As of July 1, Utah is officially a member of the Pac-12. With the season fast approaching (48 more days...), I'm going to review each position for Utah. Then, if I feel like it, I might do the same for the country as a whole. For Utah, I'll do the backfield, receivers, offensive line, defense line, linebackers, secondary, and special teams. Today is the backfield.
In the backfield, there is a whole lot of uncertainty. At least for me there is. I know that we've seen a lot of Jordan Wynn (11-4 as a starter), but in 2009 he was a freshman and only played the last part of the season and last year he was injured almost the entire year. Last year, he had a healthy quarter and a half against Pitt and a healthy drive against Iowa State. That's it. I'm really excited and anxious to see how he is after his offseason shoulder surgery. He has looked really good at times and really bad at times. One of my biggest complaints last year was that he seemed very hesitant to throw to open receivers, almost like he had no confidence in his arm. That would make sense, considering the shoulder injury against Iowa State. I could be wrong, but I think that he has a lot of potential and we'll see it this season. If Wynn gets hurt, we could be in for a long season. The backup is Tyler Shreve and Jon Hays is coming this fall, but I don't believe either one will be able to take over in the middle of Utah's first season in the Pac-12.
At running back, there are three guys who have never played football for Utah before. Only one of those three has even played a down of college football, and that's John White who comes from Los Angeles Harbor College. However, Harvey Langi and Thretton Palamo are both very promising. Langi is a true freshman and was one of the best running backs in the state last year. Palamo is a converted rugby player who seems to be picking up college football really well. I have no idea who is going to be the #1 guy here but I wouldn't be surprised if there is 1A, 1B, and 1C. I'm very excited to see all three of them competing for carries in the fall. The running backs could wear down defensive lines quickly. Langi is 6'1" and 225 pounds and Palamo is 6'2" and 240 pounds. Both of these guys have a lot of speed as well. White is a bit smaller at 5'9" and 190 pounds. Having the ability to alternate these three backs and keep them all fresh is going to be a nightmare for defenses this year.
Even with all the uncertainty, I feel very confident about Utah's backfield and think this is a very solid group. As long as Wynn stays healthy, I don't expect there to be any problems here.
Grade: B+
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