Three questions answered following the Utes fall camp

With Utah's fall camp now concluded, FanNation AllUtes answers three questions that were considered before camp began.

With Utah's 2022 fall camp now officially over and the season just a little more than a week away, it's time to reflect on the three questions we considered before camp started. While questions surrounding the linebacker situation and special teams have mostly been answered, Whittingham has yet to name a backup quarterback, but either way, the Utes are set no matter who it is.

3. How's the linebacker room shaping up and who is really going to start in Florida?

Mohamoud Diabate, Utah Utes Fall Camp / Courtesy of Utah Athletics

Coming out of spring and then transitioning to fall camp, Lander Barton and Karene Reid had been running with the ones and were the anticipated starters. However, now at the conclusion of fall camp, it appears that senior Florida-transfer Mohamoud Diabate has leapfrogged both Barton and Reid into the LB1 spot.

In addition to his far superior level of experience, Diabate was the second-leading tackler at Florida just a season ago. Not only has he proven himself to be a talented linebacker in the SEC, but he's also logged a lot more snaps at the collegiate level than Barton and Reid combined.

As for who will be starting alongside Diabate, unless something changes between now and the first snap in Gainesville, Reid should be the guy. 

Last season, Reid had one of the most impressive freshman performances and even earned himself a scholarship after being a walk-on. Now, according to both him and linebackers coach Colton Swan, Reid has come a long way since the 2021 campaign and is on track for a solid year. 

So as previously mentioned, Diabate and Reid should be the starting linebackers in Florida. However, both Lander Barton and Justin Medlock will see a solid amount of reps this season, and depending on how quickly they acclimate, it's possible we could see them a lot in 2022.

2. Video Game Covey is gone, where does kick return and the rest of special teams go from here? 

Micah Bernard, Utah Utes Fall Camp / Courtesy of Utah Athletics

Alright, let's just make sure that everybody is on the same page before we dive deeper into this. Do the Utes have one name for their kick return game? No. But, there are several solid candidates and by next week, I'm sure they will have it figured out.

Coach Shah says that they have yet to determine who will be fielding punts or kicks but several individuals look fantastic back there.

For punts he named Vele, Kuithe, Money Parks, and Clark Phillips. As for kick returns it was Micah Bernard, with Parks and Phillips again.

— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) August 15, 2022

According to coach Sharrieff Shah in his media availability last week, the special teams return units have yet to be determined but several guys have stepped up. 

For punts, Shah named players like Devaughn Vele, Brant Kuithe, Money Parks and Clark Phillips, while kick returns featured Micah Bernard with Parks and Phillips again.

Each of these guys brings something almost vastly different to the table. With Vele and Kuithe, it's a plethora of offensive experience and great vision. With Money Parks and Micah Bernard its more about speed, athleticism, and elusiveness while Phillips has an elite football IQ to go along with great vision, speed, athleticism, and has proven to be a great returner with several pick-six touchdowns in his career.

So who should Shah choose? At the end of the day he'll have a much better idea of who to put in these situations, but I'd prefer to see Money Parks and/or Micah Bernard fielding returns in one or both of these situations. 

Great size and length are not necessarily your best friend when fielding kicks which could potentially rule Vele and Kuithe out. As for Clark Phillips, while he's proven to have what it takes to be a great returner, this is too risky of a situation to put your star corner in every single game. Whether or not Shah elects to put Phillips back there is yet to be seen but you have to imagine he won't, given how immensely valuable the third-year defender is amongst the defense.

With those guys potentially ruled out, that leaves Parks and Bernard, who both present exactly what you look for in returners. These players are roughly the perfect size, have great speed, athleticism, vision and elusiveness in order to get the job the done. So while time will tell who Shah has chosen, Parks and Bernard appear to make the most sense.

1. Who is QB2?

Ja'Quinden Jackson, Bryson Barnes, Utah Utes Fall Camp / Courtesy of Utah Athletics

Again, just making sure that everyone is on the same page, no official QB2 has been named yet. We also might not even know who it is until Florida or beyond, but what fans can be confident in, is that either way, Utah will have an elite backup.

Between the two quarterbacks, they both offer vastly different skill sets and abilities. For Jackson, it's more about athleticism and posing as a dual threat, although he has made a lot of progress in terms of his passing game. For Barnes, in addition to being a solid games manager and great passer, he proved that no matter the stage, he's ready at any given moment to step up in an emergency situation and get the job done.

So who will the coaches choose? If you look back at fall camp, yes, Jackson was noted as making arguably the most progress on the team, but don't be quick to forget what Barnes did in Pasadena, and how he followed that up during spring and summer. 

Time will tell who the coaches have selected as their backup quarterback, and this coming Monday provides an opportunity for Whittingham to reveal who it is. But regardless, they're two things to remember. First, no matter who is chosen, both guys present excellent options at the QB2 spot and make up arguably the deepest room the Utes have ever seen. Second, the race is always ongoing and just because a guy is picked now doesn't mean that's who would take the field in an emergency situation.

So regardless of who is picked, Utah will be set at the backup spot, but let's just hope we don't have to see them outside of "garbage" time in 2022.

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