Utah had a successful April, with five former players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Saftey Cole Bishop (No. 60 overall pick, Buffalo Bills), defensive end Jonah Elliss (No. 76, Denver Broncos), safety/running back Sione Vaki (No. 132, Detroit Lions), offensive lineman Sataoa Laumea (No. 179, Seattle Seahawks) and receiver Devaughn Vele (No. 235, Denver Broncos) made their NFL dreams come true.
It was the most players selected from Utah since 2020, when Kyle Whittingham’s program had seven players selected.
Looking ahead to the 2025 Draft, almost a year away, here are five Utes who have a chance to be selected.
Cam on the rise, quarterback
After missing the 2023 season due to knee surgery, Rising returns for 2024, eager to prove that he is back to full health and back to his old self.
Rising has thrown for 5,572 yards and 46 touchdowns throughout his career with the Utes, and in 2022, he threw for 3,034 yards and 26 touchdowns while leading the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 championships.
Anyone who doubts the importance of Rising need only remember last season, when Utah’s offense ranked 98th in Division I football in points per game (23.2), 92nd in total yards per game ( 348.4) and 117th in passing yards per game. (165.8) in the absence of the veteran quarterback.
Utah has, on paper, the most talented receiving room since Rising was in Utah: it includes Money Parks, Dorian Singer, Damian Alford, Mycah Pittman, Daidren Zipperer and Munir McClain. Helping Rising is a tight end room that features the return of key target Brant Kuithe and emerging talent Landen King, plus UCLA transfer Carsen Ryan.
If Rising leads Utah to a Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth while throwing for more than 3,000 yards this season, he could generate some buzz in the NFL draft. The factors working against him are his injury history and his age: he will be almost 26 years old before next April’s draft.
Dorian Singer, W.R.
Like all the players on this list, Singer’s draft chances will depend on his year in 2024. At Arizona in 2022, the former walk-on burst onto the scene and became one of the Pac-12’s top receivers with 66 receptions. for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns.
After transferring to USC last season, Singer did not have the same success he had experienced in Tucson and was on the field for 405 fewer snaps in 2023 compared to 2022. The 6-foot, 180-pound receiver had 24 receptions for 289 yards . With the Trojans last year, but coming out of spring football in Salt Lake City, he is the leading candidate to be Rising’s WR1 this season.
He made a handful of impressive grabs during spring practice, and his chemistry with Rising showed during Utah’s spring game. Singer caught Rising’s first pass of the afternoon and the veteran quarterback continued to look in his direction. Singer finished with 92 yards on five receptions to lead all receivers, including a 40-yard deep pass and a 25-yard reception. Singer ran clear routes and had good hands in his first action in front of the Utah fans.
“We can do many things. We have a pretty good connection. A lot of it is because we know each other outside of football, we always hang out, we just build our relationship so we can have good chemistry on the field,” Singer said of his connection to Rising.
If Singer can return to his 2022 production, he will have a chance to be the second Utah receiver selected in the NFL draft in as many years.
Brant Kuithe, TE
Kuithe has not seen the field since September 24, 2022, when he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus. Recovery from surgery, and another surgery for a cyclops injury, kept him off the field for the entire 2023 season, so by the time Utah’s opener against Southern Utah rolls around on Aug. 29, nearly two seasons will have passed since who has played in a game.
In practice and in the spring game, Kuithe looked good and moved well.
“He’s awesome. He’s great to have and you remember everything he did from 2021,” tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham said of Kuithe this spring.
With great hands, big-play ability, smooth route running and speed after the catch, Kuithe has proven invaluable in Andy Ludwig’s offense. In his last fully healthy season, 2021, he had 611 receiving yards and six touchdowns on a team-high 50 catches.
A productive season would help prove to NFL scouts that the injuries are behind him and he’s ready to take the next step, and if he can put up numbers like he did in 2021, he could hear his name called.
Like Rising, age could be a factor (Kuithe will be 25 before the 2025 NFL draft) and Kuithe is undersized compared to the prototypical NFL tight end.
Zemaiah Vaughn, CB
Vaughn had some NFL scouts eyeing him last season, but decided to return to Utah for one more season.
Last year, he was Utah’s second-highest rated defensive player among those who played more than 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He started every game and had 53 tackles (five for loss), 0.5 sacks, one interception and seven pass deflections, and his 58.3% catch percentage when targeted was one of the best on the team.
His length and speed (at 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, Vaughn has above-average size for an NFL cornerback) combined with his knowledge of the game (he was a quarterback in high school), make him a prospect. NFL schemer.
“Being 6-2 and a half, 185, legitimately running 4.37, 4.39 (40-yard dash time) and being really smart. His level of erudition is truly impressive. Zemaiah (is) the kind of player that sits in the huddle, having been a former quarterback, he asks me such deep questions,” cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah said last fall.
“…Zemaiah does everything you want. Not only does he look the part of an NFL cornerback, but he is also starting to play like one.”
Lander Barton, L.B.
Barton is still young in his football life.
Although he played in all 14 games in his true freshman season in 2022, he only started three, and in 2023, he started the first seven games before suffering a season-ending injury against USC in late October. .
What Barton showed in those seven games was impressive: he contributed 34 tackles, two interceptions (including a pick-six), two pass deflections, and a forced fumble.
Barton made a huge jump from his freshman year to his sophomore year, flying all over the field and making some game-changing plays. Continuing improvement from his sophomore season to junior, and playing a full season, he could move up draft boards.
With a family pedigree in the NFL (brothers Jackson and Cody are in the league), great size for the position (6-foot-4, 236 pounds) and the ability to play linebacker at a high level, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Barton declare for the draft if he has a good season.
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