2013 Fall Camp

[Diehard Ute]

Yeah. What happened with that? I see they are going with the gimmicky jerseys, and now they have bailed.

They rarely change course on things. It seems like they would rather deal with the mocking rather than admit they were wrong at times. The Quest is a great example.

Why this time?

By all accounts his players were livid. He didn't tell any of them, just left the new nameless uniforms in their lockers for their photo day.

Apparently some high profile players were extremely upset.

It also didn't help that their entire fan base mocked the idea and went so far as to say "we should be laughed at for this"

[Senioritis]

Two medical retirements in two days is pretty awesome. These guys almost kill themselves getting ready to play, go through absolute hell, and then things end so fast. It's got to be brutal for them. Best to Moses and the crazy Hooker.

Keith McGill has a wing span of 81", and he's 6'3". That's not only impressive on the field, it's probably impressive in the pit. Hope the time in the pit is short. We need this guy. If Keith McGill can't go, however, I think we ought to look at Keith McCord. He may not have McGill's wingspan, but look at that mustache!!

24945320.jpg

Corners need crazy and confidence, and anyone that can own a mustache like that and be on TV for 30 years has plenty of crazy, and plenty of confidence.

I get the sense that Justin Thomas is looking at 4 years of starting. That's pretty rad.

Thretton Palamo is starting to get a little love. I encourage all of my Ute Brethren to not sleep on this guy. He's fast, he's filthy, and he has hair like Diana Ross. Do not sleep on this guy. Give him some Endless Love.

Davion Orphey's last name is pronounced or-FAY. I don't have anything else to say about this, other than a parfait may be the most delicious damn things on the planet.

Brandon Cox is going to see the field sooner rather than later. If Utah's going to run the hurry-up spread, he's the guy that can run the whole thing. Rich Rodriguez is kind of a goober, but he knows dual threat guys, and he liked BC.

I went up to Ruth's for breakfast this morning, because if you're going to have a 1,500 calorie breakfast and eventually die of heart disease, that's a pretty good place to start. Anyway, drove south on Guardsman as practice was starting, and saw some of the crew crossing the street. Felt like a stalker, and fully embraced it. I believe Fehoko and Filiaga currently have some sweet 'fros and orange hair. I'm not making this up. They look like the poly versions of the Greatest American Hero. This made me feel better about the LBs. Insane LBs often have to have something funky with their hair to get the mojo - mohawk, mustache, braided chest hair, shaved armpits, whatever. Fehoko and Filiaga definitely have the mojo.

[UBlender]

Keith McGill has a wing span of 81", and he's 6'3". That's not only impressive on the field, it's probably impressive in the pit. Hope the time in the pit is short. We need this guy. If Keith McGill can't go, however, I think we ought to look at Keith McCord. He may not have McGill's wingspan, but look at that mustache!!

24945320.jpg

Corners need crazy and confidence, and anyone that can own a mustache like that and be on TV for 30 years has plenty of crazy, and plenty of confidence.

I get the sense that Justin Thomas is looking at 4 years of starting. That's pretty rad.

Forget the stache, that rug on his head is more or less liquid confidence. He's operating on a whole nother level from the rest of us.

[Senioritis]

Forget the stache, that rug on his head is more or less liquid confidence. He's operating on a whole nother level from the rest of us.

Seriously, Keith McCord has a major Ron Burgundy going on. Take him off the teleprompter, and you never know what's going down:



Fearless. And Crazy. McGill better get out of the pit, stat.

[gugstanley]

BCS title game here we come...McCord for heisman campaign starts right now!!!

[Applejack]

Two medical retirements in two days is pretty awesome. These guys almost kill themselves getting ready to play, go through absolute hell, and then things end so fast. It's got to be brutal for them. Best to Moses and the crazy Hooker.

Keith McGill has a wing span of 81", and he's 6'3". That's not only impressive on the field, it's probably impressive in the pit. Hope the time in the pit is short. We need this guy. If Keith McGill can't go, however, I think we ought to look at Keith McCord. He may not have McGill's wingspan, but look at that mustache!!



