Utah Football: Top 5 spring 2019 breakout candidates

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: Dayan Ghanwoloku #5 of the Brigham Young Cougars tackles the leaping TJ Green #4 of the Utah Utes in the second half of 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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BOULDER, CO – NOVEMBER 17: T.J. Green #4 of the Utah Utes carries the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes in the third quarter at Folsom Field on November 17, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Utah is lucky to have an All-Pac-12 caliber running back like Zack Moss returning to the backfield, but losing Armand Shyne is a hit to the team’s depth.

Moss can put the run game on his back, but he’s going to need a backup to give him breaks. Don’t look now, but redshirt sophomore TJ Green could be just that. The former three-star from Arizona saw his first action in 2018, rushing for 190 yards on 5.3 per carry and he caught four passes for 15 yards.

Some might overlook Green in the backfield, but he’s spent two seasons learning behind Moss and even Shyne, but he’s now getting an opportunity to see his carries increased.

This kid has all the talent to be a star in the backfield and if Moss wasn’t returning, we would likely see Green take over that starting role — even if Shyne were to return, it’d be a battle.

The run game is in good hands, but don’t sleep on Green to steal some meaningful carries from Moss and surpass the 500-yard mark on the season.

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