Preview 2019: Utah. 5 Things You Need To Know, Season Prediction
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Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Utah Utes season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow@ColFootballNews& @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Utah Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 9-5 overall, 6-3
Head Coach: Kyle Whittingham, 15th year, 120-61
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UTAH OFFENSE
– Former Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig returns after bouncing around a bit – spending the last few years at Vanderbilt – and now he’s in charge of a veteran group that only averaged close to 400 yards and 28 points per game. To be fair, the Utes lost their two key stars late over the key late stretch, but now they’re back …
– Things were starting to click for QB Tyler Huntley. The running game was rolling – and he contributed to that – but when he was on, the passing game was a killer. A bit inconsistent, he had a good run in conference play before getting knocked out for the year with a collarbone injury. He’s back, and so is backup Jason Shelley, who filled in admirably to help the Utes get to the Pac-12 title game.
– Also returning is RB Zack Moss, who went down with a knee injury late in the season after running for 1,096 yards and 11 scores. He’s an NFL-caliber back who can handle the workload, but the Utes lost key backup Armand Shyne to Texas Tech.
Moss will work behind a large line that was okay – not amazing, especially in pass protection, but okay – even with two All-Pac-12 first teamer in Jackson Barton and Jordan Agasiva. They’re both gone, but three starters are back for yet another large line that should be able to pound around Darrin Paulo, a star at one tackle spot.
– The passing attack did a great job of spreading the ball around, and now the pieces are there with 60-catch No. 1 target Britain Covey leading a deep receiving corps to spread things around – if he’s back at 100% after suffering a torn ACL late last year. Making the already good situation fantastic is the return of Bryan Thompson, who hasn’t been able to stay healthy so far, but is a big, dangerous deep threat on the outside. The tight end situation is terrific, too, with the combination of Cole Fotheringham and Brant Kuithe likely to account for at least 40 grabs.
