Takeaways From Utah Football’s 22 Forever Spring Game
Apr 13, 2024, 4:07 PM | Updated: Apr 15, 2024, 2:30 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football wrapped up spring practices on Saturday, April 13 in their annual 22 Forever spring game.
While it’s hard to take much away from big spring games due to keeping things vanilla to reduce injuries, and not give opponents anything to study- the Utes overall looked good in Saturday’s showcase.
Let’s not waste any time and dive into what stood out.
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Utes Looked Smooth On Both Sides Of The Ball
Again, we understand the limitations associated with spring games. Especially for the defense. They simply can’t go full blast on their offensive brothers for obvious reasons.
With that said, it felt like both sides of the ball operated very smoothly for the most part in Saturday’s 22 Forever game.
Naturally, mistakes do happen every game, but it felt like the offense and defense knew at high level what they were expected to do and did it.
There were a lot of dumb penalties, guys out of position, or poorly executed plays and that is a good thing- even if it was scripted.
Isaac Wilson’s Confidence Is Undeniable
At this point, everyone knows what to expect out of starting quarterback Cam Rising and he pretty much did just that in his limited time on the field.
Rising ended his day going 15-19 on his passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns with a solid 79 percent completion rate. In short, it was Bad Moon’s efforts that largely gave the Red squad a comfortable 41-21 victory.
However, where the eyeballs were really focused was the battle for number two.
Wilson ➡️ King 👑@Isaac_kawika @Landen_King3 pic.twitter.com/UJfHG5U1yo
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 13, 2024
Both Brandon Rose and Isaac Wilson had decent days, but it was Wilson’s confidence that really jumped out. Again, some of this is due to defensive limitations, but body language, regardless of how hard or soft the defense is going is still readable.
Let’s put it this way, Wilson ain’t afraid of anything, and seems to thrive in big moments. We saw it throughout his senior year in high school, and fans got a small taste of it in the 22 Forever game.
Wilson, who played for the White team ended his day 8-12 passing for 165 yards, two touchdowns and a 67 percent completion rate.
Rose split time between the Red and White teams going a combined 9-14 for 79 yards and no touchdowns. Rose also showed some decent wheels carrying the rock a total of five times for 22 yards and no touchdowns.
It Looks Like Utah Has Some Receivers
There isn’t much to talk about when it comes to the running back room and that was likely by design as Utah has been determined to improve their wide receiver room.
There were a few guys who sat out such as Munir McClain and Sidney Mbanasor, but the ones that were in looked good.
Dorian Singer looked as good as advertised with five completions for 92 yards while Money Parks brought down three passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
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Luca Caldarella also stood out and was good for three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Those names don’t even take into consideration the tight ends who also had moments of brilliance.
Landen King had three receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown while Brante Kuithe made his return to the field with two receptions for 25 yards.
Cameron Calhoun
Again, the defense is a little tricky to judge too much with a lot of starters sitting out and not being able to go full-out.
However, cornerback Cameron Calhoun who transferred into the program this past winter from Michigan was very active and showed well.
On lock 🔒 @Camcalhoun01 pic.twitter.com/B8lWR02Fl2
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 13, 2024
Calhoun ended his day with six total tackles, four solo tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass breakup to lead all defensive players.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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