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your-dietician · 3 years

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There’s a notable increase of Utah ties in the NFL this offseason

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There’s a notable increase of Utah ties in the NFL this offseason

Each summer over the past eight years, the Deseret News has created a master list of Utah ties in the NFL during the offseason. This year, there are 89 Utah ties on an NFL roster just a few weeks before teams head to training camps near the end of July.

How does the number of Utah ties on NFL rosters in 2021 stack up to past seasons?

The 89 Utah ties currently in the NFL is significantly higher than the past three seasons — there were 74 last season, 76 in 2019 and 79 in 2018.

The 2017 offseason set the standard in recent years, when there were 90 local players on NFL rosters around this time, paced by a strong contingent of 35 rookies. Earlier this offseason, there were 90 Utah ties on NFL rosters, before former South Sevier High’s Alani Pututau was released by Atlanta.

In 2016, there were 75 Utah ties on rosters during the summer, with 70 in 2015 and 66 in 2014.

This year’s crop of 89 local players includes 16 rookies, with eight draft picks and eight undrafted free agents.

Here’s a breakdown of those 89 players (note: they can count towards multiple categories):

29 who played at the University of Utah (down from 30 last year)

26 who played at BYU (up from 12 last year)

14 who played at Utah State (down from 15 last year)

4 who played at Weber State (equal to 4 last year)

4 who played at Snow College (equal to 4 last year)

1 who played at Southern Utah (down from 2 last year)

42 who played football at Utah high schools (up from 30 last year)

So, why is there such an increase of Utah ties this year?

Three main reasons contribute to the sizable jump of Utah ties in the NFL:

BYU went from 12 players in the NFL in the 2020 offseason to 26 this year. There are 13 Cougars who will be rookies in 2021 — if they make it to an opening day roster — headlined by quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall selection by the New York Jets in the 2021 NFL draft.

The number of Utah high school players in the NFL saw an increase of 40% from last year to this year. In addition to Wilson, who went to Corner Canyon High, former Desert Hills High’s offensive tackle Penei Sewell was a first-round draft pick — he went No. 7 overall to the Detroit Lions — and there were seven total Utah high schoolers taken in this year’s draft. There are a total of 10 Utah high school rookies overall.

The University of Utah, yet again, leads the way among state representatives, and the number of Utes only went down one even though longtime quarterback Alex Smith retired and no Utah rookies were drafted — thanks in large part to COVID-19 impacting the past year. Even so, the Utes have had 21 players drafted in the past five years and 18 of them are still in the league.

Here’s a look at each Utah tie in the NFL, listed by team in alphabetical order:

San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner (54) in action against the Arizona Cardinals during an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, in Glendale, Ariz.

Jennifer Stewart, Associated Press

BYU players in the NFL

Name Pos. NFL Utah high school (if applicable)

Zayne Anderson S Kansas City Chiefs Stansbury Matt Bushman TE Las Vegas Raiders N/A Brady Christensen OT Carolina Panthers Bountiful Michael Davis CB Los Angeles Chargers N/A Zac Dawe DE Atlanta Falcons Pleasant Grove Chandon Herring OL Tennessee Titans N/A Taysom Hill QB New Orleans Saints N/A Tristen Hoge OG New York Jets N/A Bronson Kaufusi TE Green Bay Packers Timpview Corbin Kaufusi OL San Francisco 49ers Timpview Isaiah Kaufusi LB Indianapolis Colts Brighton Dayan Lake CB Los Angeles Rams Northridge Harvey Langi LB New England Patriots Bingham Dax Milne WR Washington Football Team Bingham Kai Nacua S San Francisco 49ers N/A Micah Simon WR Carolina Panthers N/A Daniel Sorensen S Kansas City Chiefs N/A Sione Takitaki LB Cleveland Browns N/A Khyiris Tonga DT Chicago Bears Granger Kyle Van Noy LB New England Patriots N/A Fred Warner LB San Francisco 49ers N/A Troy Warner S Los Angeles Rams N/A Chris Wilcox CB Tampa Bay Buccaneers N/A Jamaal Williams RB Detroit Lions N/A Ty’Son Williams RB Baltimore Ravens N/A Zach Wilson QB New York Jets Corner Canyon

Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles (72) warms up before an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Denver.

Jack Dempsey, Associated Press

Utah players in the NFL

Name Pos. NFL Utah high school (if applicable) Utah junior college (if applicable)

