Utah
Did BYU's environment impress Utah?
Prior to last Friday night’s gymnastics meet between Utah and BYU, the Red Rocks hadn’t competed in Provo since MyKayla Skinner was Utah’s star.
In the six years between that meet on Jan. 11, 2019, and Friday’s (Jan. 24, 2025), a global pandemic came and went, two presidential elections were entered into the history books and two Summer Olympics were competed.
Oh, and Skinner got married, won an Olympic silver medal and had a daughter.
Put another way, an entire class of Utah gymnasts — including Maile O’Keefe and Abby Paulson — never competed in the Marriott Center, so the current Red Rocks were naturally curious about what the atmosphere would be like.
After all, Utah and BYU may not really be rivals in gymnastics, but the overall athletic departments are.
For the most part, reviews were positive. Used to competing in the Huntsman Center with 10,000-plus in attendance regularly, Utah was nonetheless impressed with the atmosphere at the Marriott Center, with a little over 4,000 fans in the stands.
“I thought it was really fun,” junior Makenna Smith said. “I was excited to see their arena because I had heard they have a very nice arena and have a good crowd. They definitely showed that, so it was awesome to be here.”
The Red Rocks roundly praised the Cougars’ fan base, particularly the student section.
“I thought it was great. I thought there was an awesome fan group,” Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf said. “I didn’t get to see the wave happen — between beam and floor — but it sounded like it was pretty exciting. I thought it was an excellent environment to compete in. They have an excellent facility here.”
Senior Grace McCallum took it a step further, though, challenging the MUSS (Utah’s student section) to match what the ROC (BYU’s student section) put on display.
“I thought it was a really fun environment,” she said. “I think the Utah student section needs to take some notes, because they (the ROC) were hype. It was super fun.”
Utah won the meet going away, per the usual in the series, which junior Sarah Krump credited to tuning out the BYU crowd when it mattered most.
“We made our focus for that meet really on staying in the Utah bubble,” she said. “We wanted to focus on our teammates and on Utah, instead of on the crowd around us.
“The crowd was rowdy for sure. I don’t know if you noticed the techno music during beam warmup, but that was definitely interesting. For the most part, though, we as a team did a really good job keeping our energy on us and I think that helped a lot.”
Both Krump and Dockendorf praised the Utah fans who made the trip to Provo as well.
“There was a lot more red in the crowd than I was expecting,” Krump said.
“It was great to have some fans,” Dockendorf added.
Great environments aren’t always the norm in women’s college gymnastics, particularly with the recent trend of neutral site meets between four teams far away from college campuses, but the Red Rocks agreed that the environment at BYU was notable — and the crowd especially — even for a team like Utah that is used to competing in one of the best environments in the sport.
“It was definitely fun,” Krump said.
A few Utah stars took one step closer to living out their dreams of playing professional football as the 2026 NFL Draft played out in Pittsburgh over the weekend.
Three Utes were phoned by NFL teams over the past three days, including two in the first round for the first time in school history.
Here’s what Utah’s 2026 draft class looked like following the seventh round on Saturday:
- Spencer Fano (OL): Drafted No. 9 overall by the Cleveland Browns
- Caleb Lomu (OL): Picked No. 28 overall by the New England Patriots
- Dallen Bentley (TE): Selected No. 256 overall by the Denver Broncos
It was the fourth time since 2020 that multiple Utah players were selected in the same draft. Fano became the third-highest drafted player in program history, behind only Alex Smith (No. 1 overall in 2005) and Jordan Gross (No. 8 overall in 2003).
As historic as the 2026 draft was for the Utes, how does their latest draft class compare to some of the previous classes they’ve produced? Let’s take a look at some of Utah’s other notable draft classes and figure out how the next batch of pro Utes fits into the equation.
