[Music] You're listening to the Utah Checkdown Podcast. And now your host, Josh Furlong. [Music] Welcome back to another edition of the Utah Checkdown Podcast. I am Josh Furlong. Happy to be back with you for another week. I screwed up guys. Last week I did not get you an episode. And I apologized for that. We had a lot of media availability sessions for football last week as it was closing out. The week and then the day that I was going to do a podcast, Thursday. I had a rare opportunity. There's a golf course here in Utah down in Farron, Utah. So it's about a three hour drive from the boss' edge front. Roughly depending on where you're at, they do one day of unlimited golf for 50 bucks. So I went down with a bunch of friends and we golfed all day. I did 50 holes. That's a lot of golf. We did an 18 hole just regular. So everybody gets their regular score. And then we did a four man scramble. Then we did a two man scramble. And then just kind of rounded it out so we could get the even 50. So couldn't pass up that opportunity. And the week just kind of got away from me. I apologize for that. It was a little selfish and decided to go golfing instead. So we're going to recap all that kind of stuff this week. I don't think you missed that much, right? Like are we that worried? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We'll just apologize that way. But if you ever get a chance to golf all day for the price of basically an 18 holes, you kind of got to do it. So loved it. It was awesome. Great course. Well mostly it had a little wear and tear on it. But for the most part, really great opportunity. So it was a lot of fun. And you know, you can't beat a day of golf. So that is something that you got to do. All right. So we're back though. And today we're going to look at the men's and women's basketball transport. How things are kind of shaping up. I kind of wear things or at most of of this is kind of rounded out. So it's it's almost finalized for the most part. So we'll get into that. We'll do a little NFL draft preview as the draft is beginning tomorrow Thursday. If you're listening to this on Wednesday. And then we're going to recap football. So we'll do a little spring recap of their camp, kind of what happened, what took place and all that kind of stuff. And then it's it's true offseason mode. So I know I know they'll you know we want to talk football. Excuse me. Talk football all the time. But it is it is offseason mode for the most part. And we are now moving into that mode. So let's jump into that. But before but first let me tell you about our partners at Canyon View Credit Union. Feeling confident about about your finances changes everything. And that's where Canyon View Credit Union comes in. They focus on helping you build something strong over time at your pace and in a way that fits your life. With Canyon View Credit Union, it's not about one size fits all solutions. It's about steady progress, real guidance and having someone in your corner who's there for the long run. Through every step, every goal, every new chapter, Canyon View Credit Union is right there with you. And honestly that kind of support feels just different. Learn more about Canyon View Credit Union. How Canyon View Credit Union can help build your momentum at CanyonViewCU.com. Canyon View Credit Union. Shaping your financial journey. Alright, let's jump into this. First off, we've got to give a shout out to the Utah mammoth playoffs or back in the state of Utah. Which is great. It's always a good thing to be able to have the playoffs back in the state of Utah. And last night, the mammoth won three two over the Vegas Golden Knights. Pretty electric game. Pretty exciting opportunity to watch that and be able to see what took place. They get a come back to the Delta Center, which is going to be a rockus environment. I'm jealous of all the people that have tickets for that game. Maybe I'll sneak a little press pass in. No, I don't think I'll get that chance. But really cool opportunity to be able to see the mammoth in person in playoffs sitting. And I think that's that's all everybody wants. And I think, you know, I've said it for a long time that once once the mammoth can get a playoff atmosphere here in Utah, I feel like hockey can take off even more. I think once you build that connection with playoffs and kind of the emotions tied to that where everybody's kind of rooting in the same vein, I think it's going to be a pretty electric atmosphere. And I think hockey is really going to start to take off from here on out. So not, you know, those that are huge into hockey understand like it's something big. But I think for more of the casual people, a K.A. Me for the longest time, who are learning hockey in terms of the professional world. Trying to figure out, you know, what teams to follow. This is a great opportunity, right. And I know, you know, this is it's still going to grow and really looking forward to it, really looking forward to be able to see that and kind of see what's going to take place. And I know that has nothing to do with collegiate sports, but just, you know, wanted to give a shout out. It was fun to watch. It was, you know, stressful to watch because you wanted to see Utah win. You know, we want to see every Utah team win, right. Like anytime there's opportunities like that, I think it's a good opportunity for the state of Utah to represent and showcase what's what it's all about. So, you know, the Delta Center is going to be rocking. That place is always electric, whether it be the NBA playoffs, whether it be NHL playoffs now, that place is going to be pretty epic. Just my little shout out for that. So let's let's jump over to the transfer portal updates and kind of where things are at for the men's and women. So let's start with the men's just some updates on some of the players that have entered the transfer portal and have committed to schools. There's still several players that haven't committed though summer, moving along a little bit, but these are the players that have entered the portal and have committed to a school. So you've got Keanu Daws. He goes to Kansas, so stay in conference. So you're going to get to see him Elijah Chopin more. You know, this is this is the guy that, you know, left the season early. I started at Syracuse went to Utah and now he's at McNeese. So, you know, tough blow for him, but that's kind of the nature of this and where it was at. And then earlier this week Terrence Brown committed to North Carolina. So pretty crazy to kind of see where where that fit will be for him. Clearly a dynamic score and and if you can find a role there with the tar hills, you know, I think that's going to be a pretty electric opportunity for him. But you know, remains to be seen. You know, he's got to clean up some defense and he's got to clean up a little bit of his game. But I think, you know, if the tar hills, especially in a new regime there, if they can get the most out of him, I mean, that's that's a still of a pickup and I think he's he could do really well for the tar hills. His recruitment did pause for a little bit simply because his aunt who is really he's really close with who who went with him on all of his recruiting visits, you know, Kentucky North Carolina, all that stuff. She passed away on Friday. So, you know, tough opportunity for him. You know, you feel for their family and the emotions of trying to grieve will also still trying to find a new school and he kind of has to act on on all that. So tough opportunity for Terrence Brown. But, you know, you're going to see him in that Carolina blue and and see him wrapping that that Jordan logo. And, you know, if you're a fan of Terrence Brown, you know, I'm sure you can cheer him on there and see what happens there. And then yesterday my my coworker Steve Bartle reported that Obamate Abing, he entered the portal. And so that's going to be a TBD situation. But that that puts Utah now roughly at 14 players of the 15 that they can get. There's some wiggle room there, depending on how you maneuver some of that. But it looks like that's kind of where Utah's at. So here's what they got in the incoming not class, but the transfer portal. So let's let's jump into this. Some of them are transfers. Some of them are international. So it's kind of that they're not quite it transfers. They're more just coming from overseas. And so they're older. We'll get into that. First off was Jackson Holcomb. He's a wing who was at Utah Valley really solid glue type player. This is a guy that is kind of the connecting piece that Utah was missing last year and has missed over the last few years, right. You need that glue piece. You could equate him to a better rally booster in some respects where, you know, there's a guy that just kind of brings everybody together is willing to do the dirty work, willing to kind of mix it up and get into there. That's who Jackson is. So really fascinated to kind of see how he integrates into this program. I think he's, you know, there's moments where he could be a starter. There could be a guy that he could be the six men. I think he's probably going to be a starter, just simply because of the connective fibers that that he could provide. And he, you know, he did well at Utah Valley. So he averaged 16.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 stills, which actually led the conference in stills. He started all games for for the Wolverines shot 53% from the field. His three point field goal shooting is lacking tremendously. tremendously. He's should.
