Taking a crack at how the Utes’ 2024 offensive depth chart could shake out after spring camp

Spring football has come and gone, but the offseason action is just beginning.

The spring transfer portal opened Tuesday and will remain open for players to enter through April 30.

As you can guess, this introduces an element of uncertainty into the practice of projecting a depth chart. In the process of writing this article on Tuesday, Kolinu’u Faaiu — who started the final eight games at center for the Utes in 2023 — reportedly entered the transfer portal, and I had to start over on the offensive line depth chart.

Utah has completed its post-spring evaluation of every player, and there may still be more attrition to come. The Utes will undoubtedly pick up players from the transfer portal that could start or crack the depth chart.

If standard practice continues, Utah won’t make an official depth chart available until the week of its opener against Southern Utah on Aug. 29, so here’s a guess — at this snapshot in time, Wednesday, April 17 — at Utah’s 2024 offensive depth chart after spring practice wrapped up.

Below is a position-by-position look at Utah’s offense at the conclusion of spring camp.

Quarterback

Cam Rising got through spring without missing “one minute,” according to coach Kyle Whittingham.

In the portions that the media watched and during the spring game, Rising was moving well and hasn’t lost a step when it comes to his arm strength or throwing mechanics.

In Utah’s spring game, Rising played three series, leading touchdown drives on each, and had some great throws — a 57-yard bomb to Money Parks for a score and a 40-yard completion to USC transfer Dorian Singer.

As long as Rising stays healthy, Utah shouldn’t have anything to worry about at the quarterback position.

But as the Utes learned all too well last season, backup quarterback is one of the most important spots on the team.

Whittingham called the QB2 race a “dead heat” between sophomore Brandon Rose and true freshman Isaac Wilson, and says that competition will extend into the fall.

Wilson was the more impressive quarterback in Saturday’s spring game, finishing with 165 yards and two touchdowns on 8-of-12 passing, including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Luca Caldarella and a bullet to Landen King for a score, while Rose was 9 of 14 for 79 yards.

“The skill set is definitely there, but you’re talking about a young man that was a high school senior on Friday and then came in, was a college freshman on Monday, so he’s still learning a lot,” Ludwig said. “But the arm talent, the athleticism and the football savvy are there. He’s just still learning the ins and outs of Utah offensive football.”

But Rose has taken steps forward this spring, his third year in the program. Of course, the spring game is just a small glimpse of what Utah’s coaching staff has seen over 15 practices.

“I’m fired up with the growth and maturity of Brandon Rose,” offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said.

“He had some opportunities last spring in the fall camp. The injury set him back. He’s made the absolute most of that time. He’s come back a better player, more confident, more poised in the pocket, better system understanding, so I’m very pleased with his progress to date. There’s still plenty of work to do through the course of the summer.”

Will Utah seek a transfer portal quarterback in the spring portal? It could very likely be the case, and would be beneficial to get a quarterback with college game experience in the room to compete for the backup job.

Wide receiver

When Singer announced his transfer to Utah, he looked as if he could be WR1 for the Utes. Utah had just lost its leading receiver, Devaughn Vele, to the NFL draft and needed someone to step in and be that go-to guy.

While that could end up being someone like Money Parks, Singer looks the part through 15 practices.

The Rising-to-Singer connection was in full effect in the spring game as the USC transfer led all receivers with 92 yards on five catches.

“We can do a lot of stuff. We got a pretty good connection,” Singer said. “A lot of it’s because we meet outside of football, we always hang out, just building our relationship up so we can have good chemistry on the field.”

Singer had 66 receptions for 1,105 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2022 for Arizona, with his production falling after transferring to USC last season — 289 yards and three touchdowns on 24 receptions. Utah is hoping he can return to his production with the Wildcats, and by all accounts, he’s had a great spring.

Money Parks was Utah’s second-leading receiver last year, with 31 catches for 293 yards, and looks poised to have a big year with Rising returning. Parks had three receptions for 73 yards and caught two touchdowns from Rising in the spring game, including a 57-yard beauty.

Starting in the slot could be Mycah Pittman, who played in the season-opening win against Florida before suffering a season-ending injury against Baylor. The season prior, at Florida State, he put up 330 yards and three touchdowns on 32 catches and is looking to bounce back from injury this season.

