This might just be me, but as spring practice has cranked up at the University of Utah — the Utes conducted practice No. 4 of 15 on Tuesday afternoon — there is a growing realization that, yes, this team is going to be really good, and yes, winning the Pac-12 again is not unreasonable given the personnel returning.
Of course, you don’t anoint a conference champion in March. Even for a talented team like Utah, which is likely to begin the season ranked inside the top 15, a great many things have to go right. Let’s start this week’s Utes mailbag right there.
Do you have a question for Utes beat reporter Josh Newman? Send it to him via a tweet, direct message him on Twitter, email him at jnewman@sltrib.com, or leave it in the comments section at the end of this article and he will answer them in his weekly mailbag.
Q: “What are the top-5 things Utah has to do to repeat as Pac-12 champs this year in football?” - @benwilkinson
A: Right at the top here, I want to say how proud I am of Ben for submitting a question I can actually use. My man is usually in my DMs getting spicy with good, timely questions, but they’re usually nothing I can address publicly. Kudos, sir.
1. Beat USC: Brass tacks, folks. Since the Pac-12 went to divisions in 2011, the South champion has never gone 9-0, so history says there is going to be a hiccup at some point, but the winner of this game on Oct. 15 at Rice-Eccles Stadium likely has the inside track to the division title and a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. This game is sandwiched between trips to UCLA (Oct. 8) and Washington State (Oct. 27, a Thursday night, off a bye). If the Utes survive October, they’re in good shape to be in Las Vegas come December.
2. Figure out the offensive line: Nick Ford and Bam Olaseni are big losses, literally and figuratively, but Keaton Bills, Sataoa Laumea and Braeden Daniels are all back. If Jaren Kump is healthy, which Kyle Whittingham expects him to be by fall camp, pencil him in at one tackle spot. I would think Paul Maile is the early favorite to replace Ford at center, but again, it’s early. All told, I think there is depth in the room up to at least the seventh or eighth spot right now.
3. Keep Cam Rising healthy: I suppose this goes hand-in-hand with getting the offensive line figured out, but Rising was really good last season, and the dropoff in experience/production behind the fourth-year junior is quite drastic. Of course, the dropoff in experience/production from Charlie Brewer to Cam Rising last fall was also quite drastic, and we see how that worked out. Moving on ...
4. Who replaces Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell?: Matching Lloyd’s production is a near-impossibility, but the position room is deep. Again, it’s early, but Karene Reid did enough last season where there should be trust that he can take on a larger role. Florida transfer Mohamoud Diabete had 176 tackles and six sacks in 37 games for the Gators. Hayden Fury started a handful of games in 2021. Two questions: Where do the Calvert brothers fall in the pecking order? How ready is Lander Barton? Based on things Whittingham has said to the media this month, it sounds like Barton could be an immediate factor.
5. Find some secondary depth: If there was an acceptable amount of depth in the secondary last fall, Micah Bernard wouldn’t have started at cornerback in the Rose Bowl, but I digress. JT Broughton is healthy, which is good. Pencil him in to start opposite Clark Phillips III. Faybian Marks is not fully back, but is expected to be in time for fall camp. Zemaiah Vaughn has moved up to safety, where Cole Bishop and R.J. Hubert are the early favorites to start, but Illinois State transfer Clayton Isbell, a two-time FCS All-American at safety, is on the way this summer. Circling back to CB, that’s the concern. What is the depth beyond Phillips III, Broughton, Marks when he’s ready, and Malone Mataele?
Q: “What does Utah need to do to host an NCAA men’s regional semifinals/final for the basketball tournament? Looks like the last Sweet 16/Elite Eight was played here in 2010, any chance of those rounds coming back here in the future?” - @billyhesterman
A: Yes, the last time the University of Utah hosted the West Regional (at Vivint Arena) was 2010, but the home of the Utah Jazz was also a first/second-round site in 2013, 2017, 2019, and will be again in 2024.
The NCAA awards championship sites on four-year bidding cycles, the most recent one being 2023-26, which yielded the NCAA Tournament coming here in 2024 and a women’s gymnastics regional being contested at the Huntsman Center in 2025. The easy answer to this question is, yes, assuming the University of Utah continues to bid for an NCAA Tournament site, and I have no reason to believe it won’t, the possibility of landing the West Regional will remain.
As I understand the bidding process, you are bidding for a specific weekend, either the first and second rounds, or the regional. If your building is big enough, maybe you bid for both. In the years Utah was awarded an opening-weekend site, I don’t know if it was also bidding for the West Regional.
For what it’s worth, the first weekend is probably more lucrative for a host city because you’re bringing eight teams to town instead of four for a regional. That’s double the hotel rooms used, double the restaurant patronage, double the bar tabs, etc.
All things being equal, I would like to think the West Regional comes back to Vivint at some point because the building, Salt Lake City, and the surrounding areas check off most, if not all boxes for what a host site should have and what a host site should be.
Of course, there will continue to be stiff competition. T-Mobile Arena (2023) is newer, bigger and, well, it’s in Las Vegas. Crypto.com Arena (2024) is newer, bigger and, well, it’s in Los Angeles. Chase Center (2025) in San Francisco is still very new and just received positive reviews for the job it did hosting this season’s West Regional. The SAP Center in San Jose (2026) is on par with Vivint in terms of size, age, and mirrors Vivint in terms of successful recent bids (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019).
