So, no. And 3 from UNM (QB, RB, WR) followed their OC, so not too unexpected. And the non-P4 guys are mostly ones that were productive G5 players. Not just replacement players, but starters with good stats (well, not the UNLV RB guy IIRC). Dampier (UNM QB) was 2,768 yds throwing, 12TD/12INT + 1,166 yds rushing 19TD. Compare to Brendan Zurbrugg (OU QB - maybe 4th/5th string?) - I’d rather have the non-P4 starter than P4 FR transfer. Isaac came back, so essentially a P4 player with 2 starts. Still probably prefer the non-P4 guy in this case.
Non-P4 might be overlooked or had some other issue (academic, late bloomer, maturity, etc.) and usually those guys do pretty well at Utah given the chance. P4 transfers are usually disenchanted in some way and just trying to find a fit where they can have the chance to play.
What Indiana did this year is a good comparison to what we can hope for next year. Revamp nearly the entire offense and have some chemistry that leads to success.
Yes. We have been moved down a notch in terms of attractiveness to players- from contender in an elite conference to a contender in a second-tier conference with lower NIL pay.
Our best players are either getting poached or tempted with significant money. Utah has historically only lost players who were not getting playing time. Now Utah is losing star players.
We are having to collect players from either lower-tier conferences or players who did not get a lot of playing time from P4 programs.
Utah’s success has largely come from developing players as opposed to recruiting players ready to contribute immediately (higher ranked players). Yes we have had exceptions to this but most of Utah’s starters have been developed. This takes time and time is no longer easily attainable.
Put it this way- what is the likelihood that Utah can replace a starter with elite talent like Calhoun, Tanuvasa, or J Jackson with players having lower NIL price tags without losing production? Further the program needs to do that without taking a few years to develop the talent because as soon as the talent is developed the player can obtain larger NIL payout elsewhere. I would say very unlikely.
Is it worth being nervous? No. But the rules of the game have clearly changed and it remains to be seen how well Utah can adapt.
Agreed. We’ll have to wait and see. Some changes will come that we haven’t even thought of yet. For example, how many of the best coaches will do what Nick Saban did and decide they don’t want to be part of it any more? That remains to be seen.
It will be interesting to see where Tanuvasa ends up. If it is SC or Michigan, we will be okay. If it is another BigXII program, it will tell us that if we don’t have some big money step up we will be fighting to stay in the middle of the pack.
On the flip side, he only appeared in 5 or maybe 6 games this season due to injuries. I was really hoping he’d be able to stay healthy in 2025… but definitely wasn’t holding my breath.
Utes feed on portal players from G5 conferences; & SEC & BIG10 feed on portal players from the Utes & other Big 12 teams. Programs like Alabama & Ohio St that have no local competition from pro teams or close by schools like Utah/BYU can pay top $$ & will always be on top.
First round of CFP (yawn) proved this out.
From the portal, we have more non-G5 than G5 and 3 of those are from UNM, following their OC (which had a much better offense than us).
Calhoun went to Alabama. Pepa to UW. Punter (?!) to Texas. Akana to UCLA. But Alford to FAU, Glover to UNLV, Vili to San Jose St., Ryan to BYU. Most of the guys that have left were not starters nor slated to be. Just a couple.
Of the guys who have left or who are currently in the portal, I think in order off importance at: Tanuvasa (if he leaves), Calhoon, Akana ( I think he would probably get some good PT if he had not gone to UCLA, Ryan (although I think we have guys who can fill his role and Pepa (not a loss IMO).
