There are still more than 150 days left until the Utes' season kickoff against Southern Utah, so a lot could change on the depth chart by kickoff, but through three weeks of spring football, players is starting to separate itself in the secondary.
Cornerback Myles Battle will test his rights to the NFL Draft after becoming NCAA eligible, cornerback Ja Travis Broughton will transfer to LSU, nickelback Tao Johnson will transition to safety in 2024, and Additionally, starting safeties Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki headed to the NFL Draft. Utah's defensive end will look different in 2024.
The only returning starter from Utah's secondary in 2023 is senior cornerback Zemiah Bourne. He had the best season of his career last year, earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors and the second-highest grade among Utah defensemen with 100 games played. More snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Vaughn finished the season with 53 tackles, five tackles for loss, one interception, and seven pass deflections.
“Without Zemaiah, we would be in a world of hurt. Having him back puts us in a very good position to be competitive in every game,” cornerback Coach Sharif Shah said.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham announced this week that if the season started today, Bourne and fourth-year transfer Kenan Johnson from Georgia Tech would fill the two outside cornerback spots, while sophomore Smith He said Snowden will likely play the nickelback position.
Johnson brings Division I experience to the cornerback room, appearing in 45 games with the Yellow Jackets and starting eight games in 2023, totaling 29 tackles, two force deflections, and four pass deflections. , recorded one interception.
“He's been playing since day one. He's been a great addition to our football team and really helped strengthen our secondary,” Whittingham said.
Snowden, a four-star recruit out of Skyridge High School, appeared in five games (105 snaps) at nickel late in the 2023 season, recording seven tackles.
With Tao Johnson moved to safety, he appears poised to take the nickel starter spot.
“Smith was very, very good,” Shah said.
As Snowden takes the next step in his college career, Shah emphasizes the importance of consistency.
“As a nickel player, there are situations where the offensive personnel group keeps you out of games and limits your reps throughout the game,” Shah said. “So we don't have a chance to make a mistake, not take advantage of a contested ball and have to make an interception. Stay consistent, be a consistent playmaker and continue to improve the play around you. That’s what I want to see.”
Coach Whittingham said last season that Tao Johnson's natural position was free safety, and Utah will play him 143 times at free safety in 2023, but the team has NFL-caliber players in Bishop and Vaki. With two safeties, Johnson has said multiple times that he won't be available full-time. He will have to wait another year at the position.
“Speed. He has really great speed. He has great ball skills…Cole and Sione are very good safeties and could play on the back end, but Tao covers the ground.” Just the ability to do that is really fun to watch over there,” Scully said.
Whittingham said that if the season started today, Utah State's starting free safety would be Johnson, with the strong safety spot being contested by sophomore Nate Ritchie and senior Alakai, a transfer from Stanford. He said there will be some competition between Gilman and sophomore Jonathan Hall.
After returning from a church mission last season, Ritchie played approximately 154 snaps at safety in 11 games, making three starts, 22 tackles and one sack. It took him a while to come back, but after another season, he could be ready to return to the starting role, the position he held in 2020.
Hall played in six games with one start, playing 59 snaps at safety in those six games, totaling 19 tackles and one sack.
Gilman is the most experienced in the room, playing four years at Stanford and earning a starting role last year. He recorded 50 tackles, one interception, and four pass deflections in nine games before missing the rest of the season.
Gilman earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors for his 2023 play.
