Utah Football’s Week One Depth Chart
Aug 26, 2024, 8:00 AM | Updated: 10:04 am
SALT LAKE CITY – After an appetizing week zero, College Football is officially back. What’s better is that Utah Football is just days away from kicking off their 2024 season.
The program released its depth chart ahead of the week one matchup with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
RELATED: Utah Football Debuts At No. 12 In First AP Top 25 Poll Of 2024
Lots of little surprises here. Love the start WR trio. Based on the buzz in camp, those three were the top producers. QB, RB, TE, OL no surprise.
Paul Fitzgerald backing up COT is a good thing, Logan OR Van is incredible. Johnathan Hall making the move to LB. John Randle to CB.… pic.twitter.com/u01wDgBi1c
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) August 24, 2024
Here are some takeaways from Utah’s first depth chart of the 2024 season.
Utah Football Depth Chart
How much do we see of Cam Rising and Isaac Wilson?
Starter – Cameron Rising
Backup – Isaac Wilson
Coach Whittingham and Utah Football made this one clear a couple of weeks ago. Cam Rising is No. 1, Isaac Wilson is No. 2 and those two made it quite obvious.
The bigger question is how much we see the two of them this week. Rising is making his return from an injury that cost him all of 2023. Wilson is a promising true freshman who has created a healthy buzz with his play in practice.
Ideally, Utah would love to get Wilson a lot of reps on Thursday. At the same time, they also want Rising to get back into the flow of competition and off the field as early as possible.
There will certainly be a balance to strike Thursday night. It’ll largely be up to Rising and the first units to start the game off strong and execute at a high level.
A new era begins on Thursday 👊
🎟️: https://t.co/3bcL8PReol#GoUtes https://t.co/RHgwUZMnNH
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 24, 2024
Three-headed monster, maybe more?
Starter – Micah Bernard
Backups – Jaylon Glover OR Mike Mitchell
Micah Bernard is the most trusted back in the room. He’s the veteran, he’s the guy to lead this group. Little surprise that he’s officially been named RB1.
Glover and Mitchell have also separated themselves from the pack. That’s given Utah a pretty solid trio of backs that all work well together.
Don’t forget about Dijon Stanley though, he’ll be a factor here too.
Top three receivers in camp, named top three receivers on the depth chart
Starters – Dorian Singer (X), Money Parks (Z), Mycah Pittman (R)
Backups – Damien Alford OR Daidren Zipperer (X), Luca Caldarella (Z), Dorian Singer (R)
Utah named the top three receivers Singer, Parks, and Pittman. That may come as a surprise for some given the addition of Alford but if you’ve been paying attention, it shouldn’t be a surprise at all.
First, Singer, Parks, and Pittman have been the top performers in camp. They were the most consistent contributors and will give the offense a strong foundation to work with this fall.
Second, Alford is going through a big adjustment coming from the offense he played in at Syracuse. He will be a contributor for Utah this season, a big one even, he just needs time to further acclimate into the offense.
Meanwhile, both Zipperer and Caldarella have received praise for the progress they’ve made this offseason.
TNT and O-Block went as expected
Tight End
U Starter – Brant Kuithe
Backups – Landen King OR Caleb Lohner
Y Stater – Dallen Bentley
Backups – Carsen Ryan OR Miki Suguturaga
Offensive Line
Starters – Caleb Lomu (LT), Tanoa Togiai (LG), Jaren Kump (C), Michael Mokofisi (RG), Spencer Fano (RT)
Backups – Zereoue Williams, Solatoa Moea’i, Johnny Maea, Keith Olson, Falcon Kaumatule
If you read the depth chart projection a couple of weeks ago, these two groups went as expected. The TE and OL groups will be big difference-makers for Utah this season.
Some pleasant surprises along the defensive line
Starters – Connor O’Toole (LE), Junior Tafuna (LT), Keanu Tanuvasa(RT), Logan Fano OR Van Fillinger (RE)
Backups – Paul Fitzgerald (LE), Aliki Vimahi (LT), Tevita Fotu OR Simote Pepa (RT), Kaeo Akana (RE)
Seeing Fano listed as a starter with Fillinger is a remarkable accomplishment. He suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the Oregon State game last season. He’s back and he’s been a full go in camp, which has led to him earning a starting role.
The good news is that Utah has the depth to limit the early wear and tear for Fano and others here. Fitzgerald has impressed and made a fairly smooth transition to the power conference level. Akana has finally added the necessary weight to contribute more as well. He is another dynamic, relentless effort type of edge defender.
Inside, it’s the same five it’s been for the past two seasons. This group is mostly healthy and will be key to Utah’s defensive success.
A new face in the room adds depth and dynamic potential
Starters – Karene Reid (ROVER), Sione Fotu (MAC), Lander Barton (STUD)
Backups – Josh Calvert (ROVER), Trey Reynolds (MAC), Moroni Anae OR Johnathan Hall (STUD)
The most notable thing here is Hall’s move from safety to linebacker. The move happened at the conclusion of camp after an intense competition at safety.
Hall has some really exciting potential as a linebacker. He’s a bigger, physical safety and that will translate well here. There’s been a growing trend in football of safety types making the move to linebacker in a sort of hybrid position. Hall could flourish in that sort of role.
A couple of new faces in the secondary
Cornerback
Starters – Zemaiah Vaughn (LCB), Kenan Johnson (RCB), Smith Snowden (NB)
Backups – Cameron Calhoun OR John Randle Jr (LCB), Cameron Calhoun OR Elijah ‘Scooby’ Davis (RCB), Quimari Shemwell (NB)
Calhoun is the obvious backup on the outside. He’s missed time this summer but has worked his way back into things the past two weeks. He’s practicing and could even be good to go by game one.
John Randle Jr has made the move from running back to cornerback. This is a move that was made doable by Hunter Andrews’ move to running back. It should also suit his physical stature and athletic qualities better.
Safety
Starters: Tao Johnson OR Nate Ritchie (FS), Alaka’i Gilman (SS)
Second-Unit: Rabbit Evans (SS)
Gilman has been pretty dynamic in practice the last couple of weeks. He’s consistently made plays and really took advantage of the opportunities to earn the starting strong safety job.
This group is versatile and there is a decent chance we see the three starters on the field together a good amount this season. Evans earning the backup role is an impressive job by him after joining the program this summer.
Specialists
Kicker: Cole Becker
Punter: Jack Bouwmeester
Kick Returner: Money Parks, Dijon Stanley
Punt Returner: Rayshawn Glover, Money Parks
Utah Football Schedule
Utah will kick off the season against Southern Utah on August 29. You can find Utah football’s conference schedule here.
