With Brant Kuithe Out, Thomas Yassmin Could Shine
Sep 27, 2022, 2:33 PM
Cameron Rising #7 and Dalton Kincaid #86 celebrate with teammate Brant Kuithe #80 of the Utah Utes after scoring a touchdown against the Colorado Buffaloes during their game November 26, 2021 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City , Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY- With start tight end Brant Kuithe out for the year, the Utes will most likely be turning to rugby phenom turned tight end Thomas Yassmin to shine in his place. While it hurts having one of your known commodities out for the season, Utah is confident Yassmin can carry the torch in his own, unique way.
💪💪 @TYassmin21 pic.twitter.com/z3w6SnWQpM
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 27, 2022
Yassmin is also excited and confident about his newfound opportunity, though he did note he didn’t like that it came at the price of Kuithe’s senior year. Still, he’s determined to show what he’s got to offer and he thinks it’s a lot.
“I thought it would be somewhat shorter to get to the point where the coaches trust me,” Yassmin said of his journey to playtime. “It’s been a long road, but incidents like we have on the weekend- the coaches have their trust in me now to finally step up and fill in that role. I’m not saying by any means I can do stuff better, but I believe I- and other guys on the team have awesome positions they can take on themselves. It’s been a long road, and it’s unfortunate it came about this way, but I’ve sort of been hanging for opportunities here and there and just doing what I can. I mean, at the end of the day I’m going to make the most of what I have right now and just take that on.”
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The Utes feel good about their depth in 2022- particularly in the tight end room. While Kuithe is a blow, Utah still has Dalton Kincaid available to them who is also a big part of what the Utes do offensively. Now guys like Yassmin, Munir McClain, and Logan Kendall will be charged with stepping up to fill some of the vacant space left by Kuithe. Yassmin says the coaches have been really good about instilling confidence in his ability now that it’s his time to handle the torch.
“I’m relieved in the fact that the coaches do have the belief in me,” Yassmin said. “They aren’t sort of saying that for that reason, but they genuinely believe I can go out there and do things I’m good at and use my body how I can. Just make the most of that opportunity.”
That’s ✌️for @_DaltonKincaid 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ibE1vGQaag
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 25, 2022
Kincaid says he doesn’t believe much will change without Kuithe. In his mind the coaches will go out of their way to make sure whoever is in will have a game plan that works for them.
“I mean, not much changes,” Kincaid said. “Coach Lud is going to come up with the same game plan each and every week to put guys in a position to make plays.”
Yassmin had one play in Saturday’s game against ASU that Kincaid feels is just a little taste of the future. After Kuithe was ruled out, Yassmin hauled in a 72-yard bomb from quarterback Cam Rising that demonstrated his soft hand, and strength and he took several Sun Devil defenders for a ride to gain extra yardage.
“He’s a speciman,” Kincaid said of Yassmin. “It’ll be exciting to see what he steps up and does.”
