It's kind of interesting, really. I've seen a heard a lot of talk from enthusiastic Ute fans about how Ver Steeg's offense will "Open Up" Utah's offense. I've even heard a few people talk about how he's taking us back to the Fassel philosophy. I think these people are in for a disappointment.

I guarantee we won't have a QB throw for 4,100 yards this year. I'd actually be surprised to see a QB throw for 2,500 yards this year. Ver Steeg's offense isn't going to be a wide open passing game. The Utes will still most likely run twice as much as they throw. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The thing that makes Ver Steeg's offense different is that the running game won't be limited to "Off-tackle Right" and "Off-tackle Left." There will be pitches, sweeps, counters, traps, dives, and draws. Furthermore, the personell at running back gives the team a lot of versatility in terms of what they can run...even without Marty Johnson in the mix.

For example, a line-up of Tate-Fortune is a great power formation. A Line-up of Peroulis-Hackenbruck is a great speed formation. Hunter-Fortune is a good mix-up. etc... I'd really like to see some formations with Tate-Hunter/Tate-Peroulis. Occasional line-ups like this could throw the D off balance since the ball is equally likely to go to either back. A play with this line-up that I'd really like to see is a double fake counter with a roll out pass to a TE.

I seriously doubt that we'll see a 1,000 yard rusher. However, we could easily see 3 backs with 500-700 yards - and Thomas Fortune with an additional 200-300. We will probably see at least 5 ball carriers every game, and could see games where there are up to 9 different ball carriers. The biggest problem I see is will someone step up and become a "Red-Zone Finisher?" The Utes really struggled with this last year.

Now, the above predictions don't include Marty Johnson's contribution at all. I saw some suggestions below that we red-shirt MJ. That's certainly in the best interests of the team. When you have a back like MJ, he really needs to be a featured back. He should probably have 20-25 touches a game. He certainly won't get that with the current line-up, unless he's just absolutely dominant in fall practices. Besides, if you do the math, it's not the greatest idea to replace three 600 yard rushers with a potential 1,200 yard rusher.

Next year, with Tate and Hunter gone, he can be the featured back - with Peroulis and Benton providing very capable reps to give him rest. After two years as the featured back, he could be quite the prospect.

The question I have is: Will Marty Johnson take a red-shirt? I almost guarantee that wasn't part of the recruiting pitch. Is he planning on coming in, stepping in front of a returning All-Conference rusher, and being the top back this year? That could create a pretty interesting battle. I wasn't completely sold on Tate last year. He's not the quickest guy, he doesn't really have break-away potential, and he's not the finisher that Mike Anderson was, but he's certainly a solid back. MJ would have to have incredible up-side to just step in and take Tate's spot.

The other scenario that could throw a wrench in the works is the eligibility question of Adam Tate. I've heard more than once that it's questionable whether Adam Tate will be adademically eligible this year. If he's not eligible, then the Utes probably need MJ to play. If Tate is eligible, then I hope MJ will red-shirt because that would just make the future of this team look that much rosier.

GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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