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Utah Football: 5 holiday wish list items for Utes in 2019

By Connor Muldowney

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: The student section of the Utah Utes cheer during a game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Utes in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: The student section of the Utah Utes cheer during a game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Utes in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 24: Armand Shyne #6 of the Utah Utes celebrates his touchdown in the second half of a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 24: Armand Shyne #6 of the Utah Utes celebrates his touchdown in the second half of a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /

4. Emergence of Armand Shyne or TJ Green

With Zack Moss leaving a major void in the Utah offense with his departure this offseason, fans can only hope for the emergence of a replacement who is more than just serviceable.

Sure, Armand Shyne had a decent junior season, rushing for 479 yards and five touchdowns on 4.5 yards per carry, but he must step up his game to reach Moss-level. The senior running back finished the season with over 1,000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 6.1 yards per carry and he didn’t even play in every game as he was hurt to end the year.

Shyne could be that guy who steps up and hits the 1,000-yard mark but also freshman TJ Green looked impressive in limited snaps this season, rushing 34 times for 187 yards. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry but never reached the end zone.

If Utah wants to get back to the Pac-12 title game in 2019, it’ll need the emergence of one of these backs — or why not both? There could be a two-headed monster developing in the backfield and that would be music to the new offensive coordinator’s ears.

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