With all the hype and excitement that surrounded Utah’s 24-17 win over Michigan, there was no shortage of storylines with the Wolverines in town.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh made his much-awaited return to his alma mater, Devontae Booker kicked off his Heisman campaign, Sack Lake City returned (though the Utes didn’t register a single sack on Thursday night) and an experienced senior in Travis Wilson showed promise in his first game of his final season.
Yup, it was a night to remember, but hidden underneath all of those storylines, quite literally, was 5-foot-8 freshman slot receiver Britain Covey. Much was made of the Timpview product in fall camp, as it didn’t take long for former high school quarterback Covey to make his impact known.
However, each highlight, play or compliment Covey would get from this Utah squad was taken with a grain of salt for Utah fans, because remember, he’s a generously-listed 5-foot-8. The freshman clearly has the talent to be on this Ute roster, evident by his absolutely insane highlight video from his time as a Thunderbird, but many questioned whether he, at that size, could handle Pac-12 defenses.
Well, Covey answered those questions multiple times throughout Utah’s season-opening victory over Harbaugh’s Wolverines, proving himself worthy against bigger and stronger defenders. The freshman finished the game as the leading receiver for the Utes, with five catches for 58 yards.
He didn’t score any touchdowns, but he probably should have. In the first quarter, Covey found himself going toe-to-toe with Michigan cornerback Jabrill Peppers, who was one of the more sought-after top recruits the Wolverines have gotten in the last couple of years. Everyone in the country wanted Peppers on their team when he was coming out of high school, while Covey was an afterthought to most schools outside of Utah.
But the shorter wideout didn’t cower. Instead, with his quick footwork, Covey faked to the inside and cut out, crossing Peppers’ legs to get open for a quick strike from quarterback Wilson. Covey made the catch and was nearly in the endzone before Peppers was able to get a hold of him and whip him to the ground like a rag doll (Covey is only 166 pounds, after all).
Covey was called down at the one-yard line, and Booker powered it in the very next play, but the wide consensus among the Utes is that the touchdown really belonged to the freshman.
The move was quick, it was crisp and it was impressive. Covey not only made plays against players who probably eat steak dinners bigger than him on a daily basis, but he looked good while doing it. Throw in the fact that he made some Wolverines run into each other with an ankle-breaking juke on his single punt return of the night, and the exciting Covey is a player to watch for the rest of the season.
So as the president of the Under-Six-Feet club, I’d just like to thank Covey for what he did last night against Michigan. Thank you for showing Ute fans you have what it takes to match up with the bigger names and bigger players.
But most of all, I’d like to thank Covey for representing the little guy. Whether or not the Utes can build off of this season-opening win is yet to be discovered, but all I know is each week I’m going to be glued to Utah and whoever it is playing that week, and Covey is a big reason why.
@GriffDoug