that term) next year.
RB newcomers: Thomas McDonald is a JC guy that turned down a Texas offer to come be a Ute! Oh, damn. Texas State? That's a place?
O-line returnees: Sam Tevi, Salesi Uhatafe, Jackson Barton, JJ Dielman, Hiva Letui
O-line overview: Everyone but Siaosi Aiono is back, making this one of the most experienced O-lines in recent memory. I expect them to be good next year, whereas this year they were just so-so. They protected Travis for the most part, but they didn't open up many run lanes for Booker. Next year should be better.
O-line newcomers: We invested heavily in the line the past two years and we should start to see the fruits of that. Tucker Scott (calif) and Johnny Maea (East) are freshman, and freshman OL don't play in their first year.
Is Wallace Gonzalez returning? Small sample size, but he averaged 10 yards per carry this year.
EDIT: the CU box score has him with 1 carry for 1 yard with a long of 10 yards. I seem to remember that play as 10 yards. Anyone else?
We probably need to evaluate each of these guys for LB potential.
Last edited by sancho; 12-14-2015 at 12:41 PM.
I thought Troy McCormick is going to play in the slot--either the Covey or Bubba Poole position, rather than back up tailback to Williams????
Probably a typo.
The one play was a double-pass. The receivers were covered so he kept it and rumbled through about 11 yards and through 4 tacklers to get beyond the LOS for a 1 yd gain.
You forgot Wallace Gonzales at Tight end. He is coming around after not playing football for a few years. And Cole Fotheringham is mission bound. We will see him in 2018
I thought Johnny Maea also mission bound.
I didn't include Gonzalez because we've seen next to nothing so far. I'm skeptical of walkons who generate buzz. He might be great, but we had injuries to our best two tight ends this year and he rarely saw the field. Color me hopeful, but skeptical.
Just noticed that Huntley is only 6'1" and 180 lbs. Will he really play QB at Utah?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
How many times and how many places are you going to ask this question? :what:
That was the first time I saw it, unless I'm forgetting something.
Troy Williams is the QB next year. Huntley will have some time to bulk up a little (hopefully two years). Just hope we don't need a backup.
He has asked the same thing on Utezone at least two other times. Huntley is one badass quarterback. Probably the best high school quarterback ever recruited to Utah.
LAU still lives under the false impression that the reason we struggle at quarterback is that Whitt always moves the talented ones to defense. The reason we struggle is that we haven't been able to recruit quarterbacks as talented as Williams and Huntley.
Oh, now, that's not so. I did once suspect Whitt did that too often (not "always") but my view has evolved. So you can erase your now-false impression of what my false impression is.
I do believe that KW is evidently so passionate about defense that the Utah offense gets the short shrift (perhaps unintentionally, but the result shows up in the musical chairs at the OC position, in the offensive stats, and in the win-loss column). So I looked at Huntley and his size, and wondered if I was looking at a future DB or WR. I hope he's a great QB.
Last edited by LA Ute; 12-14-2015 at 04:32 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I should have said I wasn't sure if I'd already asked. (Maybe no one's ever given me a decent answer.) Now, does anyone know where I left my glasses?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Here is the link to the thread with your answer
https://utah.forums.rivals.com/threa...25/#post-69632
Well, turning the conversation back to the future, I for one am pretty optimistic about the offense. Williams looks like a stud, Huntley looks like a stud (and is two inches taller than Russell Wilson, who does OK at QB) so we may have solid QB play going forward. Williams has shown he can run explosively. Our speedy freshman WRs (except for Covey) will be back and should be better blockers and route-runners.
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Poetry in a football thread? I think a limerick might be the only acceptable form, and only then is slightly off-color.
“To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.
Maybe a haiku?
Announcers ready.
Players practiced and ready.
Fans ready... GO TEAM!!!
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
So we’re playing the Y in Sin City
And some think that the matchup’s not pretty
But Utes fans can see
Though we may not agree
We’ll prove that the Cougs are just kitties.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
It seems that our hopes at QB at WR will rest on the newcomers.
At QB, it's all about Troy. He is our Vernon Adams.
At WR, the hopes lie on Tim Patrick (can he play?), the JC newcomer (can he qualify?), Smith (can he make a sophomore leap?), and the freshman from FL (ready to go?). There is still hope in the recruiting pipeline. A couple of good WRs out of that mix would make a huge difference. I guess McCormick may end up on this list as the new Bubba Poole.
I'm not bullish at all on the offense next year. We've lost over 70% of our offensive production and 85% of our scoring production, and will play a QB that will not have thrown a college pass in two years. Joe Williams looks serviceable but wouldn't anoint him a stud at this point. Our young receivers were less than impressive, dropping passes left and right and didn't improve downfield blocking from game 1 to the end of season.
I'm hunkering down for a brutal rebuilding year.
“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
Unfortunately, this is my view too. The offense is a complete rebuild, relying on a JC transfer at QB, and a menagerie of parts at WR. I could get behind it if we had anyone playing LB. At least on offense we have a plan: The JC kid is out of this world good, the WR develop and they get an infusion of talent, Joe Williams learns to hold onto the ball, and everyone stays healthy; unlikely, but it is a plan. Can anyone tell me what our plan is at LB?
I mentioned in a previous post that I listened to an interview with Mack Brown last week, and shared his opinion on the number of bowl games available.
The second part of the interview focused on recruiting, and he was adament that in today's game, you need to recruit 5 quarterbacks every year, and move those that don't work out.
“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
Just don't see that as being a viable option with the more rigid 25 per year rule.
1/5 of every class can't be QB's, even if you're going to move some. Cause often those kids will transfer to stay as a QB.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Exactly. Based on his track record of misses, Mack Brown is the last ex-coach who should be doling out advice on QB recruiting.
With the Prukop commit, Oregon goes into next year with 8 QB's on their roster. That's an average of 2 per year?
http://www.dailyemerald.com/2015/12/...e-next-season/
I bet the other 7 were thrilled at the news.
JIC, as far as I'm concerned Kyle can be the head coach at Utah until he doesn't want the job anymore, but he has not succeeded yet at putting together anything but a very poor offense in the PAC-12, and it's his job to do better than that. I think we are past the point of looking for excuses, and he's not making them himself. He's got to get it done. I'll keep cheering for him to do that.
Last edited by LA Ute; 12-14-2015 at 07:02 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Whitt deserves plenty of criticism for the offensive performance. The results are what they are. I am also not making excuses. There are valid criticisms for the offensive performance, and I think I will start a thread to discuss what I see as the underlying issues.
But the primary criticisms that you and others level at him, specifically
A)moving special talent off the offense because it benefits the defense to the detriment to the team as a whole,
B)that quarterback is a mess because of moving them to defense
C) that he changes OC's on a whim,
are just factually incorrect. These points have been ignorantly repeated enough times by many, including you, that they have taken on a life of their own, and are now deemed "facts" by ignorant fans.
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