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Utes 2011 Football Discussion

SalmonHobo said:
How is that even possible?

I count seven senior starters exiting. Five on defense.
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It was hyperbolic. I don't know if any team has ever really lost more to the NFL than to graduation. I doubt it has ever happened, lol.

Yeah I think your count is correct. 5 on defense, with 2 of those being linebackers.

Hopefully they don't lose too many underclassmen to the NFL. If all they lose are the seniors, they should be scary good next year.
 
SaltyDawg said:
It was hyperbolic. I don't know if any team has ever really lost more to the NFL than to graduation. I doubt it has ever happened, lol.

Yeah I think your count is correct. 5 on defense, with 2 of those being linebackers.

Hopefully they don't lose too many underclassmen to the NFL. If all they lose are the seniors, they should be scary good next year.
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How will they be scary good if virtually half of their vaunted defense is gone? Their defense could suddenly become just slightly above average with their offense making some strides, but perhaps not much as it's still Wynn at the helm, and thus they'd still be just about the same caliber of team. Ya know, Rose Bowl bound.
 
SalmonHobo said:
How will they be scary good if virtually half of their vaunted defense is gone? Their defense could suddenly become just slightly above average with their offense making some strides, but perhaps not much as it's still Wynn at the helm, and thus they'd still be just about the same caliber of team. Ya know, Rose Bowl bound.
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Half of their defense wouldn't be leaving.

Their linebackers aren't the strength of the defense. Those guys were actually walk ons. Losing 2 of them (both walk ons) won't hurt too bad. Not that walk ons are bad, but they definitely have guys that can step in and replace them.

So they are losing 3 starters on defense (not at linebacker). Aiono, Shelby, and Black. All 3 of those guys are good, but it can be argued that Kruger and Lee are/will be better than Aiono and Black.

Utah is plenty deep enough on defense to absorb it. Coach Whitt is a defensive minded coach (was the DC before) and he usually puts the best athletes on defense. Under him, the Utes have always had a good (and deep) defense.
 
SaltyDawg said:
I honestly don't know what to think about Wynn. I thought he was pretty impressive as a freshman.

Last season he was pretty impressive early, but he started to suck later in the season. Then I found out he was hurt so that could be the reason he sucked.

This season he sucked early on, but got better with each game. There were rumors he was still hurt so that may be why he sucked. He was also in a new offense that he didn't get much practice with before the season started, so that also needs to be considered.

I am kind of leaning towards Wynn will be really good next season. He should have plenty of time to heal and practice and all of that, so he should start out strong next season.

There is also the very valid question of will Wynn ever be healthy? Or is he just injury prone?

Either way, Utah will be much better off at QB next season. Not only will Hays have a year under his belt, and Wynn will be back healthy, but the freshman (and redshirt) will be options.

However, like someone else said, no point worrying about it right now because things are pretty good at the moment. The Utes probably have the best defense in the Pac 12, and one of the best running games in the Pac 12. Even the haters have to admit it's pretty likely Utah wins out (and they have to pay me, lol).
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Unless god comes down and gives him a better brain, I don't want to see him start another game. He makes some terrible decisions on the field. I would rather we explore those other options you mentioned.
 
SaltyDawg said:
Half of their defense wouldn't be leaving.

Their linebackers aren't the strength of the defense. Those guys were actually walk ons. Losing 2 of them (both walk ons) won't hurt too bad. Not that walk ons are bad, but they definitely have guys that can step in and replace them.

So they are losing 3 starters on defense (not at linebacker). Aiono, Shelby, and Black. All 3 of those guys are good, but it can be argued that Kruger and Lee are/will be better than Aiono and Black.

Utah is plenty deep enough on defense to absorb it. Coach Whitt is a defensive minded coach (was the DC before) and he usually puts the best athletes on defense. Under him, the Utes have always had a good (and deep) defense.
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Again, virtually half of their starters on defense are leaving. Walk ons or not, they're starting and they're better than the guys behind them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be starting.
 
SalmonHobo said:
Again, virtually half of their starters on defense are leaving. Walk ons or not, they're starting and they're better than the guys behind them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be starting.
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There has actually been a lot of debate on Ute message boards if those walk on linebackers should be playing at all, let alone actually starting.

Trust me (or not) linebacker will not be a detriment/weak spot/whatever you want to call it to the team next season.
 
