SALT LAKE CITY — Daniel Bray's collegiate debut for the University of Utah on Sept. 27 should have been benign.
Instead, it may have been a revelation.
In fourth quarter mop-up duty at West Virginia, the true freshman rushed three times for 32 yards. The thing that stood out, though, was Bray's speed.
More specifically, those three carries offered more speed than the Utes appear to have at the position, which led to some questions as to what Bray might do with more of an opportunity.
On Saturday night, everyone found out.
The former three-star recruit out of North Crowley (TX) High rushed five times for 41 yards, all of it coming across the first three quarters of Utah's 42-10 demolition of Arizona State at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"It was good to see Daniel Bray continue to add a look to what we do on offense," said Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham, who talked up Bray's play during his postgame press conference at West Virginia. "He gives us that speed on the edge that we really had been lacking, so it's good to have Daniel fill a role for us in that regard."
To be clear, Utah (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) does not lack a rushing attack.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Entering Saturday night, the Utes ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 9 nationally in rushing (242.6 yards per game). They proceeded to rack up 276 yards and six touchdowns on 42 carries against a Sun Devils team that was yielding only 78.2 rushing yards per game, good for No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 8 nationally.
Devon Dampier is a dual-threat quarterback. He is going to get a handful of designed keepers every game, plus whatever he does in terms of leaving the pocket on a scramble.
Wayshawn Parker and NaQuari Rogers have both been effective, but they are mostly operating between the tackles.
Bray can be a change-of-pace option; but after Saturday's effort, the question begs, how much trust is there to expand his role beyond those five carries?
"I think that would be a positive for us if it does expand," Whittingham said. "He made some really good runs tonight. He's an explosive, fast kid. I think he was a 10.3 100-meter guy in high school, so if we can integrate him into what we're doing, it gives us another dimension. We don't have many guys that can accelerate and hit the gas pedal like he can."
