The University of Utah football team will conduct Senior Night festivities tonight ahead of a visit from Stanford, and there are a handful of high-profile non-seniors scheduled to participate.

Chief among them, All-Pac-12 quarterback Cam Rising, a fifth-year junior with one season of eligibility remaining, and Clark Phillips III, a third-year sophomore cornerback who is a projected first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

When it comes to non-seniors on Senior Night, Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham has implored them to go ahead and participate even if they are just considering moving on. Neither Rising, nor Phillips III has announced their respective future plans yet.

Among the rest of the 17 players to be honored, All-Pac-12 running back Tavion Thomas has one year of eligibility remaining. Wide receiver Devaughn Vele, who is in the middle of a breakout fourth-year sophomore season, has two, and senior tight end Brant Kuithe, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, could conceivably return in 2023 via medical redshirt, but that is considered unlikely. Kuithe has flirted with leaving for the NFL each of the last two offseasons. Like Vele, running back Micah Bernard is a fourth-year sophomore set to be honored.

The 13th-ranked Utes, one of three Pac-12 teams with just one conference loss entering the weekend, remain in contention for a spot in the Dec. 2 Pac-12 championship game as a trip to No. 6 Oregon looms next weekend.

How to watch

Kickoff: 8 p.m. MT

TV: ESPN | Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill

Radio: ESPN 700 AM in Salt Lake City (Bill Riley, Scott Mitchell, Stevenson Sylvester)

Pregame storylines

In a season full of injuries to key players, Kyle Whittingham on Monday announced that third-year sophomore defensive end Van Fillinger is out for the season with a lower-body injury. That eliminates Utah’s best, maybe only true edge rusher just as the defensive line was beginning to up its level of play in recent weeks.

After his big debut vs. Arizona in which he scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns, true freshman quarterback Nate Johnson discussed the week leading up to the game and the emotions he felt as he made the impact he did.

A deep dive on running back Jaylon Glover, viewed by many as the future of the position for a program that has churned out its fair share of standout running backs under Whittingham. As the RB room has dealt with injuries and issues this fall, things may be swinging towards Glover as the games only get more important this month.

This week’s TribUte newsletter focuses on Johnson, his time with the scout team earlier this season, and the unique perspective on Johnson that Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley was able to gain. The newsletter includes a couple of football-related notes, and another on a Runnin’ Utes recruit in the middle of an interesting situation.

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