High school football: Uintah Utes 2020 preview

Note: Uintah finished with a 1-10 overall record in 2019 and was eighth in Region 10 with a 0-7 record. It was RPI seed No. 22 in the 4A playoffs, and was eliminated by Mountain Crest 71-6 in first round.

VERNAL — Over the last five years, the Uintah Utes have struggled mightily on the gridiron.

Head coach: Justin DeCol

Entering his first season as head coach at his alma mater after previous assistant coaching experience at Union, Mountain Crest, Box Elder and Snow College. He’s a graduate of Utah State.

Going back to the 2015 season, the Utes have only won eight of their last 46 games. Shorten the time frame to the last three seasons and it is even worse, with Uintah boasting a 2-27 overall record. Recently, it can be argued that the Utes have had one of, if not the worst, high school football programs in the state.

There is hope for the future, though, as a new era has begun in Vernal, headed by Uintah High alum Justin DeCol. DeCol’s arrival has brought a sense of optimism, an excitement that hasn’t been seen or felt in awhile.

“They are excited and have been really positive,” said DeCol. “The program has been down for a while, but they were excited to be able to do new things and learn new stuff. There is a new optimism.”

So much so that the Utes had 60 kids show up the first week of camp, starting the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and that number excludes freshmen, who have been given the summer off — until August 3 — due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Our very first week we had great numbers, sophomore through seniors,” said DeCol .”We told the freshmen we’ll see you in summer and that hurts us as a program, but everything else was super positive.”

DeCol is set on changing things up at Uintah, and, so far, there has been complete buy-in.

“They have been very humble and very accepting,” he said. “Taking over a bad program, and it has probably been the worst program in the state, the only plus side is the kids are very humble and trusting. Everything we’ve tried to implement they have done.”

On offense that has meant the installation of a new spread attack, with option elements to it. Defensively, the Utes have adopted a multiple man-free defense, with an emphasis on pressure, and that has gone well too, with the design being tweaked to fit this team specifically.

“I have tweaked (my defense) more for this year than I ever have,” said DeCol.

The rebuild won’t be instantaneous, DeCol and the Utes know it, but there is optimism that the program is headed in the right direction. There are even some growing expectations.

“The first one is to win our rivalry game,” said DeCol, “and we play Union Week 2. Then, we want to be competitive in region games. Those are our two goals, I would say.”

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Uintah Utes at a glance

Coach DeCol’s thoughts on how his players dealt with the COVID-19 adversity in the spring and summer:

“They had a great attitude. Through spring there was nothing, obviously, because I was getting here and the school shut down in March just like everyone else. We were allowed to be in our building the last week of May, right after Memorial Day, but we were only allowed to have 50 at a time, so we didn’t invite any freshmen, but the rest were excited and really positive. They were excited to be able to do something because for two months of the coronavirus they were at home and also just because the coaching change. They were excited about new things and there was a new optimism.”

2020 Schedule

Aug. 14 — at North Summit, 7 p.m.

Aug. 21 — UNION, 7 p.m.

Aug. 28 — at Providence Hall, 7 p.m.

Sept. 4 — PARK CITY, 7 p.m.

Sept. 11 — at Mountain View, 7 p.m.

Sept. 18 — CEDAR VALLEY, 7 p.m.

Sept. 25 — OGDEN, 7 p.m.

Oct. 2 — at Tooele, 7 p.m.

Oct. 9 — at Ben Lomond, 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 — STANSBURY, 7 p.m.

Uintah offensive snapshot

Offensive coordinator: Scott Mansfield

2019 offense: 9.1 ppg (21st in 4A)

2019 offensive statistics

• 2 returning starters
• Spread (with option principles) offense

Returning offensive starters

• Jackson Liesik (C)
• Jayce Anderson (TE)

Offensive newcomers to watch

• Jacob Schneider (OL)
• Josh Spier (QB)
• Easton Taylor (QB)

Coach DeCol’s keys for offensive success in 2020:

“Belief in the coaches first of all, and that has been great. They have been very humble and very accepting. Taking over a bad program, and it has probably been the worst program in the state, the only plus side is the kids are very humble and trusting and everything we’ve tried to implement they have done. I think trust in the coaches as far as program and scheme and then secondly, the ability to run the ball physically. I’ve coached a long time and I just think that if you can run the ball physically you’ll be successful.”

Uintah defensive snapshot

Defensive coordinator: Justin DeCol

2019 defense: 34.5 ppg (15th in 4A)

2019 defensive statistics

• 1 returning starter
• Multiple man-free defense

Returning defensive starters

• Rhett Christopherson (CB)

Defensive newcomers to watch

• Jason Walker (DL)
• Gage Howard (DL)

Coach DeCol’s keys for defensive success in 2020:

“Tackle well. And then belief in our scheme and our program, which they’ve been great at. If we can tackle well we will do fine.”

Deseret News outlook for 2020

The Utes have their work cut out for them this season, which has been the norm in Vernal that last few years. With a new head coach — the program’s fourth since 2016 — the focus of the year will be learning the new system and establishing habits to become a successful program in the future. Uintah would love to be victorious in the rivalry game against Union, as well as prove competitive in region play, but 2020 will be a rebuilding year.

Felt’s Facts for Uintah

• All-time record: 237-407-6 (74 years)

• Region championships: 8 (1931, 1949, 1958, 1959, 1994, 1998, 2000 co, 2001 co)

• Playoff appearances: 23
• All-time playoff record: 10-22

• State championships: 1 (1994)

• State championship record: 1-1

• Most played rivalry: 79 meetings with Union dating back to 1951. Union leads 42-36-1.

Last 5 seasons

• 2019 — 1-10 (0-7 in Region 10 – 4A First round)
• 2018 — 0-9 (0-5 in Region 10 - Missed playoffs)
• 2017 — 1-8 (0-5 in Region 10 - Missed playoffs)
• 2016 — 4-6 (1-5 in Region 8 - Missed playoffs)
• 2015 — 2-8 (1-5 in Region 8 - Missed playoffs)

Uintah coaching history


• 2020 — Justin DeCol (0-0)
• 2018-2019 —Mike Peterson (0-19)
• 2017 — Todd Peacock (1-8)
• 2015-2016 — Nate Heaps (6-14)
• 2012-2014 — Cody Reutzel (8-22)

• 2007-2011 — Doug Harding (14-34)

• 2006 — Kevin Dickson (2-7)

• 2005 — Mike Petersen (5-5)

• 2003-2004 — Kevin Dickson (9-13)

• 1990-2002 — Curg Belcher (72-52) *1 state title
• 1988-1989 — Jeff Gustin (2-16)

• 1985 -1987 — Hank Nawahine (9-19)

• 1977- 1984 — Curg Belcher (17-46)

• 1975-1976 — Phil Johnson (4-13)

• 1972-1974 — Gordon Olsen (4-22)

• 1968-1971 — Unknown (0-38)

• 1965-1967 — Ted Taylor (9-15)

• 1960-1964 — Louis Mele (18-25-2)

• 1955-1959 — Leo Conk (25-15)

• 1954 — Unknown (2-2-1)

• 1951-1953 — Jack Woodbury (6-10-1)

• 1946-1950 — Frank W. Wright

• 1942-1945 — LeGrand Tea

• 1940-1941 — Unknown

• 1939 — Frank W. Wright

• 1932-1938 — Unknown (1-4-1)

• 1931 — Carl Davis (4-1-1)

• 1929-1930 — Unknown (8-2)


Deseret News All-State Archives

Check out our archives of Deseret News all-state teams from 1929 to 2019 at Deseret.com.