The staff at CBS Sports gave its picks for the Pac-12 heading into the 2017 college football season, and Utah was listed as one of the underrated teams.
"The Utes being underrated is more about their status as a program rather than what they may or may not do this season," they wrote. " After a few years of adjusting to life in a major conference, Utah is now consistently good."
After talking about the lack of attention that the Utes get, they continued, "Among the reasons for that are the lack of a Pac-12 Championship Game appearance and simply that they are Utah and not USC, UCLA or Oregon. There is nothing flashy about what the Utes do. They just win consistently."
The writers also predicted the finish in both the North and South divisions where five of the six prognosticators have the Utes coming in second behind USC. They only writer to have a differing opinion was Tom Fornelli who had Utah landing at No. 3 behind the Trojans and Colorado.
Wagner, Weddle ranked top 100 NFL players
ESPN predicted the top 100 players in the NFL for 2017 and a pair of former Utah college greats made the list.
Former Utah State and current Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner was the first player with Utah ties to make an appearance, coming in at No. 32 on the list.
"Wagner led the NFL with 167 tackles last season, but his impact goes well beyond the numbers," wrote Sheil Kapadia. "He’s responsible for getting everyone lined up properly before the snap and being the leader of the Seahawks’ front seven. Wagner may not receive as much attention as some of his teammates, but he’s one of the most valuable players on the team."
Former Utah and current Baltimore Ravens star safety Eric Weddle also made the list landing at No. 68.
"Weddle was one of three safeties who recorded more than 85 tackles and three interceptions last season, finishing as Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded safety," wrote Jamison Hensley.
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And finally...Not only is former Utah offensive lineman Garett Bolles making an impact on the field since joining the Denver Broncos, but he is also doing so in the community.
Broncos Executive Vice President of Public and Community Relations, Patrick Smyth tweeted out a photo of Bolles FaceTiming a struggling teen.
According to the tweet, Bolles spent a half hour offering encouragement and sharing his own story.