7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
The term "returning starter" is a little bit tricky when talking about Utah's defense going into 2012. With the D-line rotation that Utah employs along with all of the starters that have changed due to injury, it's not really as simple as counting returning starters. Here's why I think Utah's defense can be just as good (or maybe even better) than this years squad:
-Dline: Yes, they do lose some talent here, but they also return quite a few guys who play regular minutes in that rotation. Joe and Dave Kruger will both be back. NT's Star Lotulelei should return (possible he leaves for NFL, but doubt it) and LT Tuipulotu will be back to back him up. Also, extremely talented Freshman Nate Fakahafua will actually get a chance to see more snaps in the rotation. The kid was one of the best players on the field during fall ball. By my count, that's 5 D-lineman that will all be coming back with game-time experience under their belt. As usual, I'm sure that they will be used in a 7-8 man rotation.
-LBs: Walker and Martinez are gone, but Boo Anderson, Trevor Reilly, V.J. Feheko, and Brian Blechen (let's assume that Utah moves him back to LB next year) all return. I believe all of these guys have at least started multiple games this year for Utah due to injuries with the exception of Feheko. However, Feheko has played decent minutes and has been extremely solid when called upon. I love Walker and Martinez but I think a LB unit of Boo Anderson starting in the middle with Blechen and Reilly on the outsides has the potential to be even better. Plus, all of these guys have started games at their positions. I don't know if that technically makes them returning starters, but it's certainly not like Utah is going to be breaking in brand new LB's next year. Reilly has also seen some time as a pass rusher at DE. If Feheko wins a starting spot next fall you could see Reilly bounce back and forth between the DL and LB spots. He's excelled at that this year.
-Secondary: Probably Utah's strongest returning unit on this side of the ball. Ryan Lacy will be back to start at 1 corner with Freeman returning as his backup. Mo Lee has taken over the starting Nickleback spot and is playing great. He'll problably slide over and replace Conroy Black as the other starting corner. Reggie Topps and Mike Honeycutt have both played good minutes this year and will be back to solidify the Nickle and Dime packages. Keith McGill and Eric Rowe will both be back as the starting safeties. Conroy Black is the only major starter/contributor that Utah loses from their entire Secondary.
To me, that seems like an awful lot of guys coming back next year who have either started for Utah at some point this season, or made major contributions. There's really not 1 spot along the entire defense where Utah will be forced to depend on somebody who's lacking in experience.
-Dline: Yes, they do lose some talent here, but they also return quite a few guys who play regular minutes in that rotation. Joe and Dave Kruger will both be back. NT's Star Lotulelei should return (possible he leaves for NFL, but doubt it) and LT Tuipulotu will be back to back him up. Also, extremely talented Freshman Nate Fakahafua will actually get a chance to see more snaps in the rotation. The kid was one of the best players on the field during fall ball. By my count, that's 5 D-lineman that will all be coming back with game-time experience under their belt. As usual, I'm sure that they will be used in a 7-8 man rotation.
-LBs: Walker and Martinez are gone, but Boo Anderson, Trevor Reilly, V.J. Feheko, and Brian Blechen (let's assume that Utah moves him back to LB next year) all return. I believe all of these guys have at least started multiple games this year for Utah due to injuries with the exception of Feheko. However, Feheko has played decent minutes and has been extremely solid when called upon. I love Walker and Martinez but I think a LB unit of Boo Anderson starting in the middle with Blechen and Reilly on the outsides has the potential to be even better. Plus, all of these guys have started games at their positions. I don't know if that technically makes them returning starters, but it's certainly not like Utah is going to be breaking in brand new LB's next year. Reilly has also seen some time as a pass rusher at DE. If Feheko wins a starting spot next fall you could see Reilly bounce back and forth between the DL and LB spots. He's excelled at that this year.
-Secondary: Probably Utah's strongest returning unit on this side of the ball. Ryan Lacy will be back to start at 1 corner with Freeman returning as his backup. Mo Lee has taken over the starting Nickleback spot and is playing great. He'll problably slide over and replace Conroy Black as the other starting corner. Reggie Topps and Mike Honeycutt have both played good minutes this year and will be back to solidify the Nickle and Dime packages. Keith McGill and Eric Rowe will both be back as the starting safeties. Conroy Black is the only major starter/contributor that Utah loses from their entire Secondary.
To me, that seems like an awful lot of guys coming back next year who have either started for Utah at some point this season, or made major contributions. There's really not 1 spot along the entire defense where Utah will be forced to depend on somebody who's lacking in experience.