Brian Allen CB Cleveland Browns N/A N/A Bradlee Anae DE Dallas Cowboys N/A N/A Cody Barton LB Seattle Seahawks Brighton N/A Jackson Barton OT New York Giants Brighton N/A Francis Bernard LB Dallas Cowboys Herriman N/A Julian Blackmon FS Indianapolis Colts Layton N/A Marquise Blair S Seattle Seahawks N/A N/A Garett Bolles OT Denver Broncos Westlake Snow Devontae Booker RB New York Giants N/A N/A Terrell Burgess S Los Angeles Rams N/A N/A Kylie Fitts OLB Arizona Cardinals N/A N/A Leki Fotu DT Arizona Cardinals Herriman N/A Matt Gay K Los Angeles Rams Orem N/A Javelin Guidry DB New York Jets N/A N/A Chase Hansen LB New Orleans Saints Lone Peak N/A Tyler Huntley QB Baltimore Ravens N/A N/A Jaylon Johnson CB Chicago Bears N/A N/A Star Lotulelei DT Buffalo Bills Bingham Snow Zack Moss RB Buffalo Bills N/A N/A Jared Norris LB Washington Football Team N/A N/A Tim Patrick WR Denver Broncos N/A N/A Darrin Paulo OL Detroit Lions N/A N/A John Penisini DL Detroit Lions West Jordan Snow Eric Rowe CB/S Miami Dolphins N/A N/A Pita Taumoepenu LB Denver Broncos Timpview N/A Sam Tevi OT Indianapolis Colts N/A N/A Hunter Thedford TE Detroit Lions N/A N/A Marcus Williams FS New Orleans Saints N/A N/A Mitch Wishnowsky P San Francisco 49ers N/A N/A

Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner stands on the field between drills during NFL football practice Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Renton, Wash.

Ted S. Warren, Associated Press

Utah State players in the NFL

Name Pos. NFL Utah high school (if applicable)

Jalen Davis CB Cincinnati Bengals N/A Dominik Eberle K Las Vegas Raiders N/A Kyler Fackrell LB Los Angeles Chargers N/A Tipa Galeai DE Green Bay Packers N/A Tyler Larsen C Washington Football Team Jordan Nevin Lawson CB Las Vegas Raiders N/A Dallin Leavitt S Las Vegas Raiders N/A Jordan Love QB Green Bay Packers N/A JoJo Natson WR/Ret. Cleveland Browns N/A Dax Raymond TE Pittsburgh Steelers Timpview Patrick Scales LS Chicago Bears Weber Darwin Thompson RB Kansas City Chiefs N/A Nick Vigil LB Minnesota Vikings Fremont Bobby Wagner MLB Seattle Seahawks N/A

Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson (24) runs back an interception for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL divisional round football game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Orchard Park, N.Y.

John Munson, Associated Press

Other Utah college players in the NFL

Name Pos. NFL College Utah high school (if applicable)

Miles Killebrew S Pittsburgh Steelers Southern Utah N/A Taron Johnson CB Buffalo Bills Weber State N/A Sua Opeta OG Philadelphia Eagles Weber State Stansbury Andrew Vollert TE Indianapolis Colts Weber State N/A Jonah Williams DE Los Angeles Rams Weber State N/A

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell runs a drill during NFL football practice in Allen Park, Mich., Thursday, June 3, 2021.

Paul Sancya, Associated Press

Other Utah high school players in the NFL

Name Pos. NFL Utah high school Utah junior college (if applicabe)

Branden Bowen OT Arizona Cardinals Corner Canyon N/A Jordan Devey OL Buffalo Bills American Fork Snow Kaden Elliss LB New Orleans Saints Judge Memorial N/A Simi Fehoko WR Dallas Cowboys Brighton N/A Alohi Gilman S Los Angeles Chargers Orem N/A Porter Gustin DE Cleveland Browns Salem Hills N/A Andre James OT Las Vegas Raiders Herriman N/A Marcus Kemp WR Kansas City Chiefs Layton N/A Bryan Mone DT Seattle Seahawks Highland N/A Dalton Schultz TE Dallas Cowboys Bingham N/A Penei Sewell OT Detroit Lions Desert Hills N/A Xavier Su’a-Filo OT Cincinnati Bengals Timpview N/A Noah Togiai TE Indianapolis Colts Hunter N/A Jay Tufele DT Jacksonville Jaguars Bingham N/A John Ursua WR Seattle Seahawks Cedar/Westlake N/A

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junker-town · 6 years

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SMU explains the game-winning trick play they found on Google

A 2016 search turned up a 2011 Bama play similar to a Gus Malzahn staple. Now it’s in SMU’s playbooks. Let Sonny Dykes and Rhett Lashlee explain.

In 2016, when Sonny Dykes was in his last year as the head coach at Cal, he and his offensive coordinator, Jake Spavital, found themselves looking for plays to run on 2-point conversions. To figure one out, they used a method available to anyone.

“You know how it is,” Dykes told SB Nation Saturday night. “Everybody’s got the 2-point plays that they run, so we Googled it.”

One of the first plays they came across was a bit of deception Alabama used against Auburn in the 2011 Iron Bowl.

The Tide motioned a massive offensive tackle to the right slot, where he stood on the line of scrimmage, giving Bama seven men on the line, in accordance with the rules. A tight end who’d been hiding next to the tackle on the other side of the formation — and was now on the end of the line — was eligible.

Watch the lineman who slips free to the right and pretends to be catching a pass thats never thrown, while the ball goes to a guy who’d lined up at left tackle:

NCAA (and NFL) rules require an offense to have seven men on the line of scrimmage at the snap. Of those, the only eligible receivers are the ones on the ends of the lines.

Auburn was understandably confused about who could do what. An Alabama tight end who looked like an offensive tackle slipped free for the easiest 2-point conversion in the world.