including only 16.2% from deep, but he only averages 1.1 shot per game. So I mean, there's not a lot. He's gonna take one a game essentially and he's not that accurate with it. So I think for Utah, that's gonna be a big area of emphasis for him is trying to develop that shot. But for the most part, this is a guy that's gonna mix it up and do whatever he needs to. You know, in that small forward-ish position, depending on how Alex Jensen wants to operate. But I think this is a great pickup for Utah. One, you get a Utah guy, not Utah in the sense that he's, you know, an alum or he's a legacy kid. But a kid that grew up in the state has good connections. It's just a great opportunity to be able to have some emotion that way. And, you know, when that BYU Utah rivalry game comes around, this is a guy that's gonna care. This is a guy that's gonna rally the troops and try to make it something of importance. So, you know, he took a big jump from his Red Shirt freshman here to a sophomore season, which was last year. So I think you can still see that there's potential and there's growth. He was on the, he was the whack all the, excuse me. Let me slow down there. He was on the whack all defensive team. This is exactly the type of guy that Alex Jensen wants. He wants guys that buy into the defense. You can see kind of the shades of how he used to operate. That's how Alex Jensen wants to operate. And so getting a guy like this who is in, on the all defensive team, a guy that is willing to, you know, play good defense. That's where Alex wants to go. Obviously, the shots have to come. You've got to find guys that can get the ball in the hoop. But I think with what's going on here, this is a good opportunity for Utah with Jackson-Holkum. So, a local kid probably will spend a little bit more on him just simply because of the local ties and all that. But really good opportunity to have him on the lineup and kind of be that connective tissue to what can help this team go. Next is Tase and Chapman. Another wing, probably more of a shooting guard from Ohio State. So he played in 28 games, only had three starts. Still kind of a player developing and trying to get into the system. I'd be curious to see the opportunities that he has at Utah. I would assume that he has a little bit more opportunities, but I still expect him to come off the bench. Six foot four guard, 175 pounds. Average to only 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds. Shot the ball, 46% from the field, 47% from 3.2 range, out about 1.8 attempts per game, and an 85% free throw percentage. So all the guys that have committed to Utah recently, he has the highest free throw percentage, but it's a low number based on the number of attempts that he's taken. So either way, you need to find those guys. Utah has been struggled with free throws over the years, and so anytime you bring new guys in, I think that's an important situation. Then another local guy, at least in terms of playing in the state this last year, was Malik Goma. He's a forward slash center at 6'8, 225 pounds. That's probably the height that you're going to get for Utah most of this time. 6'8, 6'9", Utah will be a little bit more smaller, the body would like they were last year, but I think you've got potentially more athletic guys that can be effective in the post. So we'll see, but this is a guy at Weber State, who averaged 8.6.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and started in all 32 games that he played. He was second in the big sky in rebounds. So this is a guy that's willing to go do it, shoots 53.6% from the field. Big drawback is this 47% from the free throw line. So that's going to have to be cleaned up, but a guy that's going to help mix it up in the middle, probably off the bench right now. We'll see who's kind of there in terms of who emerges, but I would assume he kind of comes off the bench in the second unit for Utah. And if you can get that, a guy that can rebound, a guy that can at least score at a consistent rate, getting eight points off the bench, that's nothing to laugh at, right? So you need to have that. And then some of these other pickups right here, these last ones, or a little bit bigger for Utah. These are guys that are going to be able to help the team. A ton in this next one is going to be a huge fit for how Alex Jensen wants to operate. And that's TJ Birch. He's a point guard from Wright State. He's going to come in as the Horizon Tournament MVP, the Horizon Defensive Player of the Year. He was on the all-Horizon defensive team. He was on the all-Horizon first team. Like everything that you could be on, he was there. And yeah, you could say, Horizon League, that doesn't really matter. No, this is a guy that buys into the defense. And he's fully committed to that. He's going to be a great asset, as long as everything translates at Utah, to be able to add to that defensive mentality that Alex Jensen has. On top of that, he averaged 12.4 points per game, 2.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 stills, which led the conference in stills, and was third in the NCAA in a number of stills that he had in the season. So had 23 starts over 34 games for Wright State, pretty solid player. I think he'll mix it up as well as probably a second team guy could mix in with the one at time. But a guy that's really going to bring a lot of effort on the defensive side of the ball, which could win him a lot of love from Alex Jensen. So curious to see what happens there. Another guy that shoots 45.7% from the field, a little bit better, at 34.7% from 3 at 2.2 attempts per game. So there. The next is guys from overseas. And this was a big push from Alex Jensen and staff to go overseas. They wanted guys that were older who have experienced basketball at a higher level in terms of playing against true men, and not that you can't get that in the collegiate level. But some of these leagues overseas, you can just play guys that are truly in the professional realm. And some of them aren't always great, right? You're getting some that say, oh, they're playing against men, but they're in a lower tier. Most of what these guys have played is kind of a higher tier, not maybe it's the elite, but they're at a good level where you can kind of test where they're at. The first one is, I'm going to probably mispronounce these, and I apologize. We'll learn them better. But Nome Yakov, he played on his rally team from Denmark, 6'1 guard, 21 years old. He averaged 17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and one still. His shooting is 48.5% from the field, 40.4% from 3, and 77.3 from free throws. I don't have shot attempts to understand how much he gets there, trying to find some of those stats. There's a little bit more difficult, but a good shooter, a good distributor of the ball gets to the paint, gets what he needs to, a good athletic guard that could really help Utah in what they're able to do. And I think that's going to be very beneficial for what Utah's going to need, especially as most likely your primary ball handler. I would assume that he's probably the guy that is your leading point guard starting out. Tough to know how it all mixed together, but he and TJ Birch will probably mix it up for that point guard position and how that all operates. But I think you're going to see some good competition there and some guys that have competed at a good level. And then lastly is Alec Anigbata, another guard from Germany. So he played in the BBL league, which is a little bit more of the higher competition. This is competition that is probably more-- maybe a step up from college, but it's probably a little bit closer to college/G league type situation. So a good system. And then he also played for the Pro BB League, which is more of a feeder system for what some of these teams have out there. So it's kind of more of-- I wouldn't call it developmental, but it's one that is not necessarily going to be a higher league. So he's mixed it around in a bunch of different things-- 6 foot 4 guard, 21 years old, another 21-year-old guy who's played, had experience. His numbers aren't going to jump off the page. Quite honestly, 4.5 points in that BBL, but he's playing against tough competition. He's learning from that 39.1% from 3, and then 70.7% from the free throw line. So a guy that I'm really curious to see how that translates to the collegiate level. But there's a lot of optimism about what he could do in college. He's a fringe. If I've read it right, I think he's a fringe second-round pick in the NBA draft if he really wanted to pursue that. But it's tough to know. So there's enough talent and belief that he can be a guy that can do a lot of damage. But I think you want to see a lot more from him. And if Alex can really help develop him and he can continue to buy into what Utah has in place for him, I think Utah's got a real star on the making in the making, excuse me, with these two international guards. I think there's a lot of potential there. There's going to be a lot of emphasis on the defensive side of the ball and really trying to make--
