Confidence has been the biggest difference as Devaughn Vele emerges as WR1

Coming off an impressive initial campaign with Utah, wide receiver Devaughn Vele has emerged as wide receiver one with impressive displays throughout all of spring camp.

With just a few days left in Utah’s Spring Camp, the program now has a good understanding of how the team looks, who the key contributors will be and which of the young guys are beginning to show promise. As one of the emerging leaders, sophomore wide receiver Devaughn Vele is transitioning to a newer role as he continues to separate himself as the leading wide receiver.

After an impressive freshman season, Vele showed a lot of promise in his performances and certainly lived up to his designated nickname, the offenses "secret weapon". Months later, Vele has quickly improved his game and has shown all spring camp that he is more than deserving of being WR1.

In terms of what has helped him take that next step, Vele shared that confidence has been key as he's dedicated himself to the development process.

"I pride myself in taking it serious. Especially emphasizing my confidence in my play...I know I can be a great receiver but truly believing in that and having the confidence that I can do that everyday has been the biggest difference in the past couple weeks...especially hearing rumors about how we were the weak spot on the team. That definitely fuels me up and fired me up to start making the plays I know I can make, but even the plays that nobody thinks I can make," Vele said.

Speaking of big plays, Vele was the star in the Utah's scrimmage last Saturday, bringing down every single pass that came his way. Whether it was a short route, a deep ball or heavily contested pass over his back shoulder, Vele snagged nearly everything and made it all look too easy.

Devaughn Vele just caught a 44 yard reception, double teamed, while diving down to the one yard line. Safe to say he's going to have a big year.

— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) April 16, 2022

"I think I did pretty well," Vele said. "There's still a couple plays I could've made. Im a big perfectionist when it comes to football, especially as a receiver. Any ball that touches my hands, I believe that I should be catching it every time."

With Vele being on the end of so many passes, its obvious that the chemistry between him and quarterback Cameron Rising is incredibly high. According to Vele, one of the things that has made their relationship on the field so effective has been Rising's trust in him and willingness to throw in his direction, even when Vele has made a mistake.

"There was a fade route when ran in the end zone where they [the defense] made a good play and I wasn't able to catch it. We went back in the huddle and I'm in my head already...and then we call the same play but flip it to other side. When I lined up, I didn't think Cam was going to throw it to me because I didn't make the play last time but right when he said hike and I made my move, I saw the ball in the air...and I was able to get a touchdown," Vele explained.

"That just says a lot," He continued. "That's what the quarterback position is, its pick up those guys that even when they're having a tough time you can still go to them because you know what they can do...he had confidence in me and as long as I keep that confidence in myself, everybody else is going to have that confidence in me as well."

As Vele continues to emerge as the obvious leader in the group, he's remained incredibly humble about his recent success and is blocking out the noise in order to stay focused.

"I try not to let it get to my head. The biggest thing that I am focused on is contributing as much as I can to the team to make sure we get the wins, being that big playmaker. Whether I'm receiver one, receiver two, receiver three, I'm still going to make the plays that I need to make," Vele explained.

While its certainly endearing to hear players respond with so much humility, there's no downplaying just how good Vele has been. Every single practice and scrimmage, he's been making jaw-dropping plays which have resulted in sizable gains and touchdowns. But why take my word for it when you can see what wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis had to say about the rising star.

"Confidence, he's very confident, he's seen himself make some plays and he's comfortable," Bumphis said. "I'm not moving him around as much because it's so easy for guys like him, he knows all three receiver spots… put him at X and let him get comfortable. He's seen himself make some plays and it's been more consistent. He can be that player for us and he's special. He's a 6'5" guy with crazy athleticism, a catch radius that's unbelievable and he can do what we need him to do and it changes the offense."

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