Dykes’ Cal team installed the play and practiced it a few times per week, just to “have it in your back pocket,” he said.

During an OT win against Oregon, the Bears deployed it. They motioned a big tackle over to the slot, where he set up on the line. Oregon mistook a tight end who’d been hiding to the tackle’s left for a tackle himself, and the newly eligible tight end slipped free for a wide-open conversion while No. 75 made a show of calling for the ball:

Again: seven men on the line, the lineman as a decoy, and a sneakily eligible tight end catching an easy score after the defense didn’t realize he was even allowed to catch a pass.

On Saturday, Dykes’ SMU Mustangs beat Navy with the same play.

It was overtime. Dykes didn’t want to go back on defense. A rash of injuries would’ve left SMU using two true freshman linebackers on the next series against Navy’s triple option.

So coordinator Rhett Lashlee dialed up the play Dykes had Googled in Berkeley. It worked again:

Lineman Chad Pursley moved from a tackle spot on the left side of the formation to a spot in the slot. Tight end Hunter Thedford became an eligible receiver with no one outside of him on the end of the line, and QB Ben Hicks threw him the winning pass, even though Navy wasn’t all that fooled.

A lot has to work. The first thing is to not break any rules, which required a lot of careful work by SMU.

The pre-snap shift to the slot by a big lineman is important. The offense could just start him there, and maybe it’d work, but the shift helps disguise the tight end on the other side of the formation. It makes it likelier the defense will forget to cover that guy, who wasn’t an eligible receiver before the big dude shifted away from him.

The NCAA’s rulebook locks in offensive linemen wearing Nos. 50-79 as ineligible receivers — “restricted linemen” — when they put their hands below their knees. So SMU had to make sure the motioning lineman, No. 57 Pursley, didn’t do that, but that Thedford, the tight end wearing No. 88, did, so he’d look like a tackle.

“There’s some things that you have to follow, some protocol,” Dykes said. “You just want it to look like that guy’s not eligible, so you move the tackle ever.”

The big lineman who goes in motion also has to resettle on the line of scrimmage. That ensures the offense has seven men on the line and avoids an illegal formation flag. That player’s considered on the line as long as his head is parallel to the waistline of the snapper. SMU’s Pursley (the red No. 6 here) appeared to do that, but might’ve been a step shy of ideal position:

“When you move him over, he’s gotta be on the line of scrimmage. That’s the whole thing,” Dykes said. “His head’s gotta break the [center’s] plane or be beyond the feet of the offensive linemen.”

Then, only the guys on the ends of the line (Nos. 1 and 7 in the diagram above) are allowed to go downfield or catch a pass. Thedford, No. 1 there, becomes the TD-scorer.

The Bama and Cal plays involved different combinations of eligible receivers, but the idea was the same. It all centers around confusion and deception.

When the play works right, the defense just covers the wrong guy. It stays with the big dude in the slot and forgets the TE on the other side.

And that’s more or less how it worked in the Bama play Dykes discovered in 2016 and the Cal play he called later that season. Most of these catches are uncontested after the defense pays attention to an offensive lineman who’ll never really be targeted, either because he’s ineligible, not athletic enough, too big, or all of the above.

But Navy’s defense played it really well and almost stopped it.

The receiver on the left side of the formation, who’s off the line, is supposed to run the cornerback away from the flat, where the ball’s going. SMU’s Myron Gailliard did that, creating an opening for Thedford.

Navy might have paid some attention to Pursley, the big slot man, or it might just have had guys sitting near him because the Midshipmen were in a zone, cover-4 defense.

But the biggest problem for SMU was that Navy’s mike linebacker, No. 54 Taylor Helflin, didn’t fall for the trick. He made a slight move toward the center of the field, then locked onto Thedford, who had just enough room to catch Hicks’ pass.

“Every time we’ve run that before, the guy’s been completely naked, wide open. And I thought Navy actually did a great job of playing it.”

It helped that Hicks threw a good ball and Thedford is 6’6.

Lashlee’s teaching point for the actual receiver on the play is simple: stay in as a blocker for just a second: “One pass set, then go.”

“Hunter did such a good job that he was able to kind of get the linebacker’s eyes pulled in for a minute,” Lashlee said. “That gave him a little bit of an advantage.”

The play isn’t rocket science. It has roots in an NCAA 14 play Lashlee used to run under his old boss and high school coach, Gus Malzahn.

The play is called “Fight Song.” It’s been a Malzahn staple since his days as a high school coach in Arkansas, and he’s used it at Auburn, including when Lashlee was his offensive coordinator from 2013-16.

pastapadre.com

It involves lining up a tight end at tackle and splitting a lineman out wide. EA Sports included it in the last version of its college football video game, and Auburn still uses it now. The Patriots used some formation and eligible-receiver trickery to fool the Ravens in the playoffs almost a half-decade ago. These tricks aren’t new.

But they still work, because athletes are human. They get confused by football’s extremely complex rules, or they hesitate.

“I can’t tell you how many times we’ll come out and a team will point out the tight end at left tackle, and then they won’t cover him,” Lashlee said. “It’s crazy.”

Navy covered the tight end, but not quite well enough.

“I think we got just enough,” Dykes said.

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