get difficult on teams, which in the big 12 is going to be a big thing. They obviously have to find some points, right? You can't just throw these guys out there and not expect to get points. Maybe Yako, if he can average 17.7 points a game, that helps. And then you translate that with the defense. Then I think Alex is going to feel really comfortable with what he's got. But if this is just an all defensive team and they can't score a bucket, it's not going to go very well. Plus, that defense is incredibly locked down and you just grind these into 45-50 game. But there's just so much talent in the big 12 that I see that being a very difficult thing. You have to pair this with some offense. Really curious to see how this develops. But I think the makings are there where Alex is starting to piece together the type of roster that he wants. It's still a whole remake, right? But you're essentially bringing in an entirely new roster outside of, I think that might be it. There is nobody else on the roster, right? So you're bringing an entirely new roster. You're bringing in some freshman kids that you're excited about. It's now or never, not now or never, quite in the sense that like if Alex can't get it done this year, it's over. But I think this is the time where you're going to start to see how he and General Manager West Wilcox kind of operate and how they're able to approach it. Now, money's a factor, right? It's all those types of things and you're fighting with teams that are much better off in terms of a financial compensation. And so there's some things here that you have to kind of add his caveats to what Utah's doing. So really fascinating to see what this team does this next year. I mean, we've got a long way until that happens, at least until October until we get a good look at them. But I think the pieces are there where you're starting to see Alex kind of piece together in the right way. Transitioning to women's basketball. So women's basketball, they return four players and then they're bringing in freshmen as well as transfer portal. And so it's going to be another mix of it. But this is a team that's going to be young for the most part. It's going to be a team that is going to try to come together in another similar fashion, try to be a little bit better than what they were last year. But they had good pieces, right? Just for whatever reason, it just didn't sink up the way that they needed to. And so this is an opportunity for Gavin Peterson to really improve and kind of add another layer to what he does. This this class right here or this, this roster is largely going to, I would assume dictate how he's able to operate as a coach. So if this is another flop, you know, you have to start wondering, you know, is he on the hot seat? And I like Gavin and I think he's a great guy. But this is the this is the opportunity where you kind of have to put up or shut up type situation. You know, I think there's still some grace there. This would technically only be his second full season. Granted, he got a majority of that first season after Lynn Roberts left. But, you know, he wasn't necessarily recruiting for his own roster. He's recruiting for Lynn. So we'll see. It's a tough situation. Once again, the big 12 is in an easy conference. And so this is going to be different. There's been a lot of faces change in the big 12 and in a lot of players moving to different teams. But this is still going to be a tough conference with with a lot of challenges for this, these women. So outgoing players who have committed to teams, Reese Ross committed to Baylor, Avery Gemsted committed to TCU LA Sneed, Oklahoma State, Brook Walker to Colorado. And Grace Foster hasn't committed to my knowledge. I haven't seen anything anywhere. So it's essentially a, you know, a Utah women's tour every time they go to a big 12 team, at least with four. But, you know, nobody left the conference. So they're all staying in there. So you're going to be looking at these players again. You're going to see some familiar faces. And, you know, that's the nature of it. So, incoming, you do get two players from the conference coming into Utah. So, you know, there's kind of a swap, a lot of trading going on. But, officially announced was M.A.P.T. small forward from Australia. You know, she had committed a long time ago, but for whatever reason, and it's more contracts and other stuff. But, for whatever reason, Utah hadn't had an announced it yet until last week. And so, she's officially on the roster six foot two, small forward, you know, in high schools. She averaged 10.2.7.8 revents or, yeah, the equivalent of that. So, you know, a player that can be pretty solid, but is coming in as a freshman. Then you get a shooting guard from Kansas in Lea, Konesa. She's originally from Spain, but spent three years at Kansas. And so, this is now coming to Utah. This last year wasn't her best year. It was the, you know, her sophomore season. She was a little bit more efficient and saw the court a lot more. This last year, she was a little bit more buried on the roster and didn't fully acclimate to the team in the way that I think she would assume she wanted to be. So, really curious to kind of see where she fits in this year. 0.7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1 still over 36 games had five starts. Needs to be a better shooter, only shooting 37.9%, 26.8% from the fill or from 3.0 range. You know, this is a player that adds more depth right now, barring her, taking some big leaps over the offseason. You know, she's more of a depth player at this point. The one of the biggest pickups here is Philippa Baros. She's a big guard from Cal Baptist. She's spent four seasons there at Cal Baptist, originally from Portugal. She comes in as, I would expect to be that star point guard take over the LA Sneed Roll, Brook Walker type role. She'll be the distributor. She's a really solid player. She's five foot nine, average 11 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.7 stills, and she started in 32 of the team's 34 games. She shoots 40% from the field, 40.7% from 3.0 range with 4.4, 3s attempted every game, and then has good free throw percentage at 79.5. She was the all-wack first team member, and she was the Wack tournament MVP. So really solid player. I think this is kind of the star of the class and bringing of the transfer portal class of bringing somebody in that has experienced four years. Now it's taking it up a level at the big 12 and being able to compete there, but I think she's going to provide some veteran experience for this roster that's going to be relatively young and somebody that is a great ball handler and is willing to mix it up and do what she needs to. So really, really curious to see what happens there. And then shooting guard, Lena Gerardi, she comes from Oklahoma State. The last name may be familiar to some of you. If you're Yankees fans, her dad used to be the manager of the Yankees while back. Joe Gerardi. So she's a 5'11 shooting guard. She averaged 7.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and she didn't have any starts over her 28 games, but she was just a freshman last year. So a lot of opportunities for her to really kind of develop under Gavin. This will be her sophomore season, so a lot to see what could take place. And I think she could be a good fit for what Utah does is she maybe a starter as the two. We'll see, but I think she's got some good numbers. She shoots 43.6% from the field. 39.8% from three at 4.6 attempts. So that kind of fits. You put Barrel and Gerardi together and you've got some good three point shooting there, which fits how Utah has operated over the years, the past few years. And she shoots 83.3% from the free throw line. So really solid players there. And then lastly, you close it out with Olivia Bradley, a forward from UC Santa Barbara. She spent three seasons there. Six foot one forward. She averaged 13.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and started all 30 games for UC Santa Barbara. She's got a player that shoots 48% from the field. Can shoot from three. She's 28.2%. But it's not so not as accurate, but she does shoot at a high clip in terms of 3.7 attempts per game. So you've got right there, assuming that Philippa Barros, Lena Gerardi and Olivia Bradley, let's say you're 1, 2, and 3, you've got a good solid foundation of players that can shoot at a high level. They can shoot it deep. You can mix it up that way. And then you fill that in. You put Kira Evans down below. Somebody that can be a good post player. You add in, and I'm blanking on the freshman, and I didn't write it down. Oh, I'm blanking on her name. Either way, you've got some opportunities there to be able to go inside out and utilize it the way that they need to. So right now, Utah's currently only at 13 players. My understanding is that they're probably going to only add one more from the transfer portal if it works out. But it's not for sure deal yet. And so there's a chance that you're running with only 13 players, especially with four of those coming in as freshmen. You know, it's going to be interesting. I think it's going to be a real interesting season. But I think there's a decent amount of veteran leadership that can help, but you do need more. You're going to have to really come together as a team. You saw that last year where Lonnie White obviously a good
