Brandon Rose shines at QB as White team beats Red in Utes spring game

SALT LAKE CITY — Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Rose wasted little time to showcase his talent on the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday to closeout the spring period in the annual 22 Forever Game.

Rose spent the bulk of his last season as the scout team quarterback, but entered the spring in a quarterback competition with fellow redshirt freshman quarterback Nate Johnson, who was named the team's third-string quarterback in fall and got occasional playing time in certain designed run packages for the Utes.

But on Saturday, it was clear that Rose was the best quarterback on the field to play, confirming what Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has said for much of the spring that Rose has separated himself from the pack.

Rose, who led the White team for the Utes in the spring game, quickly went to work on the team's first possession and moved the ball with ease. He connected on an 11-yard pass to receiver Money Parks, hit running back Ja'Quinden Jackson for a 22-yard reception, and closed out the drive with a perfectly-placed toss to Parks for a 26-yard touchdown to kick off the day's scoring.

The redshirt freshman continued to move the ball with relative ease for much of the afternoon against a defense that was gutted by several of its starters being held out for various reasons (see who was held out of competition below). Rose played three quarters before being replaced by walk-on quarterback Luke Bottari in the fourth quarter.

The White team pulled away for a comfortable 38-28 win, and Rose finished with a team-high 233 yards and one touchdown on 19-of-24 passing. No other quarterback eclipsed 100 yards in their time playing, though Bottari made the most of his time and connected on a 67-yard toss to tight end Deven Johnson for a touchdown on his first pass of the game.

Johnson, who entered the game after Bryson Barnes got the start for the Red team, struggled to get into a rhythm and threw an interception to freshman safety Johnathan Hall on his first pass of the game. He eventually connected with receiver Chris Reed on an 11-yard inside slant route for a Red team touchdown to tie up the game 14-14.

The speedy quarterback managed 28 rushing yards, including an 18-yard QB keeper to open up his time on the field, and finished throwing for 43 yards and one touchdown on 4-of-7 passing. In his limited playing time, Barnes finished with 30 yards on 2-of-3 passing.

Freshman quarterback Mack Howard, who replaced Johnson in the fourth quarter, was introduced to the defense quickly when Ole Miss transfer cornerback Miles Battle stepped in front of a pass and returned it 44 yards for a pick-six touchdown. But Howard wasn't shaken by the moment and threaded a pass to Kaimana Hanhano on the next possession for a 60-yard touchdown.

Howard finished the day throwing for 60 yards and one touchdown on 1-of-3 passing.

Though Rose was the clear winner of the day, it remains to be seen whether Whittingham and the coaching staff feel comfortable about where they're at moving into fall camp. Whittingham and the players weren't made available for the traditional media postgame interviews due to a non-athlete, non-staff member death connected to the program.

Here's a look at a few more takeaways from Saturday's game.

Ja'Quinden Jackson time

The former four-star quarterback who transitioned to running back in the fall has made good use of his time with position coach Quinton Ganther. While the running back room remains loaded with talent, Jackson appears destined to lead the room.

The former Texas transfer played limited reps but shined when he was on the field. Jackson was patient when he needed to be and forceful when he attacked defenders. On one play specifically, Jackson bulldozed his way through multiple defenders to pick up several yards after contact.

And if his running ability wasn't good enough, he made great use of his time as a receiver, too, and finished with 52 yards, including a 30-yard catch, on two receptions. He's not a finished product yet, but Jackson appears to be the odds-on favorite to be Utah's starting running back when it welcomes Florida to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Aug. 31.

Mikey Matthews lives up to billing

On the first day of spring camp, Whittingham linked freshman Mikey Matthews' name to that of former do-it-all receiver Britain Covey. It was quite the comparison after the freshman's first day on the field with the team, but it was enough to leave some intrigue into the type of player Matthews could be for Utah this fall.

And while Matthews didn't get the ball for the first time until late in the second quarter, there was a glimmer of Covey back on the field. Rose found Matthews on several connections that helped the White team move the ball with ease down the field. It was an impressive showing from the freshman receiver who has the utmost confidence to be a threat in the passing game that Utah desperately needs.

Matthews had a game-high seven receptions — on seven targets — for 59 yards. How that translates in fall remains to be seen, but it's a sign of progress for the offense going into the summer months.

Outside of Matthews, fellow receiver Money Parks continued to show progress on the field as a No. 1 option in the passing game. Rose connected with Parks on multiple passes to open up the game, and Parks showcased his emerging skills on the field.

Receivers coach Alvis Whitted said earlier in the week that Parks had made a lot of progress this spring, and it showed on Saturday. Parks finished the day with a game-high 71 yards and one touchdown on five catches for the White team.

Does Utah finally have a kicker?

It's the little things for Utah football. After back-to-back seasons with mediocre play with its placekickers, Colorado transfer Cole Becker has been a breath of fresh air in spring. By all accounts, Becker has been a good addition to the program.

The highlight of the day — see, this is where Utah was at — was when Becker hit a 46-yard field goal to give White a 17-14 lead going into the halftime break. The kick brought with it arguably the loudest cheers to that point in the game as fans celebrated a successful kick from deep.

Did not play

White

• Sataoa Laumea
• Johnny Maea
• Zereoue Williams
• Munir McClain
• Sidney Mbanasor
• Cam Rising
• Chris Curry
• Logan Fano
• Gavin Nawahine
• Braxton Turner
• Owen Chambliss
• Bryson Reeves
• Nate Ritchie
• Jocelyn Malaska
• Kenzel Lawler
• Nick Howe

Red

• Tanoa Togiai
• Keaton Bills
• Brant Kuithe
• Devaughn Vele
• Makai Cope
• Alfredo Lira
• Connor O'Toole
• Jonah Elliss
• Van Fillinger
• Junior Tafuna
• Simote Pepa
• Lander Barton
• Karene Reid
• Cole Bishop
• Sione Vaki
• Zemaiah Vaughn
• JT Broughton
• Faybian Marks
• Tao Johnson

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