Five players that stood out in fall camp for Utah

Fall camp concluded for the University of Utah last week, with the Utes starting game preparation for their season-opener against Southern Utah on Aug. 29 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Spring and fall camp are valuable evaluation periods for the coaching staff to get a great look and feel for their team before the weekly grind of game preparation begins with the season.

Here are five players that stood out during Utah’s fall camp.

Dallen Bentley, tight end

After walking on at Snow College following a Latter-day Saints mission, Dallin Bentley blossomed into a bonafide tight end in Ephraim and had plenty of suitors when he entered the transfer portal after earning NJCAA All-America second-team honors last season.

The Taylorsville High product chose to stay home, transferring to Utah ahead of the 2023 season, but a hamstring injury kept Bentley off the field for a good chunk of the season, though he did play in six games on special teams and caught his first pass at Utah during the Las Vegas Bowl.

A standout in spring, Bentley continued to impress coaches in the fall, and could be in line for some serious playing time along with Brant Kuithe and Landen King. At 6-foot-4 and 258 pounds, Bentley is the prototypical tight end size, has good hands and speed, and has raised his game during spring and fall camp now that he’s healthy.

“He had a really good spring ball,” tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham said. “He followed that up with a very good fall camp. And so his opportunities have grown because he’s earned it on the field,”

Mike Mitchell, running back

Mike Mitchell had to be patient during his freshman year, redshirting and doing the best he could on scout team during practice, but he will be rewarded this year with his first action in a Utah uniform.

With no clear lead running back emerging from fall camp — Micah Bernard, Jaylon Glover and Mitchell are all in the “first tier” and the Utes’ backfield will be by committee to start the season — Mitchell has an opportunity not only to get playing time, but to show why he deserves to be Utah’s RB1.

“After Ja’Quinden left, I took it as, it’s my chance, it’s my time,” Mitchell said. “So I really approached this camp, I wanted to come in hot, make my presence felt, and that’s really where I came in. I’m like, I want the RB1 spot. I don’t want to be two or three, but (if) I have to, I will. But RB1 spot is what I want to go for.”

At 6-foot and 220 pounds, the four-star recruit from Florida has the physical frame to be a bruising, every-down running back, and that shows up in his mentality as well. It wouldn’t be a surprise for Mitchell to emerge as Utah’s lead option.

“His mentality is he runs hard, he’s violent,” running backs coach Quinton Ganther said. “So that’s that element that we’ve been wanting to go to run some of those inside plays that we do have. So he brings a level of toughness and care factor to want to make his mark on a game or on his opponent.”

Caleb Lomu, offensive lineman

Redshirt freshman Caleb Lomu was a spring standout, and his performance in the spring carried over to the fall, which partly allowed offensive line coach Jim Harding to set his starting lineup — right tackle Spencer Fano, right guard Michael Mokofisi, center Jaren Kump, left guard Tanoa Togiai and left tackle Lomu — pretty early on.

That’s a huge positive for Utah’s offensive line, which has been able to build chemistry with the same five throughout fall camp.

Among the offensive line starters, Lomu has the least experience, playing just 25 snaps during his freshman season, but has been entrusted with perhaps the most vital position on offense this season — protecting quarterback Cam Rising’s blind side.

The athleticism Lomu shows every day in practice has been impressive for Utah coaches.

“He’s a tough, competitive guy. Super athletic,” Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said. “The athleticism at the tackle position, it’s really something to watch. And the thing about Caleb is he’s going against Connor O’Toole every day. So iron sharpens iron, he’s working his tail off and it’s a battle and it’s been something to watch.”

Part of Lomu’s move to left tackle was because last year’s starter at the spot, Spencer Fano, wanted to go back to his high school position at right tackle, but it also speaks to how the Utes view Lomu as a player to entrust him with the starting spot.

“Caleb Lomu, our left tackle that’s a redshirt freshman, has really improved his game,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Trey Reynolds, linebacker

Due to the lower-body injury suffered by Levani Damuni during spring practice that will keep him out of the majority of the season, Utah’s linebacker room got a bit of a shakeup.

Karene Reid and Lander Barton are still the clear-cut starters at linebacker, but due to Damuni’s injury, Sione Fotu moved up to LB3, and everyone else behind him moved up a spot as well.

Trey Reynolds played sparingly on defense his freshman year in 2021 — under 10 snaps — but was a fixture on kick coverage. Now, returned from his Latter-day Saints mission, defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has seen development and improvement from the 6-foot-1, 228-pound sophomore.

He’ll be in the mix for playing time, possibly taking on the role that Fotu had last year at LB4, where he played nearly 100 snaps at the position while totaling 18 tackles and a pass breakup in 2023.

Nate Ritchie, safety

Nate Ritchie is a familiar name for Utah fans. He started all five games at safety for the Utes in 2020 before leaving on a mission and he played over 220 snaps for the Utes in 2023, including three starts, including filling in for Bishop in the first half of the USC game after Bishop had to sit out due to a targeting call from the previous game.

Due to a back injury suffered in spring 2023 and some rust from his mission, it took a little bit for Ritchie to round into form last year, but he’s been healthy in spring and fall camp this year and is feeling great.

“I think it’s just been a year of getting my body back, just like the coaches have said. I mean, I feel stronger,” Ritchie said. “I feel like I’m able to really push through all of the hard times more just because I have more strength and more confidence in my body.”

That health has made a huge difference for Ritchie this fall, and he’s back to looking like his old self and is right in the mix for the starting strong safety position.

“Nate Richie’s come along and shown exactly what we thought he was going to show at safety position,” Scalley said.