Utah Football Releases Depth Chart Ahead Of Matchup Against Florida
Aug 25, 2023, 6:15 PM
Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) stiff-arms Florida Gators safety Trey Dean III (0) as Utah and Florida play in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. Florida won 29-26. (Courtesy of Deseret News)
(Courtesy of Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – College Football is officially here. Utah Football released its depth chart for its season opener against the Florida Gators.
The starting lineups contain four freshmen, seven sophomores, 14 juniors, and seven seniors.
What do you think, guys?
Anything surprising here? Do you think this is exactly what trots put against #Florida?
Let me know ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/IOPXQcU7hC
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) August 25, 2023
As expected, Cam Rising is listed as the QB1. Only players with season-ending injuries are typically left off of the depth chart. So. an appearance from Rising doesn’t mean he will start in week one.
Thomas Yassmin and Brant Kuithe hold down the tight end position. Money Parks, Devaughn Vele, Mycah Pittman, and Mikey Matthews are th starting wide receivers. Ja’Quinden Jackson owns the starting running back spot.
The Utes have playmakers from the trenches to the secondary. Connor O’Toole, Junior Tafuna, Keanu Tanuvasa, and Van Fillinger make up the defensive line. They are backed up by Karene Reid, Levani Damuni, and Lander Barton who make up the linebacker core. In the secondary, it’s JaTravis Broughton, Zemaiah Vaughn, Tao Johnson, Cole Bishop, and Sione Vaki.
It’s a 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 game. ❤️🏈#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/GgE2Nb7fqX
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) August 25, 2023
How Will Utah Manage Cam Rising, QB1 For Florida?
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed the topic in this week’s lone media availability noting the Utes are still day-by-day on making a final decision about Rising and the QB1 position for game one.
Earlier in his availability, Whittingham went over Rising, Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson’s progressions and current availability, while later one he went into some depth about how Utah will manage the situation with about a week till kickoff.
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Whittingham indicated Utah will draw out a decision on who will start at quarterback against Florida for a long as possible, throwing a reference to last year’s game against Washington State when Rising pulled himself out of the lineup for Bryson Barnes with about 40 minutes to kickoff.
“Yeah, there will be a cutoff date,” Whittingham said. “Probably 10 minutes before kickoff. If he’s not ready to go then we will go with Plan B.”
This isn’t the first or likely the last time Whittingham and the Utes have or will keep a key player’s status for a game under wraps.
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“I don’t know if it is,” Whittingham said. “We’re keeping things somewhat close to the vest just because, but I don’t know if in the final analysis if it’s a big deal or not, but we are truly unsettled right now. There really is no deception at this point, we’re just seeing how things progress day by day.”
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
