Next man up.
That’s been the mantra for Utah football under head coach Kyle Whittingham and it’s been tested this year, especially on offense.
Quarterback Bryson Barnes helped lead Utah to a win on the road at Washington State with Cam Rising out. The absence of Tavion Thomas, coupled with injuries to Chris Curry, Micah Bernard and Jaylon Glover at one point or another, led the Utes to experiment with Ja’Quinden Jackson at running back, producing great results.
“It’s been a long road for me. I mean, I’ve been here for 4 1⁄2 years and only sort of really started to see action in the past six games. So it’s really good to be out there and just show people what I can do finally. I’m gonna continue to do that and continue to be the best I can out there.” — Utah tight end Thomas Yassmin
Utah lost tight end Brant Kuithe for the season after suffering an ACL tear against Arizona State on Sep. 24. This week, tight end Dalton Kincaid announced that he would not be able to play in the Rose Bowl against Penn State due to an injury and would be declaring for the NFL draft.
“He would be here if he could. He just couldn’t do it. We don’t want to put him in harm’s way. He’s got the combine coming up not too far after the Rose Bowl. Dalton will be missed,” Whittingham said.
It’s a big blow. Kincaid is Utah’s leading receiver, with 70 catches for 890 yards and eight touchdowns.
Whittingham says that the tight ends’ role in the offense won’t change, but that other players will have to step up.
“It doesn’t change the role but it allows opportunities for other players,” Whittingham said. “Thomas Yassmin, who you’ve seen make the most of his opportunities in Kuithe’s absence and when Dalton was absent. He’s going to be a big factor.
“Munir McClain, Logan Kendall, who’s played all year for us. Doesn’t really affect him because Logan’s contribution to the offense is different than Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid’s. It gives Munir and Thomas, Taniela Pututau a chance to step up and show what they can do.”
Yassmin figures to be the No. 1 tight end option in the absence of Kuithe and Kincaid.
“I always say I wish the opportunities came under different circumstances, but it’s always next man up and I’ve got this opportunity beneath me, so I’ve just gotta make the most of it right now,” Yassmin said.
This season, Yassmin is fifth on the team in total receiving yards. He’s caught 12 passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns.
Yassmin has been on the Hill since 2018. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, the 6-foot-5, 251-pound junior played rugby in high school. His first experience with football came at the University of Utah.
He’s seen action in every season since 2019, but has only recently gotten the opportunity to show what he can do at tight end. Prior to this season, he had just one career reception for six yards, vs. Weber State in 2021.
“It’s been a long road for me. I mean, I’ve been here for 41⁄2 years and only sort of really started to see action in the past six games,” Yassmin said. “So it’s really good to be out there and just show people what I can do finally. I’m gonna continue to do that and continue to be the best I can out there.”
Utah wide receiver Devaughn Vele has had a front-row seat to Yassmin’s football evolution from rugby player to playmaker.
“I got here a year after he did. He was always the big Australian dude that played rugby. He could run over people, but he had trouble with the playbook, there was a couple times he had trouble catching. You never really knew what you were going to get from him,” Vele said.
“This season, I feel like it’s something we’ve seen develop for a while and it’s great to see him finally reaping the rewards, getting the respect he deserves, because he’s one hell of a player and I’m just so happy for him that he’s getting the success he deserves,” Vele said.
Yassmin has produced a few huge plays this year.
Against Arizona State, he had a 72-yard catch with about 57 yards after the reception. He gained about 30 of those yards after shedding two Sun Devil defenders.
In the win over Colorado, he scored a 41-yard touchdown, gaining about 36 of those yards after the catch. That touchdown featured a hurdle over a Colorado defender.
In the Pac-12 championship game against USC, Yassmin would not be denied on a 60-yard touchdown. He broke the tackles of two Trojans defenders and scored a key touchdown. That score, coming with Utah up just three points early in the fourth quarter, was big.
Rising and Yassmin have a connection that goes back to 2019.
“We’ve been working together since 2019 scout team and it’s always been productive. He’s a phenomenal player, just got to get the ball in his hands and watch him go,” Rising said.
The other tight ends in the room — McClain, Pututau and Kendall — know they too need to be ready if called upon.
“Obviously we’re going to miss Kincaid. That’s my guy, I love Kincaid. It’s next man up. I feel like the whole tight end room, we’ve all just got to step up a little bit more and play a little bit harder,” Kendall said.
Kendall, a 6-foot-3, 263-pound senior, has played in 13 games, primarily as a blocking tight end, but does have four receptions this year — including a 16-yard touchdown at Stanford.
“I’m a block-first kind of guy, but if I’m asked to run routes or whatever’s asked of me, I’ll do it,” Kendall said.
McClain, a 6-foot-4, 229-pound redshirt sophomore, has two receptions for 18 yards this season.
“I think we (Cam Rising) have good chemistry, I think he has chemistry with everyone in the tight end room,” McClain said.
Pututau, a 6-foot-3, 246-pound redshirt freshman, has two catches for 17 yards this year.
Though Yassmin’s — and perhaps other tight ends’ — increased usage will come in one of the biggest games in Utah football history, he is trying to treat it as just another game.
“We’re all still obviously excited, but you know, we’ve been there, we’ve seen it, we know what it’s like, we know what the atmosphere’s like, the environment,” he said. “So right now it’s just, we’re going there, we’re playing another game. And I think that was just the case with the Pac-12 championship. We’re going there. It’s just another weekly game for us.”