player she gets drafted into the WMBA. She was kind of the, she wasn't the lone senior, but she was kind of the lone vet outside of Maddie Wilkie that really could kind of rally the troops, but she was kind of a lot was placed on her shoulders. And so, you know, you hope that there's a little bit more contributors this year where it's not just, let's say, Baros that's forced to carry the load that there's other players out there that can help. So there is that. Let's, let's now transition to the NFL draft. The NFL draft starts Thursday. So if you're listening to this today, it's a Wednesday, if not tomorrow, whenever you listen to this, the NFL draft starts Thursday. First round, it will be Thursday then day two. So Friday will be the second and third round and the final four rounds will be on Saturday. So all day event, there should be a number of Utah players drafted this year. But clearly the attention has gone to the two offensive tackles who are potentially first rounders. So I, you know, everything that has projected shows these two as first rounders. There is some projections out there that have Caleb Lomu outside of the first round. Really, it's only one in its male kiper and quite honestly, I don't trust male kiper. Anybody that's followed it, you know, I don't, you know, I don't want to call for anybody's job, but I just don't feel like he fully gets at the same way that many do. And I feel like, you know, it's not really a great projector of how it is. So, you know, but he's hired by ESPN, you know, they like what he does. He obviously has connections. So I don't want to like poop who that, but I just don't feel like he's been as accurate as others. And quite honestly, once you start getting, especially out of the first round, it becomes a crapshoot anyway. There's still some projections and some things that happen, but all it takes is a trade taking place on draft night and that can kind of put a wrench in all of the projections for everybody. So it's tough to be able to fully accurately project this. It's a little harder than let's say the MBA draft with only two rounds, but you know, it is what it is. So take it for what it is, you know, this, this, these projections, you know, it's not an easy, exact science. But from what I've gathered and I've got a bunch, let's say I've got two, four, six, seven, draft projectors that kind of compiled my list, just as kind of a baseline, you could go find a million out there. But Spencer Fano, obviously, is the guy that has talked about as being the top of the class for Utah. Right now, it could, there's nobody saying he's not going to be a first-rounder. Where he fits, at least in these projections, is anywhere from six to about 14 is about where I've seen. You know, good range for him really depends on what's taking place. There's three of these projections that have him going with the Cleveland Browns. You have him going Kansas City Chiefs. I don't think the Chiefs would take him. I think they'd take Ruben Bain quite honestly, but there's a chance. You've got Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins being projected recently as kind of the place that he loved in. It's kind of all over the place, but look, if you can be a top 15 pick, you know, that's all worth it. Right? And my understanding is Spencer Fano will not be at the draft. He wants to spend it at home with his family. Good opportunity for him, right? I think that's a great opportunity for him to be able to share this moment with all the people that have supported him over the years. Big family unit. And I think this will be a cool opportunity for him to be able to celebrate this, this moment with them. So expect his name to be called inside the top 15. If he slips, I would be surprised, but you know, crazy things have happened. But I think, you know, with what he did at the NFL combine, as well as what he did additionally at the at pro day, you know, helped him, right? There was there some concern after the combine with his measurements that, you know, he was going to slip outside of that 15 and be in the top 25, but he was really measured at Utah with the scouts. And it sounds like there are some issues at the NFL combine. And this kind of eased some of those concerns that he does still fit that offensive tackle model. But he's, you know, open and amendable to guard or center, if needs be. So either way, you're getting a guy with high value, a guy that, you know, clearly showed out from the beginning of his career at Utah, had the goal on his mind, never, never deviated from it. And now has that opportunity to make this become a reality where he becomes, you know, an offensive lineman and has the potential to be able to be paid for a very long time. So a cool opportunity for him, like I said, probably inside the top 15 for any one of those teams, trades could change things. But I think you're going to see him inside the top 15. Then there's Caleb Lomu, the other offensive tackle who, you know, when you talk about Caleb Lomu, there's a lot of people that believe that he has a higher ceiling that Spencer Fano. He's got quote unquote better measurables. You know, he's he fits more as a prototypical offensive tackle. But a guy that was still kind of developing and coming along and they could see kind of that trajectory that he was on. So a lot of opportunities for him, he will go a little later in the draft. But I think there's a lot of optimism that he could be a guy that projects with a higher ceiling, potentially than even Spencer Fano. Now how high that is or what gets, you know, them to be hired remains to be seen. But I think you've got a guy that's going to be a really solid asset for whatever team picks him. Though if you're looking at all these projections, there's really one team that has has kind of cornered the market for him. And that's the San Francisco 49ers at the number 27 pick of the seven that I've pulled. Let's see five of them have the 49ers taking him. So I think there's there's a general consensus that this is where San Francisco will go if everything plays out the way that it does. It's definitely not a guarantee. So, you know, 27, obviously a great spot for him. If they don't take him or somebody doesn't take him above, there is a chance that he could slip to the second round. If you believe Mel Kuiper, he's going in number 51, which is quite the drop to the Carolina Panthers. I don't think a guy like Caleb Lomu drops that far personally, but crazy, your things have happened. So San Francisco's the team to look for right here. Like I said, trades or other other scenarios could could change this. But this is kind of his landing spot, so to speak, of where many are projecting him to go. So if you're a 49ers fan, you'll love that. In some respects, a better opportunity than Spencer Fano's. Spencer Fano, barring him going to the chiefs or even the Ravens, maybe the Detroit Lions. It could be a tough situation if he goes to the Cleveland Browns, right? It just depends on the buy-in from teams. But either way, both of these guys are going to get paid handsomely. This first round should see both of these guys taken. And what an opportunity for Utah, especially from the offensive line to really kind of add some value to their recruiting pitch to be able to say, hey, look what we were able to do developing you from a freshman, taking you to the league, both of them leaving early after three years. Really, really helps your recruiting footprint and helps Utah all around. So you got that. Now outside of those two, there's really only about three names that are expected to come off the board. That's not to say other guys couldn't come