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LOS ANGELES — At least one thing became clear in the immediate aftermath of Sione Vaki's star turn for the University of Utah vs. Cal on Oct. 14.
Vaki, a sophomore safety who also played running back vs. the Golden Bears in an effort to add depth to a position beset by injuries, did enough where the Utes have no choice but to not only keep using him as a running back, but to expand his role there as they prepare to face USC Saturday evening.
Vaki ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yard sprint down the left sideline in the fourth quarter, on just 15 carries. He operated out of the Wildcat, he took direct snaps, he took handoffs, and Utah even tried to hit him on a wheel route a couple of times.
The pass plays were unsuccessful, but that is beside the point. Vaki is versatile enough where that is even an option, versatile enough that he's going to play both ways for the foreseeable future.
"A guy like that with Sione is very explosive, fast," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "You saw him get out on that run, 70-plus yards, and so partly out of necessity and partly out of trying to find a way to maximize the best players on the football team."
Rewind two months ago back to the middle of fall camp.
As Cam Rising's status remained a mystery, and the battle for QB2 between Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson wore on, Whittingham was adamant that Johnson was going to play regardless of whether or not he started. Johnson's skill set, complete with superior speed and athleticism, demanded that he have a role, just as he did late last season.
Remember, the first two touches of Johnson's career were touchdowns runs of 9 and 8 yards, respectively, against Arizona, and his first collegiate pass attempt was a 16-yard score to Logan Kendall against Stanford.
Speed back ahead to now with six regular-season games remaining.
Unless Rising is ready to make his debut, which would come out of nowhere at this point, Barnes is entrenched as the starter with Johnson having struggled in a win over UCLA and a loss to Oregon State. The two-QB system between them that marked early wins over Florida and Baylor is not likely to return. Furthermore, Vaki is doing much of what Johnson can do, or is at least capable of; and based on the Cal game, Vaki is doing it better.
So, what exactly is Johnson's role now?
"It's hard to jockey three guys in and out of that role, so I'm not saying that the Nate package will disappear, but it will be minimal," Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said Monday, leaving no room for interpretation. "Minimal as long as Sione Vaki is available to us. That guy is a dynamic, dynamic football player. He needs the ball in his hands."
Added Whittingham: "He was our No. 2 QB and the package plays this week were Sione Vaki plays this week. You can't have too much stuff or you spread yourself too thin and you don't have enough snaps to get to it all. There was nothing really that we had that we didn't get to, it's just that Bryson played well, and so we went with Bryson the entire way."
The dominant storyline of the season's first half was Rising — if and when he will play, and what it will take rehab-wise and medical permission-wise to play. Behind that, the outrageous number of injuries the roster has incurred is almost comical, continually threatening to submerge whatever hopes of a Pac-12 championship three-peat there may be.
Those two storylines will continue to command attention as the second half arrives at USC and the season's stretch run looms, but this Johnson situation as presently constructed offers a healthy dose of intrigue.
Based on Barnes being QB1 and Vaki emerging as an offensive weapon, objectively, the possibility exists that Johnson does not play another meaningful snap this season unless something happens with Barnes or Vaki.
Barnes is starting now at a point where Utah, with one conference loss, is still in the mix for the Pac-12 championship game. If a second loss, or even a third loss comes and the title game is no longer an attainable goal, do Whittingham and Ludwig stick with Barnes, do they go back to Johnson to take a longer look, or do they take a first look at Brandon Rose?
A redshirt freshman, Rose was deep in the mix for QB2 coming out of fall camp, but was injured in mid-August, missed significant time, and is now working to get up to speed by running the scout team. Since returning to practice, Rose has yet to dress for a game.
Under this hypothetical, if the staff skips over Johnson and goes to Rose, that may be an indication of what the future might hold. For now, though, it's merely a hypothetical.
"He's a team guy and we have a bunch of guys that are team guys that are more concerned with the team outcome than individual outcome, and that's what it's got to be; and that's really the epitome of a team, when everyone's pulling the same direction and you're as happy when you win if you got your numbers or you didn't get your numbers or whatever the case may be," Whittingham said. "It's all about the team winning and that's Nate's attitude."