I agree with both (Salty & Hobo) in some regards, losing the LB's could hurt just like losing any starter may hurt but while they're solid/sound their production should be replaceable. However the 3 DL could hurt even if people that step in to start are good it could hurt the depth which is a strong suit of the DL, the rotation keeps them fresh and productive. To me losing Shelby is the biggest loss as he's definitely an impact player on that D line and I hope Star L. returns and doesn't leave early but not going to think about that right now with the season still going on.
 
The term "returning starter" is a little bit tricky when talking about Utah's defense going into 2012. With the D-line rotation that Utah employs along with all of the starters that have changed due to injury, it's not really as simple as counting returning starters. Here's why I think Utah's defense can be just as good (or maybe even better) than this years squad:

-Dline: Yes, they do lose some talent here, but they also return quite a few guys who play regular minutes in that rotation. Joe and Dave Kruger will both be back. NT's Star Lotulelei should return (possible he leaves for NFL, but doubt it) and LT Tuipulotu will be back to back him up. Also, extremely talented Freshman Nate Fakahafua will actually get a chance to see more snaps in the rotation. The kid was one of the best players on the field during fall ball. By my count, that's 5 D-lineman that will all be coming back with game-time experience under their belt. As usual, I'm sure that they will be used in a 7-8 man rotation.

-LBs: Walker and Martinez are gone, but Boo Anderson, Trevor Reilly, V.J. Feheko, and Brian Blechen (let's assume that Utah moves him back to LB next year) all return. I believe all of these guys have at least started multiple games this year for Utah due to injuries with the exception of Feheko. However, Feheko has played decent minutes and has been extremely solid when called upon. I love Walker and Martinez but I think a LB unit of Boo Anderson starting in the middle with Blechen and Reilly on the outsides has the potential to be even better. Plus, all of these guys have started games at their positions. I don't know if that technically makes them returning starters, but it's certainly not like Utah is going to be breaking in brand new LB's next year. Reilly has also seen some time as a pass rusher at DE. If Feheko wins a starting spot next fall you could see Reilly bounce back and forth between the DL and LB spots. He's excelled at that this year.

-Secondary: Probably Utah's strongest returning unit on this side of the ball. Ryan Lacy will be back to start at 1 corner with Freeman returning as his backup. Mo Lee has taken over the starting Nickleback spot and is playing great. He'll problably slide over and replace Conroy Black as the other starting corner. Reggie Topps and Mike Honeycutt have both played good minutes this year and will be back to solidify the Nickle and Dime packages. Keith McGill and Eric Rowe will both be back as the starting safeties. Conroy Black is the only major starter/contributor that Utah loses from their entire Secondary.

To me, that seems like an awful lot of guys coming back next year who have either started for Utah at some point this season, or made major contributions. There's really not 1 spot along the entire defense where Utah will be forced to depend on somebody who's lacking in experience.
 
If Utah can get their offense together next year, wow. I may have all the haters up in arms next year, lol.

Utah's offense is not all that far off. Fix that QB spot, and improve that O line a bit, and of course play calling. Not really anything major.

Next year could really be a great season for Utah football. They play all the same conference teams as this year (but in the other stadium).

If the NFL doesn't entice too many players, and the Utes can stay healthy, holy crap. Next year should be epic.
 
SalmonHobo said:
No, not at all. LOL.
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It would be major if the Utes were starting from zero, no doubt. But the Utes have a good QB red shirting right now, a good commit for next season, and Wynn may still live up to his potential if he gets healthy. Not to mention Hays is getting better every week, and could possibly be decent by next season.

So it's not a real stretch that the QB spot will be fixed next season.

The O line has also been getting better every week. I'm not even really worried about them. Most of them will be back next season, so they should improve with experience.

QB is really the big concern for next season, and it's nowhere near as big a concern as it is this year.
 
Bronco70 said:
The Utes really need more offensive weapons.

I think clipping Wynn's ears might do the trick.
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Not sure if you were being serious and threw in a bad joke, or if the whole thing was a bad joke.

Either way, the Utes are stacked at receiver and rb. They have plenty of weapons on offense
 
SaltyDawg said:
Not sure if you were being serious and threw in a bad joke, or if the whole thing was a bad joke.

Either way, the Utes are stacked at receiver and rb. They have plenty of weapons on offense
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That was NOT a bad joke. I laughed out loud.
 
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