Q: “What are the chances we see a freshman RB run for 500-700 yards this season? This might be the deepest RB room at the U, ever.” - @hereforsportUofU
A: Either Jaylon Glover or Ricky Parks rushing for 500 yards is asking a lot.
Tavion Thomas ran for 1,108 yards and 21 touchdowns in essentially 10 games last season. There’s no by-committee approach as was the case in 2020 and early in 2021. Barring injury or a return of the fumbling issues that hampered him early last season, Thomas is going to lead Utah in rushing attempts and rushing yards.
Micah Bernard is excellent out of the backfield in passing situations, both as a receiver and in terms of picking up the blitz. That, and he was 6.0 yards per carry on 87 attempts.
Beyond Thomas and Bernard, there are going to be instances where Andy Ludwig calls a designed keeper for Rising, who ran 74 times for 499 yards. Not all of that was by design, but a healthy chunk of it was.
I haven’t even gotten to Chris Curry yet, who feels like a total wildcard in the position room right now after playing sparingly in 2021.
If you’re willing to believe what Whittingham has said to this point of spring practice, Glover is capable of something significant right out of the gate this fall. What exactly significant means is up for discussion, but it seems clear that he is going to play.
I think Glover rushing for 500 yards this fall would eclipse even the most optimistic guess of what the four-star Florida native is capable of in 2022.
Q: “How important is the class (Sr./Jr./So./Fr.) in the filling out of the Utah basketball roster, or is it a factor at all? - @rkdavidson13
A: In fairness, this question isn’t really Utah-specific, but more of a nationally-relevant topic as every program in the country is trying to do the same two things, effectively recruit and, by extension, fill out a roster.
Worrying about classes is an archaic way of thinking and should now be largely abolished with the advent of the NCAA Transfer Portal and the one-time transfer waiver.
For all intents and purposes, we are dealing with free agency in college basketball at this point. The portal offers veteran help of varying talent levels, while the one-time transfer waiver is offering immediate eligibility to those who are transferring for the first time. Both of these factors offer the possibility for your program to do a 180-degree turn, not in two years, not in three years, but in one offseason. That’s where we are. From the time a season ends in March to the time the next one begins in November, fortunes can completely change.
In the case of Utah, as we sit here now, Craig Smith has four open scholarships. With those openings, a slew of names in the portal have been connected to Utah, while the Utes are also involved with a number of uncommitted high school recruits from the class of 2022.
Whatever combination of those options works best, do it. Smith thinks one of these freshmen can help at a position of need? Fine. One of the guys they’re chasing in the portal who has a year or two under his belt already can help provide some offense? That’s fine, too.
The blueprint to creating a roster as we knew it forever is in the shredder. It’s a new age, with constant roster volatility and turnover.
Class no longer matters. If a coaching staff thinks it does, those guys are doing college basketball in 2022 incorrectly.
Q: “Have you been to Sergio’s Pizza yet? How do you stack it up against Villagio’s? As for me, I think Sergio’s takes it.” - @cronair
A: Are you telling me that the pizza in Salt Lake City is so unacceptable, that I now have to venture to South Jordan to find something decent?
Seriously, though, Sergio’s was not on my radar. I’m down that way at least a couple of times per month, and after glancing at the website, I will be hitting this spot the next time I’m nearby.
Of note, Sergio’s bills itself as ‘A slice of New York.’ Don’t worry, I’ll let you know how accurate that is.
Also of note, the original Sergio’s is located in Riverhead, N.Y. out on Long Island, about 40 minutes east from where I grew up.
In literal real time as I sat here typing this, I went from having never heard of Sergio’s, to building it up in my mind as sight unseen, having real potential to be very good given its Long Island roots.
I have been steadfast that Villagio’s, owned and operated by a guy from the Bronx, is the best pizza I’ve had in Salt Lake City. We’re about to find out if there’s a new champ.
Q: “What is the stupidest day on the internet each year and why is it April 1st?” - @UBlender44
A: Hmm.
For starters, the stupidest day in the history internet was absolutely Dec. 5, 2021. On that date, the final College Football Playoff rankings came out with Utah, Pitt, and BYU at 11, 12, and 13, respectively. One of those three fan bases couldn’t comprehend how that was possible.
That was a stupid day on the internet.
Another stretch of stupid internet days occurred in mid-to-late September last season. You remember mid-to-late September, right? Utah loses to BYU, Utes fans want Charlie Brewer fired directly into the sun, Brewer struggles vs. San Diego State, gets benched, Rising almost steals that game, Brewer leaves the program, Rising installed as the starter vs. Washington State.
I can’t find the specific tweet someone sent me, but here’s a taste of what my mentions were like when Utah was 1-2 after the San Diego State loss. I’m paraphrasing: “This is now a rebuilding year. Get Rising some experience, get him ready for 2023.”
Those, boys and girls, were some truly stupid days on the internet.
As for April 1, yes, a truly stupid day on the internet. Stupid, and often aggravating. The April Fools’ Day stuff as it pertains to sports and sports journalism is always one of two things. Lame, or just crafty enough where you can’t decide whether or not it’s the truth. Stupid. Aggravating.
I know certain people inside the Utah athletics communications office are reading this. I’m telling you right now, if any of you try to April Fools’ Day the beat writers with Kyle Whittingham’s retirement ...
Take Friday off, you guys.
