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QUARTERBACKS: C+
Since going 9/9 for 112 passing yards and 3TDs in a 59-3 dismantling of Reno last season, QB Don Downing has been playing some pretty good football. SLC’s gamble on the young passer was rewarded with a respectable 2020 campaign as Downing guided the franchise to an 8-8 record on just over 3000 yards passing and 23 TDs.
Downing doesn’t have Danny Ouellette’s cannon of an arm but he’s every bit as accurate as his 2018 draft-mate and his heady 4th quarter comebacks (3) show he’s got some clutch in him. First round flame-out Mario Gurley returns to back Downing while 2nd year pro Antonio Tyler continues to progress
RECEIVERS: C-
WR1 Don Gomez has lost a step but the run-heavy Stallions don’t ask him to stretch the field as much. Gomez is still a deadly route runner and SLC has surrounded him with enough threats to balance their attack.
New starters, WR2 Rick Blades and TE1 Everett Lenz, aren’t game breakers but they give Downing options when defenses take Gomez away. Former Phantom Thomas Houston won the WR3 position this preseason and rounds out the starters with a nice complement inside the numbers.
Promising 4th rounder Quinn Lyle seemed overwhelmed most of last season but still managed to turn-in 523 receiving yards on 43 catches and he’s not afraid to work the middle. Watch for 2nd year burner OJ Billups to be worked into the attack as he’s made some huge catch-and-runs in his preseason action.
RUNNING BACKS: B+
Deuce Turner has done nothing but shine as SLC’s featured back since joining the team via trade from GEO in 2018. Expect the same this season. Powerback Adam Prior will allow SLC to soften the trenches with nice change of pace power attack off their talented OG tandem. The speedy Claude Flores is talented enough to take the rock to the endzone when Turner is spelled. FB Walter Oliver blocks well when they run behind him and has shown some nice moves when he catches the flat pass.
OFFENSIVE LINE: A-
SLC has returned to “Head Bust’n” behind their tandem of All-league guards in KC Hughes and Brian Emerson. Their ability to seal the edge or push the pile wear down even the most talented defensive front eventually.
2020 1.5 pick Brian Mancusco [6’6” 349] was shipped to summer league this past offseason and has returned looking more nature at LT and looks to have made the conversion from road-grader to blindside protector. The ‘massiveness-that-is’ Dana Saba [6’7” 345) continues to hold off challengers at RT while C Darrin Kaplan returns for a 10th season.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B+
“You really know it’s bad when even the largely Mormon-based ‘family-zone’ starts hurling expletives at you”---that what veteran pass-rusher Quentin Caro had to say about his defense following the 2018 season. Caro is now the only member that remains of that defense and for good reason—he’s still pretty good!
It all starts up-front. LE Quentin Caro may no longer be the pass-rushing force he was, but double-teams to the massive NT Harris Garrod and constant pressure from the opposite end in 4th-year pro RE DJ Hill create those 1-on-1 situations that he’s still very capable of winning. And you better bring a lunch if you plan on wearing this D-line down. The Stallions love to rotate personnel and get good production from LE Barry Wilson and playmaker DE Hardy Straw. The ‘star’ of the unit is team captain NT Jake ‘Swagger’ Wilcox. While he’s not a starter, he plays with a passion that’s absolutely infectious and it fuels the entire front.
LINEBACKERS: C+
Alfred Hayward and Johnny Hardy give SLC a run/ pass option out of their base 3-4 and strong-side backer Dustin Andersen it still athletic enough to play outside. The star of this unit is the underrated WLB Kirk Mahoney. Virtually an unknown before suiting up in the crimson last season, the GEO-backup went ‘beast-mode’ under Wilcox’s direction; turning in 11.5 sacks while effectively rushing the passer.
SECONDARY: D+
After a good camp and sound play in preseason, sophomore Jon Ballard has taken over as the top corner. He’s not an elite-level player but he’s heady and athletic enough to match-up with most top-receivers. 4th year pro Wayne Burgess will move to the squat-corner position where his physical play style will serve the defense better.
Last year’s youth movement in at safety hasn’t returned much but fans love the underachieving tandem of Bucky Garibay and Wayne Garrett. Garrett has shown signs that he can be the long-term answer at strong-safety while fan-favorite Garibay is out of position too much to warrant the love the fan-base lays on him.
