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Show Pest Tht Dc9y Utsh Ctwonidt. Optninss Rfty-ci- x f yair siwosomm it U by John Ennis Chronicle staff This i tht- - year Wayne liowaid has been waiting for, the year all the marbles will come together and the Utes will make their tun for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title. This is the foutih sear since liowaid made his appeararue imi the I'tah sjous scene and this sear w ill be the culmination of a ineteotic rise in I'tah football foitunes. 'Die team of 19S0isdecp. So deep, in fact, that theieare 40 playeis who have started in at least one gamefoi I'tah. Add to this the other players who have lodged enough playing time to earn It tteisand acoath'sdieam is neatly made true. If the only other thing thai iould please the coaches mote than eKjjerieiue in the toster wete raw talent, the coaches at this most of their time being university should he t static and jeiioiming neatly endless series of handstands, lite talent of I'tah is awesome. Never before has stub an incredible assemblage of pute athletic talent been put together at I'tah. The talent is deep and spread though neat ly every ftosit ion on the team. 'lite defense is hack neatly intact, with the offense losing only one starter, tenter Steve While. The defense is the key to the I'te football lot tune this year. Every tjosition is manned by at least two returning Intel men. with a secondary and line hue king toips that is suprih. sM-ndin- The (including corps is the centerpiece of the defense. While some think the secondary is the strongest iiart of the Utes' defense, it is the 'backers who will be the rock around which the defense is built, Ilistough todeeidewhoisthebesl linebat ker. but the distinction has to goto Mark Anderson by lies tall and 215 pounds, with a 40 speed a hair. At of 4.8. Anderson is the type of player coaches build entire defenses around. Anderson is as smart as he is strong, probably knowing the playbook as well or better than the coaching staff. He is as smart off the field as he is on. carrying a 3.5 grade xint average in pre-tne- d. The other standout of the linebacker corps is Bill Compf. While smaller than Anderson, he makes up for his lack of size in heart and an ability in pass defense that would make a defensiv e bac k proud. The third linebat ker position is going to be a with Dan Stewart and Dave Lobaugh the at (xisition with hammer and tongs. Ijnbaugh is a going three-yea- r r letterman and Stewart a returner. While the linebac king corps is the roc k of the defense, the defensive secondary is the diamond within the rock. All four starters are returners. leading the secondary is honorable mention Jeff Griffin. The best open-fiel- d tackier on the team, Griffin is also only three interceptions away from the school record. He has gone 225 yards on his interceptions and only needs 34 yards on his next three to hold both records for the school. The safety slots are filled capably with Forrest Henry and Terry Hess returning to their starting positions. Henry was the second leading tackier on the team with 99 tackles and four interceptions. Hess is a transfer from Long Beach State with a total of 54 tackles for the Utes last year. 1"he left side cornerback opposite Griffin is filled by Charlie Reid. who is coming off an injury, but should be a very im)ortant cog in the defensive backfield. In the half of the season he played, he totalled 36 tackles and four pass free-for-a- ll two-yea- deflections. All this talk about the capabilities of the personnel operating behind the defensive line does not mean Utah doesn't have a good line. The line that faces the offenses of Utah's opponents will be the best Utah has had in many years. Led by tackles Gene LaRoque and Steve Clark, both of whom have a definite possibility at post season honors. The defensive line is big, quick and strong. LaRoque, a three-yea- r and 250 pounds, was letterman, with stats of last selected honorable mention year and is a near All-WA- G.I. C notes QB Rick Harrison doesn't make radical improvements during the first two weeks of workouts, he'll be redshirted this season, and WR Floyd Hodge will do double duty as right flanker and back-u- p QB . . . DE Craig Child, a graduate of West Hieh, has left the team to serve on a mission for the LDS If the sophomore third-strin- g This year's punting game will be under the feet of J.C. transfer Gary Allred from Dixie College. At Dixie, Allred was named to the first team squad ... In the Church . . . past year, WR Jim Teahan has missed spring ball to play baseball and has still been able to win back the starter's spot. But what about this year? Teahan will have trouble starting, said Howard, who then commented that WR Rondle Woods has made a tremendous adjustment from last year. No matter which WR starts, with such a talented crop of catchers, all should see action. Now if the Utes only had someone who could consistently get the ball to them... One man Teahan and the rest of the receivers won't have to worry about is Mervyn Fernandez, the J.C. transfer w ho made a splash in the alumni game last year. Earlier this summer he told the coaches "no go" and followed his wife back to California ... While Lindsay and Rodgers have the backfield pretty well sealed up this year, look for a freshman from Oxnard, Calif., in the future. Hiltia Johnson, 19, could be the Utes' next star on thehorion. gained ovei During his last two years the Utes 104 will TDs. use him as scored The and 4,100 yards five in score him touchdowns After a fullback. watching all-stHoward commented coach school game, a high that Johnson was "fairly exciting." ar The 1980 football season should be a smashing one for for tirst-teahonors this year. Clark is the dark horse this year. His freshman year showed him to be one of the best athletes ever to be on the lineat Utah. He started last year at the tackle position, but during the fourth game against Utah State his knee gave way. If his knee is healed this year he will be the player whocould turn the Ute defensive line into the premier defensive line of the WAC. The defensive-enpicture is strong, with Matt Phelps, Frank Sheldon and William Johnson leading the horde at this position. Phelps and Sheldon were