off the board, but I think these three names are probably more of the consensus. The guys that we, you know, we saw it pro day or got NFL combine invites who have probably the best opportunity. And the first one, there's been a lot of love for Logan Fano, though little later in the draft, probably a day three guy early day three, fourth or fifth round. There's some going to the seventh round to the Dallas Cowboys. Not not all these projections do a full seven round. So it's tough to gauge where it is. But Chad Reuter from NFL.com has him in the fourth round going to the Broncos. Broncos have clearly loved the Utah players. And so that's that's an easy fit to be able to bring him in there. Dan Brugler from the New York Times has him going in the fifth round to the Eagles. So, you know, a lot of, a lot of variations on where Logan Fano can go. You know, ceiling is probably fourth round. Probably more of a fifth round type guy. But I wouldn't be surprised if he slips either. He got injured during pro day, which limited his ability to be able to do all the other workouts outside of 40s and kind of the weightlifting stuff. But, you know, this is a guy that excuse me has a lot of potential. Has had some injury issues. And so I think there's there is some concern that way. But a guy that has a high motor high upside. And, you know, if he's able to piece it all together in the NFL, I think he could be really effective. So, you know, he's a guy to look for where he fits. Then there's Dalland Bentley who had a great pro day. This is a guy that really stood out amongst everybody else outside of your two offensive tackles. This is a guy that has really helped his cause. You know, he could he could improve. I, you know, in terms of where he goes in the draft. But I think most, excuse me, I thought it's getting really dry. The expectation for him is probably a fifth round guy. There's some that say seventh. So day three, early day three, potentially.
Chad Reuter has him going in the fifth round to the Saints. Bruegler has him going in the fifth round to the Detroit Lions. And then USA Today has him going in the seventh round to the Tennessee Titans. So, you know, really fascinated to kind of see how he operates. Obviously, an older player, returned missionary, only had one true full season where he could showcase his talent. The 2025 season obviously was kind of a mess in terms of our 2024, excuse me, last year was 2025. In terms of what he was able to showcase simply because Utah didn't really have a quarterback that could showcase that for him. But he's, you know, he's a guy on the rise and I wouldn't be surprised if he sneaks into the fourth round maybe. But I think fifth round is probably a good spot for Dallin Bentley. There's going to be somebody that takes a flyer on him and there's potential that he could do really well. All of these guys like Logan Fano, Dallin Bentley and everybody else, you know, they're still going to have to fight for that 53 man roster at the end. But I think there's enough there where even if they're not on the 53 man, there's a high probability that they're on the practice squad and can kind of stay within the system and learn and then, you know, fight for that spot the next year. So we'll see. There's two players though, older in their in their class and so that's that's a big negative for them and they're just going to have to fight harder. It's not to say that it can't be done, but that's just kind of the nature of it. And then lastly is Lander Barton. You know, this is a guy that obviously had a ton of upside and there was a lot of expectations that he could be even better than Cody Barton at the same position. And for whatever reason, whether it be through injuries or other situations, didn't quite have that top end area where people thought he could be maybe a day to type pick, maybe even higher than that. That's not to say that Lander Barton is in a solid player. I think he has a lot of upside. I just think the way that his collegiate career kind of moved and shifted around didn't it wasn't fully advantageous to him. Obviously, there's things that he needs to improve on, but I think, you know, it wasn't kind of the way that many expected it to be for him. So really fascinated to see where he lands. I only have one projection of the seven that I looked that has him listed and that was the seventh round guy. Once again, he's another guy that could potentially jump up into the fifth, sixth or seventh round. But it's going to be tough. There's, you know, there's some, I wouldn't call him red flags, but definitely some things to consider in terms of his coverage and what he's able to do. But I think you also get a benefit of having Cody being in the league for so long and kind of being that journeyman around different NFL teams to understand. Like he comes from a family that has had two brothers, Jackson Barton, obviously played on the line that played in the NFL. So I think that's going to give him an advantage that way where if there is some red flags that teams have identified, maybe those get kind of maybe not, you know, eliminated but you at least get kind of the opportunity to showcase, hey, because you are a Barton, you can do it. So we'll see at the very least, you know, if he is in that that seventh round category, there's a high potential that you just want to say, you know, you don't want to be drafted and you just want to go as an undrafted free agent and go where you can choose. Those undrafted free agents can choose where they want to go assuming that the team wants them. But you know, there is some advantage to be able to being able to have that over just getting picked by some random team who may or may not really care about you. You're just kind of an asset that they're looking for to kind of round out a draft. So really fascinated to kind of see how this goes for him, but those five names are really the guys that I expect to be drafted this weekend. If there's another guy, I'd be surprised, but I think those are probably your five that you're going to get. Those five drafted, you know, that's a good haul for Utah, especially coming off the year that they had before. Yeah, they finished 11 and two, but you know, it wasn't expected to necessarily have that success with as much talent that they had. And so, you know, I think this is a good opportunity for Utah to build and kind of grow. There is potential where some of those other linemen could get selected. Linemen are, you know, obviously a good position to have and they stay around in the league a lot. There's any belief in, you know, to Noah Togui, or Michael Mokofisi, or I'm blanking on his name, Jern Kump. You know, there is an opportunity there, but I wouldn't count on it. I think there is potential there, but you know, if you could get, I mean, imagine if you could get all five of those offensive linemen drafted, I mean, that's a, that's an even better selling point for Utah. So that's what it is. But really good, really good situation for Utah, especially with your two first rounders. And I think that's, that's going to be a good opportunity for Utah. So let's, let's close out this episode. I have a hair somewhere on my shirt. I can see it on my camera. Kind of bugging me. I'm a little low CD that way. Let's recap spring football. And before I jump into a few of these, these things, I just think the overall tone of camp was at all time high. It's not to say that this was somehow better than what Kyle Wittingham had done. I think it's just different, right? I think there's a lot of things that you can take from the spring camp where you can be optimistic, a lot of things where you can have a lot of questions. And it's, it's kind of a crapshoot on how it's going to go this fall. I do tend to believe that good vibes translate better than maybe some other things for a team that may have some questions about them. You can kind of make up some of that ground because you're connected, right? When you have some questions, especially, let's say on the offensive line and we'll get to that here shortly, when you have questions like that and the team isn't maybe fully bought in together and they're not having that camaraderie, that tends to fall apart more. But I think with what this team has built, especially with Morgan Scally and what he's trying to do in terms of building the culture. And I hate using the word culture because it is such a buzzword that every coach tries to use. But I think this one is, look, I don't want to give Morgan Scally the better for the doubt just because, you know, this is the team I cover. But I think there is truly something different here. I think he's trying to build something where it's, it's a connective