We are just under two months away from football. I know its still a while, but I just wanted to put this up because I want to get some discussion going about UTAH FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!
So, here is my first (of probably many) posts about the football team this year. Today, I look at the defense.
Why Utah’s defense could be WORSE this year than it was last year……
-Zero returning starters in the secondary. Brandon Burton declared for the NFL draft early and will be freezing his butt off in Minnesota this winter. Lamar Chapman and Justin Taplin-Ross graduated. Brian Blechen moved to linebacker. That leaves a lot of question marks.
-John Peese is no longer the defensive line coach. Coach Peese brought extensive experience to the position. His shoes will be hard to fill.
-Rotation of the front seven. There is a lot of depth along the front line and in the linebacking core. Not everyone who deserves reps will get as many as they would like/deserve. Will this lead to bad attitudes? Will it become a distraction?
-In addition to the departures of the entire secondary, the front seven is replacing team captains Christian Cox and Sealver Siliga, along with Juinor Tuione and Chad Mannis.
Why Utah’s defense SHOULD be BETTER this year than it was last year……
-Keith McGil. We have been hearing great things about this guy for a long time and now we get to see how much of it is for real. I refuse to hype a guy up before he has played a down, but Keith McGil is the closest thing to a sure fire star that you can get. Keith is a REAL free safety, something the team did not have last year and something which the defensive scheme relies on. Justin Taplin-Ross was a pretty good strong safety. He was merely adequate as a free safety. He would have been better suited to being the guy who drills people over the middle, but the team just did not have a better option. The lack of a real free safety put too much pressure on the corners, which led to some deep balls getting through. IF McGil can come in and be that Robert Johnson or Eric Weddle type presence, it will go a LONG way to helping the team defense.
-Coverage. Last year’s linebacking unit was not great at helping in coverage. They got better as the year progressed, but not great. This year, they add Brian Blechen at the stud position. Brian’s experience in the secondary will add a lot to his ability to help in coverage. Additionally, JJ Williams should hopefully be healthy, and that also adds to the coverage help.
-Another deep line/linebacking group. Along the line, you will see Dave Kruger, Tevita Finau, David Rolf, James Aiono, Joape Pela, Star Lotulelei, LT Tuipulotu, Derrick Shelby, Joe Kruger, Eric Dago, Lei Talamaivo, and Latu Heimuli battle it out for reps. Guys like D. Kruger, Aiono, Talamaivo, and Finau can play all the positions. Others will be specialists at their spots. The linebackers are also deep.
-Right corner. Lamar Chapman was excellent at getting a pass rush with his quickness, but at 5’8” he was physically overmatched. This year, Ryan Lacey brings some more size and a little more sheer speed to the position. He has seen some game action over the last couple years, so his adjustment period shouldn’t be too long. Conroy Black replaces Burton on the other side. Black and Lacey are the fastest players on the team. Both are EXTREMELY competitive and take it personally when they get beat. Having a roaming free safety will really help ease their burden.
As the team enters the Pac-12, there are some growing pains ahead. But the team is building some real depth and it should be fun to see this team grow together this season!
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