Team Previews: #45, Utah
Welcome to the 2017 CollegeSportsCoverage Top 50 preview. Every other day we preview a new team in my top 50 rankings. Todays team is:
The Utah Utes
Conference
PAC 12 (South)
2016 Record
9-4
Foster Farms Bowl Champions (vs Indiana)
Head Coach
Kyle Whittingham (104-50, 14th season)
Coordinators
OC: Troy Taylor
DC: Morgan Scalley
Players Lost
RB Joe Williams
DE Hunter Dimick
OL Garett Bolles
QB Troy Williams
Key Players
QB Cooper Bateman (Alabama transfer)
DE Kylie Fitts
DT Filipo Mokofis
DB Chase Hansen
Top Recruits/Class Rank
National Rank: 33
PAC 12 Rank: 6
Top Recruits
CB Jaylon Johnson (#85 overall)
S Corrion Ballard (#9 JUCO)
LB Marquise Blair (#15 JUCO)
WR Tyquez Hampton
2016 Recap
The highlight of the Utes season was the wild story of Joe Williams. After rushing for only 75 yards in the first two games he retired, then a month later came back and rushed for 190 yards per game the rest of the way. Williams was half of a backfield that won’t be back for the Utes as new OC Troy Taylor has to find a new RB and determine the results of a QB battle between Alabama transfer Cooper Bateman and sophomore Tyler Huntley. Last years Utes constantly came up short losing four games, all by single digits, by a combined 19 points. Lots of losses on both sides of the ball should make fixing that problem difficult, but with talented recruits and transfers anything is possible.
Schedule
Aug. 31: vs North Dakota
Sep. 9: at BYU
Sep. 16: San Jose State
Sep. 22: at Arizona
Oct. 7: Stanford
Oct. 14: at USC
Oct. 21: Arizona State
Oct. 28: at Oregon
Nov. 3: UCLA
Nov. 11: Washington State
Nov. 18: at Washington
Nov. 25: Colorado
Record Projection
W
L
W
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
L
W
(6-6)
MVP
QB Cooper Bateman