Just two months removed from a bowl victory over national power USC that pushed its final record to 8-4 overall, the Utah football team is now focusing its efforts on reloading for the future.
On National Letter of Intent Day on Feb. 6, the Utes added 24 athletes to their team, seven from the junior college ranks and 17 from high schools concentrated primarily in the West.
U coach Ron McBride expects each of them to contribute, though at different speeds and times.
“We brought in some guys who can help us out next year, some guys who will develop in our program and step in when they’ve had a chance to mature, and some guys who will go on missions [for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] before joining the team,” McBride said.
Of the high schoolers, six come from Utah’s prep ranks and six more come from California, while Arizona contributed two and Colorado, Hawaii and Washington, D.C., yielded one apiece.
Perhaps the most interesting addition from the juco ranks is tight end Ben Allison, a former U player who originally joined the team in ’98 as an academic non-qualifier but then endured a tumultuous tenure, getting shot at a relative’s wedding before finally being booted from the team more than a year ago when he was caught stealing money from a teammate’s locker.
However, his maturity as a person and a player (Second Team Juco All-American at Modesto JC) made McBride feel he warranted a second chance.
“Ben is a stud. He was the best tight end available out there,” McBride said.
Meanwhile, though it sounds trite and obvious to say that McBride made efforts to improve the team as best as possible, this time he made a conscious decision to skip over defense, which has been among the most dominant in the nation for the past several years, and focus predominantly on offense, where the Utes have struggled?making three fourths of the new additions offensive players.
“We filled our immediate needs and our future needs with this class. We added a lot of speed and athleticism to our team,” he said. “We extended more scholarship offers to offensive players because that’s where we need to rebuild. Our defense was very young this past year.”
Player bios of Utah’s 2002 class follow?
Ben Allison
TE 6-3 210 Modesto JC
Former Utah tight end? Juco Second Team All-American.
Mark Arnold
LB 6-2 230 Brighton HS
Played three years in New Mexico? Second Team All State at Brighton.
Jason Boone
OL 6-3 235 Millard HS
All-State as OT and DT? Played for Millard’s 2001 State Champion Team.
Donta Bright
DB 6-0 185 Eastern Arizona JC
Juco Second Team All American? Led Eastern Arizona in sacks.
Robbie Crockett
OL 6-4 245 Viewmont HS
All-State honoree in 2001? Team Captain and Most Valuable Lineman.
Tyrell Curtis
OL 6-2 260 Delta HS
Two-time All-State honoree? Team captain in football and wrestling.
Chris Gantz
RB 5-11 215 Manual HS (Colo.)
All-Conference selection? Averaged 5.5 yards per carry for season.
Ford Hall
K 5-11 185 Coffeyville JC
Juco Second Team All American? Kicked 3 FGs at least 50 yards in 2001.
Shaun Harper
DB 5-10 185 Mission Bay HS (Calif.)
First Team All-County? Team’s Most Improved Player in 2001.
Thomas Herrion
OL 6-4 330 Kilgore JC
Juco Honorable Mention All American? Team was No. 2 in nation.
Ray Holdcraft
LB 6-1 242 Palomar JC
Juco First Team All American? Previously played at Ricks College.
Deuce Lutui
OL 6-4 330 Mesa HS (Ariz.)
Two-time All-State honoree? Team won 2000 Region Championship.
Larry Miles
WR 6-0 170 San Diego Mesa JC
All-Conference as both WR and KR? Totaled 2,140 yards in two years.
George Molifua
RB 5-11 215 Carlsbad HS (Calif.)
Second Team All Conference? Team’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Mark Palmer
TE 6-3 235 Granite Bay HS (Calif.)
Three-time All-Conference? Team’s Defensive MVP as a DB.
Steven Savoy
WR 6-0 183 Dunbar HS (Wash. D.C.)
All-Metro in 2001? Lettered in football and basketball.
Andrew Smart
LB 6-3 220 Brighton HS
First Team All-State in 2001? Had 12 sacks and 7 blocked kicks.
Alex Smith
QB 6-3 190 Helix HS (Calif.)
Two-time All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Stephen Smith
RB 6-0 220 Lincoln HS (Calif.)
All-County three years? Team MVP in 2001.
Larry Sooalo
OL 6-4 280 Kailua HS (Hawaii)
Team won State Championship? Named State All-Star.
Manase Tonga
RB 5-11 210 Aragon HS (Calif.)
Three-time First Team All League? Had 365 yards in one game, 1,886 for year.
Nano Tonga
TE 6-4 240 Granger HS
Second Team All-State? Had 63 tackles, 15 sacks playing defense.
Jason Voss
DL 6-5 250 Valley Christian (Ariz.)
First Team All-State as senior? Three-time First Team All-Conference.
Brandon Warfield
RB 6-0 220 Kilgore JC
Juco Second Team All American? Rushed for 1,442 yards, 22 Tds.
***
New Coach Hired
McBride said he was going to make a commitment to bolster the team’s offense this offseason. Thus far, he’s been true to his word.
Not only did he use 18 of the team’s 24 available scholarships on offensive players, he also made good on his promise to add another offensive coach to the staff when he hired Derek Mason to instruct the U’s crop of wide receivers.
A spot opened up on the team’s coaching staff when defensive ends coach Steve Kaufusi left to take a position at his alma mater, BYU. McBride vowed that, instead of hiring someone to fill that exact position, he’d instead focus on adding another assistant to the offensive side of the ball.
The hiring of Mason allows assistant Vincent White to focus solely on the team’s running backs, after he spent much of last season overseeing both positions.
Mason spent the last three years coaching at Bucknell, but also coached at Weber State and Idaho State previously.
“I interviewed three good candidates, and Derek was by far the best fit for our program’s needs,” McBride said. “He is enthusiastic, upbeat and smart. He has a solid background of coaching wide receivers and he’s lived in Utah before. We expect Derek to be a great addition to our program.”
The 32-year-old Phoenix, Ariz., native first joined the collegiate coaching ranks at Mesa Community College in 1994. At Mesa, he instructed Daniel Jones, who went on to become the first-ever unanimous juco First Team All American, and later became an All-Conference performer for the Utes in ’98.
Mason moved on to Weber State, where he also coached the wide receivers in ’95 and ’96. He then joined the ISU staff, where he oversaw the running backs and special teams, from 1997 to ’98.
Finally, at Bucknell, his first two years saw him direct the wideouts, and in 2001 he took over the secondary (he was a defensive back when he played for Northern Arizona University). Under his direction, the Bisons were fifth in total defense and 18th in pass efficiency defense in Division IAA.