piece, right? It's, he's not using players as just kind of assets. He's using them as builders, right? And he wants to connect them in ways that aren't just, you know, within their own position group. He tries to get these, these players to integrate within the different position group. So, you know, you've got a player, for example, who, you know, let's say the quarterbacks, they're not all just pulled together and they, they talk with each other all the time. You have a quarterback, you know, maybe lockering next to a defensive back and a defensive back lockering next to an offensive lineman. Like there's a lot of trying to build that connective tissue within the entirety of the football team and not just offense defense or even within the position group. It's really truly trying to build a culture of connection within this group and that goes with the coaching staff, that goes with the players and every single player that we've talked to this, this, this spring has talked about how much they love this program and not just the typical like, oh, I love this program, you know, because this is where they got paid or this is where they got picked up. Like, there's a genuine feel, especially with players that were already at Utah where there's just kind of a different vibe around what Morgan Scally does. Now, as I've mentioned many times in this podcast, that doesn't necessarily mean that that translates to wins. But I think that that takes you to the next level of trying to connect to this team and trying to help them grow and have that camaraderie so that when there is adversity and there's going to be adversity, whether it be injuries or whether it be, you know, losing a game that you weren't expected to, you know, those types of things, that's where this team can kind of come together. That's how last year's team was successful is because when there was adversity and when things were going wrong, they were so connected that they can kind of overcome a lot of that. Now, not every game went their way. Obviously, they lost to Texas Tech. You lost to BYU. I'm still putting the BYU more on Kyle Wittingham, quite honestly. And I know that's probably a similar sentiment amongst people. But I think there's a connective tissue there that they had last year. You look at that Kansas State game where there's no reason that Utah should have won that at Rice Ecclestadium. Other than the team found a way to dig deep and come together, you know, lesser teams have come in there and won, you sure. But there's other teams that in that same situation, they shrink under pressure and they're not willing to put in the effort to be able to get their win. You get into that fourth quarter and you say, hey, you know what, this is going to be too hard. That we have, you know, Kansas State is just gashing us left and right in the run game. You know, even if we do try to make a comeback, they're just going to come back and run it down our throats. This was a team that said, no, you know, they weren't giving up in any instance. You know, that two point conversion that changed the tone of the game. There's a lot to go on. And that's where that connective tissue comes together, that camaraderie where when things go wrong, that's when that type of culture, so to speak, help the program. And so it doesn't translate and necessarily in terms of wins and losses on the day to day. But when you have that adversity and when you're going through it and when you feel like you have that second gear that you can get into, that's where this kind of takes over. And so I think that's what you're trying to build with this Utah team, especially in spring.
You're trying to build a culture where you know, you're gonna do anything for the guy next to you whether it be on the Offensive side of the ball defensive side of the ball somebody that's not even in your room There's gonna be a connection this year where there's a ton of energy guys that were they they seemed like they could just be themselves, right? And within that realm though you had to be able to come and show up ready for practice There was no, you know, we're gonna dance it off and have fun and do all these different things and on the field It was we'll do that when it's time to do that. We're gonna be locked in we're gonna be serious We're gonna know the things that we need to know we need we are expected to come in and be ready for practice when practice starts You've got to be conditioned you've got to be you know bought in fully to to what's going on and Then outside of that you can be yourself you can have fun you you know In media scrubs a lot of times we'll be sitting there talking to a player and the players will have fun all the time walking past and Joking me like oh look it's this person whatever There was so much more of that because guys felt like they could just Be themselves as we're doing interviews. There's you know social media things going off on the distance where they're trying to catch a balloon There's you know try to stand up without bending your legs, you know Stupid things that that may not seem like they're they're fun or that they're Helping the team, but it's it's building that connection where everybody's staying around after practice before going to their locker and feeling like they could connect there you've got guys that are sitting there It's lingering around talking to each other These are guys that are around each other 24/7 and yet still after practice. They're having fun talking to each other Those things matter like I said these things happened under Kyle to us in extent But it was far less of that it was very much so it's business and That's it now that's not to say that they couldn't have fun right like I don't want to paint that picture that under Kyle There was no fun had guys couldn't joke guys couldn't you know do all these things I just think it's like a different level this year Where guys can feel like they can be themselves and not have to Watch themselves and what they do they can make mistakes and know that they can grow Morgan Scally has a big tenant in his You know his big tenants listed in their team room of talking about this is a growing process essentially You've got to grow you've got to develop you've got to move forward and the only way to do that is to make mistakes And if you're not making mistakes on the practice field you're probably not learning and so I think there's this big emphasis on Allowing mistakes to be able to help people grow Now obviously when it comes time to fall and it comes time to the games Those mistakes have to lessen and you have to be able to start taking those next steps to be able to improve But I think especially in spring and in the offseason make all the mistakes that you can so that you're ready So that you see it this offense this defense is going to be very situational based They're going to try to find different things to exploit things based off of what the situations that are presented to them Is this a situation that they see regularly if so? They're going to practice that a lot if it's a situation that they're not going to see regularly They're going to not focus on it as much now Sometimes that's going to burn you talk, but I think they're trying to focus in on Statistically, what is the most situational things that they're going to to to you know be introduced to is it something that you're always going to have this down in distance Well, yes, we're always going to focus on that. That's how Morgan Scally is trying to approach it. So it's not Trying to just have a full script of this the game and say okay. This is how we're going to be XYZ You know many offensive coordinators go in there and they script every little play and it's this is what it is and on this play We're going to do this this is much more situational so when it is second and seven These are the types of plays that Utah has at its disposal But Utah players already know that it's second and seven. This is most likely what we're going to run and in this situation Based on what the defensive presents. This is what it's going to be so in some vein It's tougher right because you've got to be smarter with how you play football You can't just go out there and as a defender you can't say oh go truck that guy There's a lot more situational awareness of understanding. This is what I have to do Now that like I said can open you up to a lot of problems because if you're not in there and you're not willing and Abel and ready to go and you don't understand the situations You're going to get beat and if they continue to exploit that you're going to get beat time and time again And so it's it's it's one of those that this is where the mistakes need to