TEMPE, Ariz. — To open Saturday’s game at Arizona State, Utah freshman Jaylon Glover got most of the carries.
The Utes’ leading rusher, Tavion Thomas, was conspicuously absent during the first half of the No. 13 Utes’ 34-13 victory.
Thomas played in the second half and ended up leading the Utes in rushing with 60 yards on 11 carries.
Was Thomas not available to play in the first half?
“Yeah, he was available, physically. But we were planning to play him in the second half in this game,” coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Sometimes, things happen and you have to make certain moves. So that was an internal thing. But Tavion’s healthy.”
Glover ran 13 times for 48 yards.
“It was nice,” quarterback Cam Rising said of Glover’s performance. “He did a great job making sure that he was hitting the hole hard. We talked about it all week. He was ready to go. I was fired up to give him the ball.”
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson made his debut at running back, rushing nine times for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Whittingham called Jackson “another viable option” at running back. Last week, Chris Curry was lost for the season due to an injury.
It appears that Jackson will be part of the running back rotation moving forward.
“Until further notice, he’s now a running back,” Whittingham said. “We’ll reevaluate that after the season.”