Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — As a three-star recruit from the state of Florida, freshman Zack Moss was expected to stay in state and play for Miami — a program well known for its several National Championships and ability to showcase the talent of its players on a national stage.
Moss, however, spurned Miami and committed to Utah where he could join high school teammates quarterback Tyler Huntley and receiver Demari Simpkins. The trio would become the next group of Florida recruits expected to take Utah football by storm.
Whether running back coach Dennis Erickson, a former Miami head coach, sold Moss on the idea, or whether playing with his high school friends was a predominant factor, Utah is hoping to have its next so called “diamond in the rough” at running back — the next Devontae Booker-like player to keep the program progressing in an upward trajectory.
Having only played in one game this season, Moss proved enough in his limited showing against BYU to be named the outright starting running back on the depth chart for Utah, thus ushering in a regime change at a position group that has traditionally done well at Utah. However, the starting role is fluid on the condition that Moss can maintain consistency in practice and games.
Moss was slated as the team's starter on the depth chart ahead of senior Joe Williams’ announcement Tuesday of his decision to retire from football. Moss was an integral figure late in the game in Utah’s 20-19 win over in-state rival BYU Saturday, finishing the game with 58 yards on 12 carries, averaging 4.83 yards. As a result, the coaches took notice and were ready to see more from the young running back.
“Zack came in and gave us a spark,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “I think that was really evident when he came in and ran the ball. He deserves at the least the opportunity to vie for that starting job this week.
“We feel really good about what he did last week,” Whittingham added. “It’s only one game, but he looked like he was the type of back that fits very well in our system.”
Utah's Rushing - 2016
| Player | Yr | G | Att | Yards | Avg. | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy McCormick | JR | 2 | 22 | 117 | 5.32 | 1 |
| Joe Williams | SR | 2 | 22 | 75 | 3.41 | 0 |
| Zack Moss | FR | 1 | 12 | 58 | 4.83 | 0 |
| Troy Williams | JR | 2 | 12 | 28 | 2.33 | 0 |
| Armand Shyne | SO | 1 | 8 | 19 | 2.38 | 0 |
Although hurt the last couple weeks of fall camp and the first week of the season, Moss showed no signs of injury and looked comfortable leading the team’s run game. However, Whittingham said Moss is still not in shape and needs to be better conditioned to the game.
“He’s still not in great shape, but his potential has not been reached yet,” Whittingham said. “He’s going to continue to get better, and based on his performance Saturday, he deserves a chance to be the guy.”
Moss agreed that he is still in need of some conditioning, particularly in making that adjustment of being having played at sea level in high school to that of playing in the thinner mountain air of Utah.
“I’m trying to get back into shape, that’s all. The mountains are killing me,” he said.
In his effort to improve and gain more in-game experience, Moss has turned to Lowell Lotulelei as a mentor to help him improve his game.
“Lowell is like a big brother to me,” he said. “Lowell plays at the defensive tackle spot, so he tells me what type of technique he’s in and where I should hit it at going into the defensive line. You’re not going to find a much better d-lineman than him, so it’s great going against him every practice.”
Erickson said he’s not surprised that Moss performed well early in his first game, saying Moss was “a beast” in high school and “a man playing with boys.”
“His lower body is huge and he’s very explosive; hard to bring down,” Erickson said. “He’s got good feet. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play more. He can make a lot of things happen.”
“I’m a guy that can do it all, either between the tackles or outside. Catching the ball in the backfield, whatever the team needs me to do,” Moss added. “Now that I know I can play here and have a huge impact on this team, hopefully I’ll be able to build off of this coming into this week.”
Although Moss will at least be given the opportunity to start for Utah, he’s got a strong, more experienced group of talent backing him up that will help to diversify the looks and schemes of Utah’s run game.
Junior Troy McCormick, who splits reps at slot receiver, and junior college transfer Armand Shyne, who is a powerful back that's able to hit the gaps with power and speed, will add some versatility to the Utah run game.
“They’re all a little bit different,” Erickson said. “Zack, overall, does a lot of things. Armand is a really hard runner inside. And we’ve all see Troy play and the things that he can do in the passing game and making the big plays. It’s going to be running back by committee for sure.”