both starters on last year's team, and Johnson is a comer at the other end slot. shoo-i- n m d The offense this year will definitely put some points on the scoreboard. Except for the question mark at the quarterback position there is a solidity in the offense that will give the opposing coaches nightmares. There are no chinks in the wall. But the quarterback position is still a may be. The man who will be the starting point of the passing attack could be any one of three people: Ricky Hardin, Tyce Ferguson or Rick Harrison. Hardin will probably win the starting nod. Although his arm can best be described as mediocre, his field leadership and running ability are adequate. Ferguson is coming off his redshirt year and is expected to give a battle for the position. But the sleeper of the group is Harrison. Harrison probably has the best arm of the three, and proportions to make the pro scouts sit up and take notice. Since he is only a sophomore, he holds the key to the Utah QB position for the next three years. He will see action no matter what, if for no other reason than to bring him along for the future. The Utes' running game will be the key to Utah's offensive attack, and the three runners who will see the heaviest action will more than fill the dreams of Howard. Tony Lindsay is the horse of the group. With a three-yea- r total of 2,086 yards, last year he was named first team and honorable mention AP Lindsay's potential is unlimited this year; last year he rushed for more than 100 yards in four games and should improve on that record this coming fall. He holds the Utes' records for total yardage in rushing and carries, and is probably the finest runner in Utah history. The other two runners who make up the threesome are more than capable. Sam Baldwin is the kind of underrated runner who pulls more than his share. Despite his small and 185 pounds, he is an adequate stature of runner and a punishing blocker. The third member of the group is Del "Popcorn" Rodgers, and the third member of the groupcould very well be the best. If he were to stay turned on for the entire season without any of his infamous "slumps" he could challenge Lindsay lor the supremacy in the backfield. He does it all well when he is on and could be considered the best natural athlete on the team. The receiving corps has become stronger and now rates as one of the bright spots on the team. Tight end Steve Folsom is the standout in this group. Last year he was selected honorable mention All WAC and should be the best at his position in the WAC this year. Folsom is the best tight end to come to Utah since the glory days of Leo Gibby. He is a punishing blocker, with supetb hands and the speed needed to go deep. He'll be the man the coaches will look to in the critical third-dow- n situations. His only sore point is injuries. Last year he sat out five games due to injuries. But even in the All-WA- C hopeful light end Sieve Folsom. an games he did play he ended up as the Utes' third leading receiver. The wide receiver slots are wide open with talent deep and varied enough to make Howard wish for a variant of the trading system in pro football. There are five athletes capable of filling two slots, and all of them are good. Joe Tarver, Roderick Wise, Jim Teahan, Floyd Hodgeand Rondle Wood are all threats. The receiver who stands out of the group is Teahan. He is the returning starter at flanker slot. While his speed is not awesome he has hands that would do a surgeon proud and concentration that is astonishing. He does not hear footsteps. Hodge is coming off a good year as quarterback, but was switched to the receiving slot where it was fell he had great potential. Woods, who had a great spring practice, will see action as a kick returner and receiver. He is wily as a fox and is a threat every time he starts his tripdownfield. "Tex" Wise is in the same predicament as Woods. He is an excellent kick returner who is trying to break into the ranks of the first team. Tarver rounds out the receiving corps. He added a touchdown to the Ute total last year and shows promise for the years to come. The last area of the offense is the portion that shines the brightest. While the running backs are great and the receiving corps awesome and deep, the offensive line of the 1980 Utes will be beyond adjectives. With four returning starters the line at the end of the 1979 season was deep, good and seasoned. With one addition joining their ranks for this season, they have become an unstoppable juggernaut. This addition is offensive tackle Jack Cambell. Not since Dave Costa in 1962 has Utah seen a lineman of this man's capability. He does not block people. He destroys them. His technique, size, speed and feet show him to be pro material. His main asset, which separates him into the category of the he is, is his instinct for the jugular. potential Never has a greater potential shown itself in the Utah offensive line. His biggest contribution to the line is his ability to project this attitude to the other members of the an offensive line. While ending last year as a good, in fact, very good line, these undersung heroes now have the capability of leading the way to a WAC championship. Dean Miraldi ended the 1979 season as one of the best players in the WAC. His strength (he can bench 400 pounds), size and quic kness make him one of the main reasons the Utes' offense will produce this year. His ability as guard should assure four yards every time they are called. The other offensive tackle is easilv as good as any in the WAC. Tim Davis , and 260 'pounds, is the kind of player who has pro scouts wailing on the sidelines drooling. His size, quickness and technique are an example of how a tac kle should play. The other guard position is filled by Wayne Jones, an excellent offensive lineman, who can spring the runner for the v ital yards. If there is a weak link in the offensive line it is the center, but with this weak link, if the IVs have any man who is as capable as am center in the W AC, he should not be overlooked. This is the year of the Utes. This is the vear Howard and his team have trained for during the past three vears. This team has the strength, poise, desire, abilitv, depth and studs to take the WAC. And take the WAC thev will. |
