Junior Tafuna felt himself having flashbacks to Utah’s 2021 season this week.
The senior defensive tackle thought back to the Utes’ 1-2 to start that year, losing consecutive games to BYU and San Diego State. He recalled how starting quarterback Charlie Brewer had just been benched in favor of Cam Rising.
Rising gathered his team for a meeting after that.
“What Cam told us three years ago was that we were going to run the table,” Tafuna told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday.
The Utes find themselves in a similar situation now. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson is the team’s starter after Rising suffered a season-ending injury last Friday versus Arizona State. A season filled with College Football Playoff expectations has been derailed following back-to-back losses.
And, as they did three years ago, Tafuna and the Utes met this week to get things back on track.
“Now, we’re just going to take it game by game, and there’s no big picture,” he said. “We can only control our destiny. We’re the underdog now. I know that our team is feeling that now.”
No longer do the Utes have to worry about Rising’s status, reading up on two game plans to accommodate the seventh-year quarterback or feeling the outside pressure surrounding his injuries.
“Now we don’t have to worry about that,” senior running back Micah Bernard said. “We know the game plan fully and what we’re going to execute in that situation. I think it’ll help us a lot building around the guy we have at quarterback rather than building two different game plans.”
It’s clearer than ever — Wilson is the leader of the offense. He stamped that claim in a speech, like Rising did years ago, made in Utah’s players only meeting this week.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson (11) throws a pass for the Utes, in Big-12 football action between the Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
“I think the overall purpose of the meeting was, ‘Hey, we got no time to soak in our losses,’” Karene Reid, Utah’s senior linebacker, said.
“Isaac has the older guys’ respect and support. So, now he needs to be aggressive and not shy away. Isaac basically said, ‘Hey, I know I might be a freshman, but I’m ready to step up to the challenge,’ And, man, I love that side of him.”
Wilson’s confidence has since eased Utah’s fears. The end of Rising’s saga is also adding more clarity for the Utes’ offense, which has been marred by red-zone struggles for three straight weeks.
“In those weeks we didn’t know who was going to be starting,” Utes senior tight end Brant Kuithe said. “Isaac was taking a good amount of reps, (but) he didn’t know if he was going to start. I think for him, knowing that he’s going to start and prepare the right way will help him a lot.”
According to offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, Utah’s offense will go back to its traditional, under-center looks with Wilson as the full-time starter. Due to Rising’s hand injury, there were alterations to their game plan and more shotgun designs. Ludwig also said that Wilson will have the full playbook opened to him as he grows and matures.
“There are some components that we went with to compensate for Cam’s hand injury,’ Ludwig said. “Some of the plays that we usually do under center were not under center. So we’ll go back to that, which is a little bit more of true Utah football.
“What we wanted to do is what Cam wanted to do, but he was unable to physically. So we make the adjustments based on the individual players in the program, and we’re just going to work to play to Isaac’s strengths and the team’s strengths.”
Utah’s veteran leaders have seemingly gathered around Wilson. So far, the freshman quarterback has had up-and-down play, completing 55.7% of his passes for 830 passing yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He will have to improve his play and limit the turnovers if Utah wants to right the ship and, potentially, get back in the Big 12 title race. All of that starts with Wilson’s play as the starting quarterback.
The players certainly know that.
“I do think, in general, quarterback play hasn’t been amazing,” Kuithe said. “That back and forth about who’s going to start, all those different things, especially guys in the receiver room, we thought was going to be different than it’s been going. But, it is what it is. You kind of have to go with it. Isaac is next up.”
As Utah (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) looks forward to its matchup vs. TCU (3-3, 1-2) at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in Salt Lake City, Wilson will begin his journey in earnest.
The season is now in the true freshman’s hands, and the Utes will go as far as he can take them.
“We’re all putting all of our trust in him,” Tafuna said. “Everyone should know that he’s the guy. He’s going to lead us through every game here from now on. And, without a doubt, I know we’re going to do our best to win. He’s our best shot. We’re rallying behind him, and we’re going to figure out a way to win.”