Corners need crazy and confidence, and anyone that can own a mustache like that and be on TV for 30 years has plenty of crazy, and plenty of confidence.

I get the sense that Justin Thomas is looking at 4 years of starting. That's pretty rad.

Thretton Palamo is starting to get a little love. I encourage all of my Ute Brethren to not sleep on this guy. He's fast, he's filthy, and he has hair like Diana Ross. Do not sleep on this guy. Give him some Endless Love.

Davion Orphey's last name is pronounced or-FAY. I don't have anything else to say about this, other than a parfait may be the most delicious damn things on the planet.

Brandon Cox is going to see the field sooner rather than later. If Utah's going to run the hurry-up spread, he's the guy that can run the whole thing. Rich Rodriguez is kind of a goober, but he knows dual threat guys, and he liked BC.

I went up to Ruth's for breakfast this morning, because if you're going to have a 1,500 calorie breakfast and eventually die of heart disease, that's a pretty good place to start. Anyway, drove south on Guardsman as practice was starting, and saw some of the crew crossing the street. Felt like a stalker, and fully embraced it. I believe Fehoko and Filiaga currently have some sweet 'fros and orange hair. I'm not making this up. They look like the poly versions of the Greatest American Hero. This made me feel better about the LBs. Insane LBs often have to have something funky with their hair to get the mojo - mohawk, mustache, braided chest hair, shaved armpits, whatever. Fehoko and Filiaga definitely have the mojo.

Can Diana Ross Palamo be a three time August MVP? That would be unprecedented.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Here is the latest depth chart going into the scrimmage tomorrow:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/...nt/FBaug12.pdf

IMO, the positions still up in the air are:

#3 Receiver between Anthony Denham, Delshawn McClellon, and Andre Lewis

DT between Sese Ianu, Latu Hemuli, and LT Tuipulotu

MLB between V.J. Fehoko and LT Filiaga

Both CB with Justin Thomas, Wykie Freeman, Reggie Porter, Keith McGill, and Davion Orphey

The rest of the starters appear to be set. The fact that all 5 OL positions appear to be set is a huge bonus for the offense.

For the receivers, Lewis is the wildcard as he just got back into practice today(hamstring). For now, I would say that Denham is the favorite to start the season, but I bet Lewis overtakes lim by season end. McClellon will likely see most of his time in 4 receiver sets as a slot, filling the role that Jereme Brooks played in 2008-10.

As long as he stays healthy, Latu Hemuli is my pick to win the starting spot next to Tenny Palepoi. If anyone doubts him, watch what he did as a RS freshman against Pitt in 2010. That said, it appears that we have outstanding depth at DT this year and despite the loss of Star, the interior play may be better overall this season.

Fehoko is my pick for MLB. Filiaga is a big hitter, but was out of position frequently. Fehoko is a much better fit at MLB than he was at Rover(which he played much of last season).

For the cornerbacks, Freeman will likely be one starter, and I think that McGill will nail down the other slot, at least out of camp. His injury history has me worried about his ability to hold the position, but we have good depth behind him. Many worry about the lack of experience at CB, but I look at it as a position where skill>>experience. The way we place the corners on an island puts a premium on athletic ability, and all of the players in the hunt have it in spades.

[crazyute]

I wouldn't be surprised to see marc pouvave push aiono for RT too.

[UBlender]

For the cornerbacks, Freeman will likely be one starter, and I think that McGill will nail down the other slot, at least out of camp. His injury history has me worried about his ability to hold the position, but we have good depth behind him. Many worry about the lack of experience at CB, but I look at it as a position where skill>>experience. The way we place the corners on an island puts a premium on athletic ability, and all of the players in the hunt have it in spades.

Interesting. I haven't been as plugged in as other years, but I haven't heard a whole lot about Freeman. It seems to me that Justin Thomas and Reggie Porter are the names mentioned most often as standing out. McGill has the highest upside if he can be consistent and stay healthy. Freeman is a guy I've always liked so I certainly wouldn't be upset about him winning the job. My bet is that we see all four of them plenty (with all of the nickel and dime packages that we have to use). I love the idea of Thomas and Porter as four year mainstays at the position.

