'If you want to develop and be the best you can be, Utah’s a great spot for you', just ask Devin Lloyd

Utah's football program continues to develop top-tier draft picks, the latest being linebacker Devin Lloyd to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd had his dreams realized as he was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only had he made it to the league, but all his hard work and dedication had paid off after returning for one more season and achieving all of his goals. In addition to leading the Utes to a memorable season, which included the programs first ever Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl appearance, Lloyd is also a testament to Utah’s elite capability to develop its players.

A three-star recruit out of high school, Lloyd was overlooked and under-recruited as he only received a total of six offers, with Utah being the only Power Five program. However, despite being ignored by so many other schools, the combination of Lloyd’s work ethic and Utah’s coaching took both Lloyd and the program to new heights.

What many people may not realize is that Lloyd was a safety and wide receiver in high school. But head coach Kyle Whittingham and the coaching staff saw more potential and opportunity in Lloyd which led to his eventual position change and the rest is history.

“He [Devin Lloyd] was a very lightly recruited athlete,” Whittingham told KSL Sports following Lloyd’s selection. “He didn't have a lot of schools on him, it was projection on our part. We thought he could grow into a linebacker…so we saw the raw material there, the frame and the speed and we thought if we put 20 or 30 pounds on him then he could be a real force at linebacker. You’re not always right but with Devin, we were right.”

When you look at Lloyd’s stats over the four seasons he spent at Utah, the numbers reflect both his improvement and development. After red-shirting in 2017, Lloyd then played on special teams in 2018 where he appeared in all 14 games and recorded six tackles. Fast forward to 2019 and Lloyd broke out in commanding fashion. For the season, Lloyd finished with 91 total tackles, 11 of which were tackles for loss and cemented himself as a true defensive force.

While 2020 was a year unlike any other and only provided a five-game schedule, Lloyd was still able to demonstrate growth and made the most of the shortened season. In just five contests, Lloyd recorded 48 total tackles (9.6 average) which ranked eight in the FBS and fifth in the conference. He also nearly matched his 2019 tackle for loss totals with 10 in roughly one-third the amount of games.

Following the Covid-year, Lloyd easily could’ve entered the draft and been picked up by a plethora of NFL teams in later rounds. However, not only was he determined to run it back and raise the Pac-12 Trophy for his brothers, he also put in the work to take his game to an even higher level and prove himself worthy of a first-round pick.

In his final season, Lloyd finished with 110 tackles and a league-leading 22 (yes, 22) tackles for loss. He also added four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns in addition to six pass break-ups.

​​In any given year there are roughly 1.1 million high school football players in the US. Of those players, 6.5% will play at the college level (roughly 70,000). Only 1.2% (853) of college-level players will get drafted to the NFL, that’s 0.00075% of the original 1.1 million high school athletes. Coming out of high school, Lloyd was not projected to be one of the few who makes it. But with his work ethic and an incredible coaching staff, Lloyd not only took his talent to the league, but was the 27th player selected and arguably the best linebacker taken.

“If you want to develop and be the best you can be, Utah’s a great spot for you. I think it also speaks to the evaluation…the expertise that our assistant coaches have in evaluating these guys, projecting the guys they think are going to be successful and then the development of those guys once they get in the program,” Whittingham told KSL Sports.

Like many before him, including guys like Julian Blackmon, Zack Moss and Tyler Huntley, all of which were three-stars and not as heavily recruited, Lloyd is a testament to the development process that Utah possesses. Now, as the program continues to grow and brings in recruits like Jaylon Glover, Lander Barton and the rest of the 2022 class, not only will they bring home more Pac-12 trophies, but they’ll also continue to take people by surprise in top bowl games and send more players to the league along the way.

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