With Florida and Utah set to square off on Thursday night, Gator Country provides you with ten Utah Utes to look out for during the contest.
1- QB Bryson Barnes #16
According to Josh Newman of the Utah Checkdown Podcast and KSL.com, junior quarterback Bryson Barnes is expected to start under center for the Utes on Thursday night.
Barnes joined Utah as a walk on in 2020 and has appeared in 13 games including one start in his three-year collegiate career. The 6-1, 209-pound quarterback has completed 39 of his 59 passes (66.1%) for 430 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions during that span.
Most of Barnes’ production comes from his lone start against Washington State, where he completed 17 of his 27 passes (63.0%) for 175 yards and one touchdown in a 21-17 victory over the Cougars. Barnes posted an offensive grade of 76.8 against WSU (PFF), in a game where he was not expected to be the starter until 30 minutes before kickoff, according to Utah’s Head Coach Kyle Whittingham. Barnes added 51 rushing yards on eight attempts against WSU.
Florida’s starting quarterback Graham Mertz also played Washington State in 2022 with Wisconsin, completing 18 of his 31 passes (58.0%) for 227 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Mertz posted an offensive grade of 65.7, according to PFF.
Barnes also appeared in the Rose Bowl against Penn State, where he completed 10 of his 19 pass attempts for 112 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
While there is not much film on Barnes, he is a guy that understands Utah’s offense and is capable of running it efficiently. Barnes has the athleticism to take off and run if the play breaks down, and you may even see a handful of designed runs. Barnes has rushed 20 times for 116 yards including a long of 32 in his career.
Barnes has repped with Utah’s first team for the majority of fall camp and will be as prepared for this appearance as any game he’s played in his career.
2- LT Spencer Fano #55
The true freshman is set to start at left tackle against Florida, making Fano the third true freshman to start along Utah’s offensive line in an opening game in the last 20 years.
Fano was highly touted out of high school, ranking as the 42nd overall prospect in the nation, according to 247Sports, holding offers from Michigan, LSU, Miami, USC, Tennessee, Oregon and more.
The Utah native has the traits you are looking for in a left tackle, standing at 6-5, 300 pounds.
It’s rare for a true freshman to make his first start in the opening game of the season, making Fano a must watch player on Thursday night. Junior OLB Princeley Umanmielen will be matched up against Fano often, which will be a critical matchup in this contest. I look for defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong to test Fano early on in this one with aggressive blitz packages on Utah’s offensive line.
3- QB Nate Johnson #13
While Barnes is expected to start the game, do not be surprised if you see redshirt freshman quarterback Nate Johnson play against Florida. Johnson appeared in four games during his freshman campaign, completing his lone passing attempt for a 16-yard touchdown while adding five rushes for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
Johnson is far from a polished passer but the 6-1, 195-pound dual threat QB has the athleticism to make big plays with his legs. The California native earned CIF Central Section Athlete of the Year for his football and track accomplishments in 2020-21, winning a central section championship in the 100-meter dash. His speed and elusiveness make him a strong candidate to get a few packages on Thursday night, especially if Utah’s offense is stalling out. During Utah’s spring game, Johnson ran a lot of read options and was effective in doing so.
4- FS Cole Bishop #8
The junior safety has appeared in 24 games including 19 starts in his first two years with the Utes. Bishop was the 4th highest rated player on Utah’s defense in 2022 and is the third highest returning defensive player, according to Pro Football Focus. The 6-2, 207-pound safety ranks second among active Pac-12 secondary players with 5.7 tackles per game in his career.
Bishop has the ability to pressure the quarterback from the secondary as he’s totaled 4.5 sacks in his career and posted a pressure grade of 75.1 and 88.2 in back-to-back seasons, with the latter being the team high in 2022.
5 – DT Junior Tafuna #58
The 6-3, 310-pound defensive tackle has made 25 consecutive starts for the Utes and is one of Utah’s best defensive players. Tafuna has quite the list of accolades entering his fourth season in Salt Lake City, including 2021 AP Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team, 2021 Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, and 2022 Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team.
In 27 games played, Tafuna’s totaled 60 tackles (37 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, one interception, and three pass deflections.
Tafuna is a veteran piece in Kyle Whittingham’s defense and is as close as it gets to an every down player for a defensive tackle, recording 562 snaps a year ago, the most by any Utah defensive lineman.
Tafuna will play a critical role in trying to stop Florida’s rushing attack led by Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne.
6- WR Money Parks #10
The 5-10, 175-pound receiver is one of the three starting receivers for Utah and is actually the least experienced. Parks broke out during his sophomore campaign in 2022, totaling 26 catches for 414 yards and two touchdowns in just three starts and 406 snaps. The Texas native added six rushes for 36 yards on the ground.
Parks is not the biggest guy on the field, but his pure speed, explosiveness, elusiveness, and his ability to quickly move in and out of his breaks makes him a player to watch on Thursday night.
Parks caught one pass for four yards in just three snaps against Florida a year ago.
7- RB Micah Bernard #2
Bernard is listed as the 2nd string running back behind starter Ja’Quinden Jackson, but the 5th year junior is the pass catcher out of the backfield, totaling 60 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns in the last two seasons. In a game with a lot of quarterback questions, I expect Bernard to be heavily involved in the gameplan given his pass catching ability.
The 6-0, 201 pound running back enters Thursday night with 1,132 career rushing yards and six touchdowns with an average of 5.4 yards per carry.
Bernard caught five passes for 31 yards against Florida last season.
8- LB Karene Reid #21
The junior linebacker has started in 20 games for the Utes including all 14 a season ago, totaling 117 tackles (56 solo), 11.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions, seven pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in a two-year span.
In 2022, Reid led the linebacker room and ranked third on the team with 72 tackles (9.5 TFL, 5.0 sacks), working to a defensive grade of 74.3, which ranked sixth on the Utes defense last season, according to PFF.
The 6-0, 227-pound Utah native landed on the Pac-12 All-Conference team (First Team AP; Second Team Coaches) for his productive 2022 season.
Reid will primarily play as a box linebacker, but he has the athletic ability to line up in the slot or outside of the tackle.
9- OL Sataoa Laumea #78
Laumea was one of three Utes to land on ESPN’s top 100 college football players for the 2023 season (Brant Kuithe, Cam Rising), coming in at #89 on the list.
The 6-4, 311-pound 5th year junior has made 33 starts in his career along Utah’s offensive line, making 19 at right guard and 13 at right tackle. Laumea has earned three All-Pac 12 selections including first team in 2022.
Laumea’s versatility has allowed him to move around along the offensive line, but he’s expected to make the start at right tackle against Florida.
10- CB Zemaiah Vaughn #5
The lengthy 6-2, 185-pound cornerback is listed as a starter for Utah heading into week one. Vaughn’s defensive grade of 76.9 was the third highest on the Utes defense in 2022 and is the highest graded returning cornerback for Kyle Whittingham.
Vaughn has battled injuries throughout his collegiate career but has still managed to record 11 starts in his three-year career.
Vaughn allowed just one touchdown last season in 44 targets while making seven starts and appearing in all 14 games.