Another name that’s been drawing some buzz this spring is Daidren Zipperer, the 6-foot, 164-pound three-star freshman that didn’t see playing time last year but could see the field plenty this season.

“There’s a guy that has stepped up and made a lot of plays in the perimeter for us at the wide receiver spot,” Ludwig said.

Adding in senior Munir McClain, Washington freshman transfer Taeshaun Lyons, four-star freshman David Washington and junior Luca Caldarella, and Utah has perhaps its deepest wide receiver room in a while.

“It’s a good group. There’s a good mix of veteran players and new players, young guys, but there’s a skill set, regardless of age,” Ludwig said. “There’s guys that can run, the ball skills are outstanding. Some guys are still learning all the ins and outs of the details of alignment and assignment, but I think that group has a chance to be very productive for us.”

Running back

Do the Utes have a true every-down running back, or will it be by committee this season?

“We don’t have an every-down guy, so to speak, but we have a lot of guys that do a lot of things well,” running backs coach Quinton Ganther said.

Micah Bernard looks like the favorite for RB1 so far. The Utes missed the versatile back, who is the team’s best pass-catcher and pass protector out of the backfield, last season.

“I’m a big Micah Bernard fan, always have been because he’s so versatile, so smart. He’s a very good back in terms of carrying the ball, but he’s one of our best pass protectors. He’s dang good out of the backfield, catching the ball, so that’s a guy that can do it all,” Ludwig said.

Bernard has been primarily a secondary back for the Utes, so it’ll be an opportunity for him to be the No. 1 option this season.

Behind Bernard is Jaylon Glover, who hit his stride at the end of last season, notching a career-high 107-yard game against Colorado and finishing the year with 562 yards and two touchdowns on 137 carries. His yards per carry increased as the year went on and he’s looking to make a leap as he enters his junior season.

“Jaylon did have a hell of a second half of the season,” Ganther said. “He had me worried early. He had me worried. He was not playing well, he wasn’t playing well at all. And like I said to you, I said to him, he knows that. But that second half of the season, I think he calmed down and just kind of came into his own and he was playing really well.”

Two players that did not see the field much at running back — Mike Mitchell and Dijon Stanley — could see increased playing time.

Mitchell, at 6-foot, 211 pounds, is perhaps Utah’s best example of a running back you bring in when you absolutely need to power your way to a first down.

Stanley has shown flashes in spring but needs to gain more weight and improve on his pass protection, according to Ganther.

“Right now he’s gained about 12 pounds since he’s been here and he needs to gain another 12,” Ganther said. “But the thing is he’s really, really dynamic. That’s what I loved about him. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and he’s a smart kid. He’s going to the right places in the protection, but he just now has to protect.”

Tight end

The headliner is Brant Kuithe, who is healthy for the first time since the start of the 2022 season.

Kuithe has been an impactful player for the Utes, with a pair of 600-plus yard seasons to his name, and has major chemistry with Rising. It wouldn’t be a surprise for him to have a 40-50 reception season if he stays healthy all the way through the year.

“It’s great having him and you’re reminded of everything that he did going back to 2021, because the 2022 season, I think it was game four that he got injured and so he really hasn’t played football for over 18 months,” tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham said.

“To see him back out there doing his thing has been awesome for everybody. Coaches, players, I think fans are excited, so we’re fired up to have him back.”

Expect to see Landen King on the field as well in the two-tight end sets that offensive coordinator Ludwig loves.

The Auburn transfer has been striving to bulk up and improve his blocking in his second year at Utah, and after a season that ended with 14 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns while being one of Utah’s most sure-handed pass-catchers, the potential is there for the duo to continue the recent streak of tight end excellence at Utah.

“We’ve seen him make spectacular plays in the throw game. Very good ball skills, very good length, good speed, great route runner. So if he can add to that, those line-of-scrimmage blocking elements that tight ends need to have, then he’s going to be a complete player,” Whittingham said.

UCLA transfer Carsen Ryan, who has not practiced this spring, is another option the coaches have at their disposal. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound tight end had 13 receptions for 205 yards and three touchdowns in 2023 and could be a factor as well.

Other depth players include Dallen Bentley and Miki Suguturaga.

