Hi all, your Utah heathen here. A few updates on a really busy couple of days in Salt Lake City.
The Good:
Our starting QB from last year has been cleared to compete in non-contact activities in spring ball. This is pretty amazing as many had concluded that he was done for his career. Quick backstory: Travis Wilson suffered a concussion in the ASU game. He had an MRI the next day that found what the University described as a "abnormality involving an intercranial artery". Team medical personnel are being very tight-lipped about situation but team doctors did say that the results of last week's tests were such that they unanimously felt confident clearing him for non-contact football activities. Another round of testing in July will determine the situation for fall camp and if he will be able to continue his career.
The Hopefully Good:
Former DE/OLB Trevor Reilly's daughter Shayn finished her treatment for kidney cancer a couple of months back. She is scheduled for tests tomorrow and tweets from the Reilly family have indicated that final results will be available Friday. Their preliminary indications are optimistic but cautious at the same time. One last round of good mojo Shayn's way one more time is appreciated.Â
The Bad:
Leaving the men's basketball game vs. ASU Sunday night, redshirt defensive lineman Moana Ofahengaue was involved in an motorbike accident on his way to his dorm room. Unconfirmed reports indicate that more than one witness told police that Moana appeared to be texting while riding his scooter. Ofahengaue was not wearing a helmet and suffered severe traumatic brain injuries. He has been in critical to very critical condition since Sunday night. This has hit the team hard as this is the second consecutive year that the team and the defense in particular have lost a lineman with Gaeus Vaenuku losing his life last year after falling asleep while driving to Texas for a visit before fall camp began. Ofahengaue was expected to contribute on the DL this year and had high projections to be playing on Sunday in a few years. As is the case with Travis, the University is not commenting or updating Moana's status as it has a very conservative interpretation of HIPPA regulations.
The Interesting:
Utah gained some critically needed depth at QB today as they picked up Kendal Thompson, a former starter at Oklahoma who lost his starting job last year due to injury. He graduates in May and will join the team for summer's "optional" team activities. That now gives us Thompson, a Junior; Wilson, who will be playing in his Junior year along with last year's backup, walkon Adam Schulz, a junior and three redshirt freshmen plus two true freshman, both of whom will likely go on LDS missions before joining the team. My guess is that Schulz will transfer and at least one of the RS freshmen.
Also, particularly for those of you who were around from the transition from Indians to Cardinal, Utah is once again in negotiations with the Ute Indian Tribe regarding the use of the name Utes and the Circle and Feathers logo. Utah is in an unusual situation as the tribe actually owns the name and the logo and the school licenses them from the tribe. This obviously adds a new twist as the school doesn't control it's name or logo unlike virtually every other school in the country. At issue (among others) is the use of facepaint and feathered headdresses by fans as well as other fan behaviors by students and fans. The tribe also wants to discuss the way tuition and fees are handled for members of the tribe. Currently the University issues vouchers to members of the tribe that want to attend the University. From what I understand the tribe is nowThere's part of me that sometimes wants to just change the name and get it over with.
So that's a quick update from the Wasatch. How has the offseason been by the bay? Looking forward to the b-ball game on the 8th. Since we haven't played you guys or Cal-Berkeley this year, any insight what to expect?
The Good:
Our starting QB from last year has been cleared to compete in non-contact activities in spring ball. This is pretty amazing as many had concluded that he was done for his career. Quick backstory: Travis Wilson suffered a concussion in the ASU game. He had an MRI the next day that found what the University described as a "abnormality involving an intercranial artery". Team medical personnel are being very tight-lipped about situation but team doctors did say that the results of last week's tests were such that they unanimously felt confident clearing him for non-contact football activities. Another round of testing in July will determine the situation for fall camp and if he will be able to continue his career.
The Hopefully Good:
Former DE/OLB Trevor Reilly's daughter Shayn finished her treatment for kidney cancer a couple of months back. She is scheduled for tests tomorrow and tweets from the Reilly family have indicated that final results will be available Friday. Their preliminary indications are optimistic but cautious at the same time. One last round of good mojo Shayn's way one more time is appreciated.Â
The Bad:
Leaving the men's basketball game vs. ASU Sunday night, redshirt defensive lineman Moana Ofahengaue was involved in an motorbike accident on his way to his dorm room. Unconfirmed reports indicate that more than one witness told police that Moana appeared to be texting while riding his scooter. Ofahengaue was not wearing a helmet and suffered severe traumatic brain injuries. He has been in critical to very critical condition since Sunday night. This has hit the team hard as this is the second consecutive year that the team and the defense in particular have lost a lineman with Gaeus Vaenuku losing his life last year after falling asleep while driving to Texas for a visit before fall camp began. Ofahengaue was expected to contribute on the DL this year and had high projections to be playing on Sunday in a few years. As is the case with Travis, the University is not commenting or updating Moana's status as it has a very conservative interpretation of HIPPA regulations.
The Interesting:
Utah gained some critically needed depth at QB today as they picked up Kendal Thompson, a former starter at Oklahoma who lost his starting job last year due to injury. He graduates in May and will join the team for summer's "optional" team activities. That now gives us Thompson, a Junior; Wilson, who will be playing in his Junior year along with last year's backup, walkon Adam Schulz, a junior and three redshirt freshmen plus two true freshman, both of whom will likely go on LDS missions before joining the team. My guess is that Schulz will transfer and at least one of the RS freshmen.
Also, particularly for those of you who were around from the transition from Indians to Cardinal, Utah is once again in negotiations with the Ute Indian Tribe regarding the use of the name Utes and the Circle and Feathers logo. Utah is in an unusual situation as the tribe actually owns the name and the logo and the school licenses them from the tribe. This obviously adds a new twist as the school doesn't control it's name or logo unlike virtually every other school in the country. At issue (among others) is the use of facepaint and feathered headdresses by fans as well as other fan behaviors by students and fans. The tribe also wants to discuss the way tuition and fees are handled for members of the tribe. Currently the University issues vouchers to members of the tribe that want to attend the University. From what I understand the tribe is nowThere's part of me that sometimes wants to just change the name and get it over with.
So that's a quick update from the Wasatch. How has the offseason been by the bay? Looking forward to the b-ball game on the 8th. Since we haven't played you guys or Cal-Berkeley this year, any insight what to expect?
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