Remember This Guy? Former Buff Commit Freshman QB Jordan Wynn Named Starter for Utah

Based on experience, it was believed that Corbin Louks had the inside track on replacing Brian Johnson as Utah's starting quarterback.

Unfortunately for Louks, true freshman Jordan Wynn never got the memo.

In a very surprising turn of events, head coach Kyle Whittingham announced this morning that Wynn is the starter. For now, at least.

"Jordan will run with the No. 1s and Cain with the twos," Whittingham said after practice. "That's our starting point, but nothing's etched in stone. It could change anytime."

Not only is Louks not the starter, he has fallen to third on the Utes' depth chart. JUCO transfer Terrence Cain, who was expected to be Louks' stiffest competition for the job, is No. 2 behind the frosh.

over 2 years ago Bob_Bell 13 comments 0 recs |

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holy crap

what happened to the thinking he needed a full yr to even have a chance to bulk up and now a yr later, hes starting…

wow.

by roxbombers on Aug 14, 2009 4:39 PM MDT reply actions

another case for all QB's to enroll early

by roxbombers on Aug 14, 2009 4:40 PM MDT up reply actions

+1 helps a ton

The Ralphie Report - Go Buffs!...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by Bob_Bell on Aug 14, 2009 4:43 PM MDT up reply actions

disagree.

I mean, it sounds good in theory, but it’s kind of sad to see how kids are having their childhoods strip-mined so much. Some kid is skipping his entire senior year to enroll at Florida. Jeremy Tyler is skipping his final 2 to play basketball overseas. Year round, high level competitive sports (and the pressure that goes with it) starts at 9.

And I mean that not in just a nostalgic, things were better in my day way, either. A lot of these guys have seriously retarded their emotional and social growth because they never learn how to function among normals.
/ soapbox

by Hallux Valgus on Aug 14, 2009 5:49 PM MDT up reply actions

well ya, thats my fanhood talking not my view on a kid skipping out on his childhood.

Its kinda sad when 95% of these kids won’t sniff the NFL and after college I bet a lot of them will regret skipping the best yrs of their life

But as a fan, I want a kid to enroll early 100% of the time.

Look at Barkley at USC, kid enrolled early and is challenging playing time as a true freshmen.

by roxbombers on Aug 14, 2009 7:43 PM MDT up reply actions

understood

Full disclosure- my brother attends Mater Dei. Barkley was still able to do normal high school things with his normal high school friends and family (he has a brother and sister who are rising juniors), and his cousin is at USC, plus one of his friends on the OL. It’s not as huge a jump as most, because there’s a LOT of familiarity there.

After Corp’s injury, I truly believe Barkley will start, and probably won’t relinquish the starting spot. I think that would have been possible had he matriculated in the summer, but it would’ve obviously been much much less likely. He’s a hell of a player. Starting as a freshman at Mater Dei is almost as unprecedented as starting as a true freshman for USC. But for every Barkley, there’s probably a dozen other guys for whom it didn’t work out. And as a fan, I want our players to succeed after college as well.

Also as a fan- I love it when players are able to enroll early. But as the current owner of a high school athlete and potential father to others, I just worry about what it means for the future.

Heavy is the head that eats the crayons

by Hallux Valgus on Aug 14, 2009 7:56 PM MDT up reply actions

if you'll allow me back on my soapbox for a moment...

It’s not just about the pro sports. for every Barkley, who has a real shot- there are receivers and running backs and linemen who probably don’t, but Barkley needs them to be at their best so he can be at his best. We all know of guys who were the quintessential BMOC and football/ basketball/ baseball stars on campus. That’s not possible at Mater Dei, where the time commitment for football and basketball precludes the opportunity to play both. Because there’s a lot of money at stake for all of those programs to be nationally ranked (it comes from Nike, who provides athletic funding to the school). Football has been practicing every day, basically since school let out last year. Most of those guys won’t sniff a college scholarship, but the pressure’s still there to keep up.

My brother’s best friend played baseball forever, and he was an exceptional player. He was on 3 different competitive teams, until he burnt out in 8th grade, because he was sick of it, and of the pressure. My brother plays lacrosse. Over the course of 2009, he’ll suit up for 4 or 5 different teams. High school season leaks to club season overlaps with indoor season into fall season into preseason for high school again. Plus the camps during the summer. I just picked the kid up from a week long camp at UC- Santa Barbara. He slept almost the whole way back to the OC, but not before telling me about his shin splints, and how he’s kind of burnt out. Well tough luck, because he’s got a game on Monday, and a coach who’s pressuring him to go play in a tournament in San Francisco later this month, and fall ball starts in September.

That’s not good for a kid. My brother wants nothing more than to take a couple of weeks to play Call of Duty and go to the beach.

What drives this? Adults, reaching for corporate money. When Nike and Reebok and et cetera start sponsoring youth athletics, it’s a good thing. When they start demanding results to continue their contributions, it’s a terrible thing. There is no longer a point when sports are just about kids messing around on a field. My brother has been in competitive athletics (with me as a coach, so I can’t duck responsibility) since he was 9. At that age, we were already being told what we need to teach our kids to play in high school. Fun is no longer a factor. And that’s a terrible shame.
/soapbox. forever. promise

Heavy is the head that eats the crayons

by Hallux Valgus on Aug 14, 2009 8:25 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs

Unless this kid is truly special

Bye bye top 25 ranking Utah. Regardless, and besides the CU change of heart, I’m rooting for this kid and Utah. You have to root for all the non-BCS teams – except when CSU plays CU. We’ll be fine

by CleBUFFS on Aug 14, 2009 4:50 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

Tend to agree

Can’t imagine being the starting qb,of a team that just went undefeated no less, as a freshman. It will be interesting to see what happens but I would be looking at the under on team wins for Utah if this sticks.

by NYCskibum on Aug 14, 2009 5:22 PM MDT up reply actions

Kellen Moore last year at Boise State

He went undefeated through the regular season. He was a redshirt, though.

by Hallux Valgus on Aug 14, 2009 5:44 PM MDT up reply actions

The fact that he redshirted is the difference in my mind

and of course the MWC being a bit stronger than the WAC.

by NYCskibum on Aug 14, 2009 6:57 PM MDT up reply actions

oh, I agree

But they did put up 37 points on Oregon. Only 3 other teams topped that (USC, Arizona, Oregon State). And it’s not like he was just a game manager, either.

What would you peg Utah’s wins at? Looking at their schedule- I’ll take the over if it’s 8. Right now, it looks like 9.5, which- yeah- seems a touch high, but not impossible. Frankly, I think they’re a little overrated regardless of the QB after losing Johnson, Kruger, and Smith. Remember that the MWC doesn’t exactly have the most electric and intimidating crowds in the world. I think they’ll get slaughtered at Autzen, but other than that, their away games are TCU, San Jose State, UNLV, Colorado State, and BYU. Only BYU really presents an intimidation factor.

It’s not like this is Matt Barkley leading USC into the Horseshoe.

Heavy is the head that eats the crayons

by Hallux Valgus on Aug 14, 2009 7:35 PM MDT up reply actions

I think they are capable of winning 9 but would guess 8

I just see a late turnover as a result of inexperience deciding a game they should win at some point this season. Fair point on the crowds though. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

by NYCskibum on Aug 14, 2009 8:42 PM MDT up reply actions