“Adding Brant Kuithe back into the mix. Dallen Bentley, Miki coming back. Landen King has shown great growth and development … then you add in Carsen Ryan, who has not been with us on the field this spring, but I think we got five tight ends and that’s something that was lacking last year,” Ludwig said.

Offensive line

Tuesday’s reported transfer by center Kolinu’u Faaiu has shaken things up a bit along the offensive line.

Faaiu played in 10 games at center in 2023, starting the final eight. He was inserted at center ahead of the Cal game in October and performed well enough throughout the season to hang onto the starting job for the rest of the year.

The Utes will have to find a new starting center, and two of the main candidates are Johnny Maea and Jaren Kump.

Maea was the projected starting center in 2023, but missed all but one game in that season due to injury. He played in seven games at center in 2022, starting two late in the season.

Kump started the first five games at center before being replaced by Faaiu. Kump also started the Las Vegas Bowl at left guard and appeared in three other games at center and left guard in 2023.

Utah has two returning starters — tackle Spencer Fano and guard Michael Mokofisi — and two other open spots due to Keaton Bills and Sataoa Laumea moving on to the NFL draft.

Tanoa Togiai is a leading candidate to take over a guard spot — he played 355 snaps in 10 games in 2023, starting at USC and vs. Northwestern.

“I really like what he has done through these 13 practices and may have made the biggest impact from where he was in December to April, and so I’m really excited to see what he does this fall,” offensive line coach Jim Harding said. “But I think he’s put himself in a really good position.”

A name to watch for a starting tackle spot is Caleb Lomu, who started the spring with the ones.

“He’s going up against (defensive end) Connor O’Toole every single practice, and that has been a humbling experience. I think Connor has had a really good camp, but I think Caleb has held his own, especially considering he’s only a freshman, hasn’t been in the program for an entire calendar year yet,” Harding said. “Really excited for what he’s going to do for us and overall where I expect him to be when his career is over. I think he’s on the right track.”

Kump could also take over a starting tackle spot if he doesn’t get the starting center gig, and another name to watch on that front is Zereoue Williams, who missed all of 2023 with an injury.

“I believe the offensive line will be the strength of the offensive unit. I think that says a lot,” Ludwig said. “That group, in terms of length, athleticism and depth. Depth, that’s one thing across the board. I just feel like you got eight, nine guys that are game ready.”

Utah’s projected 2024 offensive depth chart

Quarterback

• Cam Rising — 6-2, 220, senior.

• Isaac Wilson — 6-0, 200, freshman OR Brandon Rose — 6-2, 212, sophomore.

Backups: Luke Bottari — 5-10, 201, senior; Macloud Crowton — 5-11, 191, junior.

Running back

• Micah Bernard — 6-0, 206, senior.

• Jaylon Glover — 5-8, 202, junior.

Backups: Mike Mitchell — 6-0, 211, redshirt freshman; Dijon Stanley — 6-0, 178, sophomore; Anthony Woods — 5-10, 180, junior; Charlie Vincent — 5-10, 200, senior.

Wide receiver

• Money Parks — 5-10, 175, senior.

• Mycah Pittman — 6-0, 205, senior.

• Dorian Singer — 6-0, 177, senior.

Backups: Munir McClain — 6-4, 217, senior; Daidren Zipperer — 6-0, 175, redshirt freshman; Taeshaun Lyons — 6-1, 170, redshirt freshman.

Tight end

• Brant Kuithe — 6-2, 236, senior.

• Landen King — 6-5, 222, junior.

Backups: Carsen Ryan — 6-4, 256, junior; Miki Suguturaga — 6-4, 256, senior.

Offensive line

• Left tackle: Caleb Lomu — 6-5, 295, redshirt freshman.

• Left guard: Tanoa Togiai — 6-6. 320, junior.

• Center: Johnny Maea — 6-4, 315, senior.

• Right guard: Michael Mokofisi — 6-4, 325, junior.

• Right tackle: Spencer Fano — 6-5, 304, sophomore.

Backups: Jaren Kump — 6-5, 314, junior; Zereoue Williams — 6-8, 317, junior; Alex Harrison — 6-4, 306, senior; Falcon Kaumatule — 6-8, 302, senior; Solatoa Moea’i — 6-5, 332, sophomore.