[Applejack]

I was under the impression that Heimuli had retired due to injuries. Not so?

[Jarid in Cedar]

I was under the impression that Heimuli had retired due to injuries. Not so?

That was a rumor over the spring.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

I was under the impression that Heimuli had retired due to injuries. Not so?

Here's some info on Heimuli's return to football.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=263...-making-impact

[Jarid in Cedar]

First scrimmage today and I will say more later, but if Connor Manning performs in Saturday's scrimmage as well as he did today, I think that you will see Schulz transfer, maybe even before camp is finished(esp if he still wants to play 2 the D-1 level). I don't care that he did it against the 2nd and 3rd string. Those are the players who are thought to be his peers on the team. Decision making is such a huge part of being a quarterback, and it sounds like Connor may be the best we have in that regards. I am not saying that I want to see him this season, but he is going to have alot to say about the QB position in 2014 and beyond.

[UBlender]

First scrimmage today and I will say more later, but if Connor Manning performs in Saturday's scrimmage as well as he did today, I think that you will see Schulz transfer, maybe even before camp is finished(esp if he still wants to play 2 the D-1 level). I don't care that he did it against the 2nd and 3rd string. Those are the players who are thought to be his peers on the team. Decision making is such a huge part of being a quarterback, and it sounds like Connor may be the best we have in that regards. I am not saying that I want to see him this season, but he is going to have alot to say about the QB position in 2014 and beyond.

It is certainly possible, but Schulz himself had a better completion % than Manning, although Schulz had no TDs and one INT (the TD/INT numbers are hard to rely on without context--was the INT on a tipped/dropped pass or bad route? Did Schulz not throw TDs because he moved the team down into the redzone and then they scored on running play?). So I'm not sure we can safely conclude that Manning is rocketing past Schulz on the the depth chart. Although I do agree that if Schulz were to definitively fall behind either of the freshman (and not in a "Cox package" sort of way) then he would probably transfer (and I couldn't blame him).

As for Manning, I think the staff was really hoping to give him a lot of reps today in hopes that they could conclude that he isn't ready and could put a redshirt on him and reduce his practice reps. Based on his size he should definitely redshirt to get stronger--we don't need another Jordan Wynn story here. But Manning is not making that decision easy from the sound of things.

[Jarid in Cedar]

It is certainly possible, but Schulz himself had a better completion % than Manning, although Schulz had no TDs and one INT (the TD/INT numbers are hard to rely on without context--was the INT on a tipped/dropped pass or bad route? Did Schulz not throw TDs because he moved the team down into the redzone and then they scored on running play?). So I'm not sure we can safely conclude that Manning is rocketing past Schulz on the the depth chart. Although I do agree that if Schulz were to definitively fall behind either of the freshman (and not in a "Cox package" sort of way) then he would probably transfer (and I couldn't blame him).

As for Manning, I think the staff was really hoping to give him a lot of reps today in hopes that they could conclude that he isn't ready and could put a redshirt on him and reduce his practice reps. Based on his size he should definitely redshirt to get stronger--we don't need another Jordan Wynn story here. But Manning is not making that decision easy from the sound of things.

Listening to Bill and Hans today, they said that 3 of Connors incompletions were receiver drops, so that would boost his percentage. They also said that some of the drops are because the receivers are not expecting him to put the ball into some of the spaces that he can fit it. I think he will redshirt, barring a Oregon 2009 type of calamity. That said, he is already a better option than Schulz in the long run. I hope Schulz sticks out this season so that we can keep a redshirt on 2 or 3 of the freshman this year.

[Applejack]

This is an interesting development. I really hope Schultzy sticks around, not because I think he is a superstar, but because I would hate to have true freshmen as our backups. Let's hope Archie Manning's long lost son can keep his gun under wraps for the rest of the summer.

[LA Ute]

Thought for the day, from Dennis Erickson:

"A quarterback is only as good as the people who are playing with him," Erickson said. "Maybe the biggest thing is, can we run the football? If we can run the football, we can get down and distance situations that are way better. Then we don't have to put everything on him."

Sounds good to me. I'm looking forward to some "2nd down and short" situations this fall!