Special Teams: B+
SS/KR Jeremy Kaplan: Not the answer
K Tyrus Millar: Accurate and powerful leg
P Rufus Reyna: keeps putting the ball inside the opponents 20…rinse and repeat
Since going 9/9 for 112 passing yards and 3TDs in a 59-3 dismantling of Reno last season, QB Don Downing has been playing some pretty good football. SLC’s gamble on the young passer was rewarded with a respectable 2020 campaign as Downing guided the franchise to an 8-8 record on just over 3000 yards passing and 23 TDs.
Downing doesn’t have Danny Ouellette’s cannon of an arm but he’s every bit as accurate as his 2018 draft-mate and his heady 4th quarter comebacks (3) show he’s got some clutch in him. First round flame-out Mario Gurley returns to back Downing while 2nd year pro Antonio Tyler continues to progress
RECEIVERS: C-
WR1 Don Gomez has lost a step but the run-heavy Stallions don’t ask him to stretch the field as much. Gomez is still a deadly route runner and SLC has surrounded him with enough threats to balance their attack.
New starters, WR2 Rick Blades and TE1 Everett Lenz, aren’t game breakers but they give Downing options when defenses take Gomez away. Former Phantom Thomas Houston won the WR3 position this preseason and rounds out the starters with a nice complement inside the numbers.
Promising 4th rounder Quinn Lyle seemed overwhelmed most of last season but still managed to turn-in 523 receiving yards on 43 catches and he’s not afraid to work the middle. Watch for 2nd year burner OJ Billups to be worked into the attack as he’s made some huge catch-and-runs in his preseason action.
RUNNING BACKS: B+
Deuce Turner has done nothing but shine as SLC’s featured back since joining the team via trade from GEO in 2018. Expect the same this season. Powerback Adam Prior will allow SLC to soften the trenches with nice change of pace power attack off their talented OG tandem. The speedy Claude Flores is talented enough to take the rock to the endzone when Turner is spelled. FB Walter Oliver blocks well when they run behind him and has shown some nice moves when he catches the flat pass.
OFFENSIVE LINE: A-
SLC has returned to “Head Bust’n” behind their tandem of All-league guards in KC Hughes and Brian Emerson. Their ability to seal the edge or push the pile wear down even the most talented defensive front eventually.
2020 1.5 pick Brian Mancusco [6’6” 349] was shipped to summer league this past offseason and has returned looking more nature at LT and looks to have made the conversion from road-grader to blindside protector. The ‘massiveness-that-is’ Dana Saba [6’7” 345) continues to hold off challengers at RT while C Darrin Kaplan returns for a 10th season.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B+
“You really know it’s bad when even the largely Mormon-based ‘family-zone’ starts hurling expletives at you”---that what veteran pass-rusher Quentin Caro had to say about his defense following the 2018 season. Caro is now the only member that remains of that defense and for good reason—he’s still pretty good!
It all starts up-front. LE Quentin Caro may no longer be the pass-rushing force he was, but double-teams to the massive NT Harris Garrod and constant pressure from the opposite end in 4th-year pro RE DJ Hill create those 1-on-1 situations that he’s still very capable of winning. And you better bring a lunch if you plan on wearing this D-line down. The Stallions love to rotate personnel and get good production from LE Barry Wilson and playmaker DE Hardy Straw. The ‘star’ of the unit is team captain NT Jake ‘Swagger’ Wilcox. While he’s not a starter, he plays with a passion that’s absolutely infectious and it fuels the entire front.
LINEBACKERS: C+
Alfred Hayward and Johnny Hardy give SLC a run/ pass option out of their base 3-4 and strong-side backer Dustin Andersen it still athletic enough to play outside. The star of this unit is the underrated WLB Kirk Mahoney. Virtually an unknown before suiting up in the crimson last season, the GEO-backup went ‘beast-mode’ under Wilcox’s direction; turning in 11.5 sacks while effectively rushing the passer.
SECONDARY: D+
After a good camp and sound play in preseason, sophomore Jon Ballard has taken over as the top corner. He’s not an elite-level player but he’s heady and athletic enough to match-up with most top-receivers. 4th year pro Wayne Burgess will move to the squat-corner position where his physical play style will serve the defense better.
Last year’s youth movement in at safety hasn’t returned much but fans love the underachieving tandem of Bucky Garibay and Wayne Garrett. Garrett has shown signs that he can be the long-term answer at strong-safety while fan-favorite Garibay is out of position too much to warrant the love the fan-base lays on him.
Special Teams: B+
SS/KR Jeremy Kaplan: Not the answer
K Tyrus Millar: Accurate and powerful leg
P Rufus Reyna: keeps putting the ball inside the opponents 20…rinse and repeat
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