happen and You're going to see that the spring was far from perfect. There were several days up there where Veteran players didn't look perfect and you're wondering are they taking you know a backs, you know are they take dig dig aggressing? No, it's more they're learning new concepts. They're learning things that are going to help them grow for The fall and so I'm really fascinated to kind of see how this approach works Like I said Morgan Scally still has to prove it on the field. Yeah, they won the Las Vegas Bowl You can say what you can about that, you know I know a lot of people say okay Morgan will never have a losing record after that game whatever That's the ideal right? That's what you want That's what you want Morgan Scally to do and and nobody'd be more happy for that than the Utah fans because he's a Utah guy But at the same time He's gonna learn and grow as well and that's why he's trying to Develop these things here in spring and by and large. I think Utah did its job I don't think you leave the spring camp upset about anything. I think there's still questions But I think you feel very confident about what you've got moving forward and then the pieces that you've got and the leaders that you've got because There's a lot of vocal leaders that are doing it both vocally as well as just with their play This year more than I think ever you're seeing more players Be vocal as well as back it up whereas in years past there's been a lot of guys that were Leading by example as opposed to being vocal. I think this year Just based on kind of the players that are on that field. There's a lot more vocal and leading by example type players So we'll see I think those are kind of the general feelings of how this spring went But with that I want to talk about maybe some of the biggest risers this this spring And I've got a list of there's probably like 12 10 Players there I didn't count exactly But these are the players who I think helped themselves a lot and it's not an all-encompassing list I think there's a lot of players that did these are just some players that I'm kind of identifying and Guys that I think you know we're gonna see more of some of them still aren't on the path to maybe be a starter some of them may just be Developing and still getting to where they need but I think these are some players that turn some heads And and bring some excitement to the players or to the team. So let me just get a simple water here All right, my throat was getting a little dry All right, so some of the biggest risers that I have Daniel Bray There's been a lot of conversations about him at running back. This is a guy that I thought kind of more Third guy on the depth chart You know maybe Steve Shavez Soto overtakes him Wage on Parker's obviously the guy, but this is a guy that you know he was I don't want to say he wasn't fully bought in last year But I think there was some things where just it didn't fit at the time Mark out to why the the running back coach has been incredibly hard on him He jokes about him all the time about how Daniel Bray is a problem But he does that in a loving way and he's doing it to push him and Bray has Absolutely embrace that and you're starting to see it and I think he's going to be a proven commodity He's shifty. He's quick. You know, I think you're gonna see a lot there I'm not gonna spend a ton of time on all of these players because I don't have that time But I think Bray is a guy that you're gonna see a lot of this this fall and you know He continues to make the progress that he needs to in in the offseason. I think this could be a really special season for him Now for our wide receivers. I'm gonna put in here These aren't the ones that maybe you're expecting but Larry Simmons He came on really strong last year, but he was really taking a step up here in spring He got a little injured Was held out for a little bit but came back and was right back into it But I think this could be a really special season for Larry Simmons and what he's able to do The other three is Creed Whitimore Ricky Johnson and Nate Johnson So you've got Creed Whitimore who kind of came on strong a little bit at the end of the season But was really buried for you know what Kyle Wittingham had described as some drops early on Didn't give him the opportunities anybody that knows Kyle Wittingham knows that he's very much averse to Turnovers or turnover worthy plays and so if you do that it takes a long time to get back into his good graces Well, Creed is really showcasing himself a ton in this offense And I think you're gonna see a lot of him Ricky Johnson He's a guy that everybody describes his incredibly smart He's a guy that his has performed a ton still young but a guy that Is doing a lot on the field and I expect to see him as a guy that that really embraces his role and does a lot for this team And I wouldn't be surprised if you start to see his emergence come this year and then Nate Johnson We've talked about him on this podcast. I wrote an article about him last week if you hadn't had a chance to read that This is a guy that you know he he had one fumble last year really struggled after that didn't even see any action for the next three games Wasn't given anything in the next game And it really wasn't until week eight where you started to see him kind of come back and start to become More like the player that you were expecting but still nothing what was expected of him Based on the way that everybody talked about him But I think you really have seen a guy that's really bought in He feels much more confident he feels like he's he understands his role He feels like he's got the support from the coaching staff that he needs and I really think you're gonna see And much improved player he looks so much more like a wide receiver this year He's using his hands better. He's catching with his hands instead of his body
this is a guy that has made some great place in spring. Moving on with the last player of the offense, we're gonna go with Ike Garcia. This is a guy that has just had terrible luck, injury luck, in his tenure. He came in, expected to be a guy that was gonna be a contributor on the offensive line early, and injury is just absolutely derailed everything. Well, he's finally fully healthy this year, knock on wood for those out there, and he's really starting to showcase some talent. Like he's not a finished product by any means, right? Being out that long, it does something to you, and he's tried, it's been a lot of mental reps for him more than anything, but I think you're seeing a guy that is really embracing it, really taking it on, and you're starting to see that potential that was there when Utah recruited him. He's probably still a two deep guy, but I think he's a guy that is really coming along strong. You're seeing his potential, and I think there's some real opportunities there for him to be able to take a hold of his role on the roster and what he's able to do. Defensively, two defensive ends, Lance Holtz-Kla and Ethan Day, really solid players. Holtz-Kla is just on another level right now, in his on field performance as well, his veteran leadership experience in terms of what he's able to do as that leader that just shows up on the field. He's also very vocal. This is a guy that just is fully body. He's just so much fun out there. He's the first guy to be talking trash out there, but doing it in a fun and energetic way that still, it gets under your skin because you want to beat him, but at the same time, you kind of have to laugh because he's so exciting and fun to watch. On the other side, you have Ethan Day, who is just this dynamic player who is just destroying the offensive line. He's just creating so much havoc there, where I think you're going to see a lot of potential between he and Holtz-Kla as well as the rest of the defensive end room. I just think there's so much potential there, but those two names are guys that I've identified that are pretty solid defensive tackle. I could list a bunch of these guys, but Jaymoey, I've talked about him in numerous times on this podcast, a guy that he's undersized, he understands that, he sees it, but he is playing above his size in many capacities. He's shifty, he's quick, he's intelligent in terms of what he's able to do. There's plays where he just understands it and reads it really well, and despite his size, he just gets in the right spot. He reads the Holtz-Kla, he's a guy that's going to mix it up in that defensive tackle room and do really well. And then lastly, I've got two more players, Cyrus Polu at the linebacker position. I've talked about him a ton too. He's everywhere, he's Rangy, he's physical, he's a great tackler. He's just kind of been