SALT LAKE CITY — How do you replace arguably the best running back in Utah history?
Zack Moss broke records during his four years with the Utes, setting all-time school marks for career rushing yards (4,167), career 100-yard rushing games (18) and career rushing touchdowns (38), and was the first Ute with three 1,000-yard seasons, among other records. Now that Moss, who was an All-American and the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year last year, has graduated, who will replace him?
The running back position is wide open right now, according to Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.
“Jordan Wilmore, Devin Brumfield, TJ Green. There’s a lot of guys that are going to be vying for those carries and it should be an interesting battle,” Whittingham said during the first week of spring practices.




The three main contenders for the starting running back spot as spring ball got underway, only to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, were Jordan Wilmore, Devin Brumfield and TJ Green. Senior Devonta’e Henry-Cole was expected to be in the mix, but transferred to BYU in February. Henry-Cole’s exit magnifies the spotlight on the running back competition.
“It certainly puts the focus on fewer guys, with one fewer guy than we had,” Whittingham said.
Junior Devin Brumfield had the second-most carries among running backs after Moss last year, with 59 carries for 263 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was great. It was a year that I was behind Zack and we were all kind of learning. I think it was a great thing for me and I just made sure whenever my name was called, I was ready,” Brumfield said of last season.
“We go in the room every day and we know that we’re all fighting for that No. 1 spot, so we make sure we come out to practice and give it our all.” — Utah running back Devin Brumfield
Brumfield learned a lot from Moss over the two years he and Moss were both together at Utah.
“That guy, he does everything the right way. I just watched film on him and he’s a very patient guy, he knows the defense, he knows what he’s supposed to be doing, so I just follow those things and try and do my best to be like that,” Brumfield said.
Last season, Brumfield played in all 14 games for the Utes and started in place of Moss, who was injured, in a 38-13 win over Washington State.
Brumfield knows that every day of spring and fall practice is a job audition.
“We go in the room every day and we know that we’re all fighting for that No. 1 spot, so we make sure we come out to practice and give it our all,” Brumfield said. “If I was the starter or not, you have to come out and be that guy. You’ve just got to make sure you come out and give your best every day because you never know if that guy could have a great week and he could pass you up. You’ve got to give it your best effort.”
Brumfield wants to be a more patient running back this year.
“For me, just getting my pads down and trying to make the first person miss is my biggest goal,” Brumfield said.
Sophomore Jordan Wilmore rushed for 209 yards on 49 carries — third-most among Ute running backs — with a touchdown last season as a true freshman.
“Last year was a learning experience for me, learning the offense, learning the players on the team, learning everybody, being cool with everybody. Just vibing with my team and being close to my teammates,” Wilmore said, noting that he’s now more comfortable in the program.
Wilmore said that he comes to practice ready to prove himself, noting that it’s all about what you do today.
“Everybody has to work for it, it’s not the type of program where it’s automatically somebody gets the job, you’ve got to work for it. Whatever happens happens, I’m just going to do my job,” Wilmore said.
Wilmore wants to improve on his explosivity this year and feels confident in using “what God gave me.”
Junior TJ Green rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries — fifth-most among Ute running backs. As a freshman, he had 190 yards on 36 carries as he saw increased playing time after Moss went down with an injury.
“Coach is always preaching ‘Zack is gone, so we need somebody to step up.’ We all have to. We all have stepped up a lot and we have to prove to our fanbase that we haven’t dropped in talent. We lost an All-American, so we’ve just got to all step up and compete,” Green said.
Green is confident in his speed and ability to get around the edge, but wants to work on being more physical.
Four-star running back Ty Jordan, from West Mesquite High in Mesquite, Texas, will also be in the mix when he arrives in the fall.
Other running backs fighting for time include redshirt freshman Charlie Vincent, who played at East, freshman Braedon Wissler, who played at Bingham, redshirt freshman Micah Bernard, from Gahr High in California, redshirt freshman Faysal Aden, from West.
Despite the competition, the running back room is tight.
“We’re a really close room. We’ve all got different personalities, but that makes us even stronger. We love each other, for sure,” Brumfield said.
Wilmore and Green add that the RB room is a brotherhood.
“It’s all fun and jokes, but we try to be professional, we’ve got to be professional with it,” Wilmore said.
“We’re very close — me, Dev and Jordan. Me and Dev have had two years together and Jordan got here last year. We all real close, we spend a lot of time together,” Green said.