A position of strength has become even stronger for the Utah Utes. In addition to All-American Brant Kuithe and all-conference candidate Cole Fotheringham, the Utes have another rising star at tight end.
Dalton Kincaid, a transfer from the University of San Diego, is an FCS All-American. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end caught 68 passes for 1,209 yards and 19 touchdowns over the past two seasons with the Toreros. He joined the Utes in August and is practicing with the team while awaiting NCAA clearance to play in games this season.
“We’ve got a well-stocked position group,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, who noted it starts with Kuithe and Fotheringham.
The addition of Kincaid, who is also a junior, adds to the dynamic.
“He is really a top-tier, Pac-12 tight end,” Whittingham said. “We have three guys that are really playing good football and have a high ceiling.”
The additional firepower has been well received in camp. Utah opens the season Nov. 7 against Arizona.
“As far as the position goes I feel we’re off to a great start and we’re able to add to it with another good player that came in this fall,” said tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham. “We’re excited to get going in a couple of weeks.”
“You can never have enough good players, right? So the role of recruiting is to always recruit the best players you can possibly find to join your program. As so I wouldn’t say it has rocked the apple cart at all. The guys that are here welcomed Dalton with open arms.” — Utah tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham
Adding Kincaid to an already stacked position group featuring Kuithe and Fotheringham hasn’t been difficult or challenging. It’s been quite the opposite.
“You can never have enough good players, right? So the role of recruiting is to always recruit the best players you can possibly find to join your program,” Freddie Whittingham explained. “As so I wouldn’t say it has rocked the apple cart at all. The guys that are here welcomed Dalton with open arms.”
As such, Kincaid has received a lot of help in terms of getting acclimated to how the Utes do things. It’s also enhanced the offense.
“When you bring two or three tight ends onto the field and you run a pass play, you don’t know if they’re running or passing because that’s a heavy set,” Fotheringham said. “So when you have three tight ends that can run good routes — or two tight ends that are versatile in the pass game — then it really opens things up because defenses have to be honest and respect the run game. So that just really opens things up in the pass game.”
Kyle Whittingham noted that three other tight ends are having good camps. He said sophomore Thomas Yassmin has been one of the most pleasant surprises and has really progressed
“He is the kid that had never played football before he got here. So it has been a long process for him to get to where he is,” Whittingham said. “But he still has three years of eligibility and he has found a role.”
Ali’i Niumatalolo, a senior, is helping out in certain packages and redshirt freshman Soa Rosales is also playing well.