everywhere and they can utilize him in so many different places where maybe some linebackers don't fit. They fit kind of just one mold, whereas Cyrus Polu is just kind of this, this everything linebacker where he can fit anywhere you need him to and do a lot of things for you. And he's been incredibly disruptive for Utah and spring. Lastly, at the nickel position is Rock Caldwell, another intelligent player who has just really kind of taken it on. Nickel is the hardest position to play on the defense. You've got to know so many things. You've got to be mixing it up with people that are so much bigger than you. And he's holding his own. He's doing it in a, you know, that ball-hawking mentality that they buy into the RSNB. He's just embraced everything. And there's still a lot for him to learn in that position. But he's a guy that they fully trust there. He's, you know, there was a play. I talked about it a while back where he just picked off the pass. He read it so perfectly. He's physical. And he's just really embracing his role in doing well. So really solid, really solid list of players there that I think are on the rise. My last things here, thanks for listening for this long. The biggest questions remaining to me, obviously, it's still going to stay at the offensive line. I think they've made some good strides. And I think there's been a lot of progress made there where it's not as bad as many people expected. But it still got to translate in fall, right? You've got to build that chemistry. You've got to be able to have, you know, your five, six type, five to eight guys that you can trust and that they can live up to it, right? You've got to add physicality. That's a big thing for them. They've got to be able to continue to add that size. They've got to continue to add that camaraderie amongst each other so that they feel connected and ready to go. But I don't know that it's as big of a question, but it is still a question. It's still something that's going to be there. And then in the secondary, this is a secondary that is going to be incredibly physical, like almost to a point where-- well, I know what's to a point where Shreef Shah has had to kind of dial it down a little bit, which to an extent he prefers. He wants guys that are going to be physical and they can kind of pull it back, right? It's understanding how to play physical in the right constraints, right? It's not grabbing the guys on the outside of the shoulder pads. It's grabbing them inside, trying to get that inside leverage to be able to mix it up because they're talking to these refs. They have refs come through here as they're practicing throughout the season as well. And they talk to them, what are you looking for? How are you calling past interference? What's going on? And time and time again, the big 12 has shown that they're going to allow these wider sewers and corners to be very physical. It's now a matter of Utah understanding how to be physical without getting penalties. And I think you've got the right group here. You've got a lot of length. And you've got a lot of physicality. But now it's trying to dial that in in a way that fits, right? You can't be too physical or else this just turns into 15 yard penalties every time for the opposing team. And then this doesn't help. But it's using their size and using their physicality to their advantage without being too crazy. So that's going to be a question there. It's just more of making sure that you can get some consistency there. And then on top of that, mixing that up with the safety's tackling, you've got to be able to have the right coverage. You've got to be able to tackle properly. Tackling is a whole defensive effort. They feel like they've improved that. But I think this is going to be a big emphasis for this team. So to me, the secondary-- it's a question of mine. But it's not necessarily the same type of question of like, oh, we don't know what's going to happen with this offensive line. It's more of how can they fine tune that in a way where they can be effective. The rest of it in front, I think, is going to be pretty solid. That's not to say that it's just going to be perfect. And that Utah is going to roll over teams with their defense. But I do think they have a good solid foundation in that front seven. It's really just kind of the secondary of trying to figure out the pieces that fit the physicality, the tackling, all that kind of stuff that's going to come into question. Lastly, the position group of most intrigue to me coming out of spring-- I could go with a lot. But I'm going to go with the interesting one of Titan. Titan's going to be interesting because for years, this has been a position group that was absolutely utilized to Utah's advantage in multiple ways. And part of it was they were bigger body guides that who could catch. They were athletic. And it served as kind of a safety net for whoever was under center. But it does in advance the game in the same way that Utah wants to in terms of being able to stretch the field. Now, this position group is a little bit different. That's not to say that they don't have good pass catchers there, or they don't have those same athletic guys. I mean, Hunter Andrews alone is going to be still that prototype that you have to get the ball into his hands because he's going to be a weapon. But I think more specifically than just saying, Titan's, I'm going to go with the rhinos. And we've seen the viral moment of semi-Telonga. These rhinos are going to be a very intriguing aspect of this game because they're unique players to the position. And Kevin McGiven says that he hasn't truly had players like that. Luke Wells, the Titan's coach, says he hasn't truly had players like that. And so it's how do you utilize them in this offense? Do you know they're going to be a little bit more past-friendly in terms of trying to stretch the field? But how are you going to utilize these guys in a way whether it be in the past catching game? Or as just these weapons where they're kind of acting more like fullbacks, how are they going to approach this? Is there a lot of tunnel screens? Is there different things that they can utilize to be able to help? I mean, I've seen these guys go up in 50/50 balls and they can pull it down. And then they're like 300 pounds guys that you have to tackle. It's just incredibly difficult to get these guys in their athletic and physical. What is this going to be? And so part of me is like, I want to get my hopes up that we're going to see something fun. It's probably going to be lessened a little bit. But I think this is one of the most intriguing positions that I'm looking forward to in the fall to see how it all comes together. So with that, we've gone long. I appreciate you for listening. We'll try to simplify these over the coming weeks. We'll break these down. We'll recap the NFL draft kind of what took place. And then we'll slowly start building into this. I'm going to have-- I'm going to try. I've been already placed some calls out there to try to get some different interviews with people throughout the off season to try to get their perspective. Not just football. Could be women's basketball, men's basketball, could be gymnastics. I'm just trying to get different perspectives out there for the Utah beat and trying to kind of change some things. But we're going to continue to go with this where we preview each opponent. Now the spring is going to be over for many of these programs as we start building up to media day in July and kind of getting into camp. So if you've listened over the last few years, every off season, I preview these teams. We go over the schedule. We go over these things to take a deeper dive.
on the opponents and try to kind of understand Utah's opponents for the season and what's going on. So looking forward to it, I hope you're enjoying your time. Hopefully you're getting out there doing some fun in this time. And then as we all come back and fall, we can kind of revel in football being back and everything else. So with that, we're going to sign off today. I appreciate you all for listening and for the support that you give. Honestly, if there's anything you want me to chat about, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. You can follow me on Twitter. I actually have an update this graphic. You can follow me now on Twitter at Josh underscore underscore furlong. So Josh underscore furlong. No longer J for KSL. I still own that, but I got my name. So you can follow me there. You can also email me at
[email protected]. Happy to take any questions and bring them onto this show. Hope you have a good day and we will talk to you later.
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