Utah’s Best NFL Draft Classes
2020
- Jaylon Johnson (2nd round, No. 50 overall)
- Julian Blackmon (3rd round, No. 85 overall)
- Zack Moss (3rd round, No. 86 overall)
- Terrell Burgess (3rd round, No. 104 overall)
- Leki Fotu (4th round, No. 114 overall)
- Bradlee Anae (5th round, No. 179 overall)
- John Penisini (6th round, No. 197 overall)
Average career length: 4.6 years (four active in 2025)
Accolades: 1x Super Bowl champion (Burgess), 2x Pro Bowls (Johnson)
2017
- Garett Bolles (1st round, No. 20 overall)
- Marcus Williams (2nd round, No. 42 overall)
- Joe Williams (4th round, No. 121 overall)
- Isaac Asiata (5th round, No. 164 overall)
- Brian Allen (5th round, No. 173 overall)
- JJ Dielman (5th round, No. 176 overall)
- Sam Tevi (6th round, No. 190 overall)
- Pita Taumoepenu (6th round, No. 202 overall)
Average career length: 4 years (two active in 2025)
Accolades: 1x All-Pro, 1x Pro Bowl (Bolles)
2019
- Marquise Blair (2nd round, No. 47 overall)
- Cody Barton (3rd round, No. 88 overall)
- Mitch Wishnowsky (4th round, No. 110 overall)
- Matt Gay (5th round, No. 145 overall)
- Jackson Barton (7th round, No. 240 overall)
Average career length: 6 years (three active in 2025)
Accolades: 1x Super Bowl champion, 1x Pro Bowl (Gay)
2010
- Koa Misi (2nd round, No. 40 overall)
- Zane Beadles (2nd round, No. 45 overall)
- Robert Johnson (5th round, No. 148 overall)
- David Reed (5th round, No. 156 overall)
- Stevenson Sylvester (5th round, No. 166 overall)
- RJ Stanford (7th round, No. 223 overall)
Average career length: 4.7 years
Accolades: 1x Super Bowl champion (Reed), 1x Pro Bowl (Beadles)
2005
- Alex Smith (1st round, No. 1 overall)
- Sione Pouha (3rd round, No. 88 overall)
- Chris Kemoeatu (6th round, No. 204 overall)
- Parris Warren (7th round, No. 225 overall)
- Jonathan Fanene (7th round, No. 233 overall)
Average career length: 7 years
Accolades: 1x Super Bowl champion (Kemoeatu), 3x Pro Bowl, Comeback Player of the Year (Smith)
Where Utah’s 2026 Draft Class Stands
Obviously, only time will tell just how many combined years and accolades the Utes’ 2026 class racks up at the pro level. If Fano and Lomu each play 10-plus seasons and collect a Pro Bowl nod or two along the way, the 2026 class could rival the 2005 and 2010 classes.
Due to the volume of the 2017 and 2020 classes, respectively, it’s hard to compare the 2026 group to those classes — at least, right now it is. If either (or both) of Utah’s first-round tackles goes on to become one of the best at their position and Dallen Bentley develops into a bonafide starter who contributes on good teams, then we’d have to revisit the conversation.
For now, we’re not going to place that kind of pressure on the 2026 class.
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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah Republicans are heading toward several competitive June primaries following the state party convention.
Rep. Blake Moore will advance to a Republican primary after falling short of the threshold needed to secure the nomination.
“I have always been a convention-supported candidate, but today I’m asking you to make me the outright winner so that I will go spend the next six months making sure every American knows the difference between common sense and crazy,” Moore said, pointing to tax cuts and endorsements.
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Delegates instead backed challenger Karianne Lisonbee, who won more than 60% of the vote, sending Moore into a primary despite his signature-gathering effort to also secure a place on the ballot.
“There are always going to be results that you don’t anticipate,” Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson said.
In Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, Rep. Celeste Maloy and challenger Phil Lyman also advanced to a June primary after a tightly contested convention vote. Maloy received 51% support, while Lyman received 49%.
Maloy emphasized her legislative experience and accomplishments in office.
“Experience and know-how really matter in this job,” Maloy said. “I’ve been doing the job for just a little more than two years. I’m passing bills that fix problems in Utah.”
“The stakes are high,” Lyman said. “I’m telling you, there is a game that’s being played, and we need to understand that the stakes are very high for our children.”
Axson said the close results are likely to energize voters ahead of the primary.
“I think it will keep people engaged,” Axson said. “We’re going to have a lot of people who are interested, and they’ll be leaning into these races and their preferred candidates.”
The Republican primaries are scheduled for June, when voters across Utah will make the final decision on the party’s nominees.
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It’s a big day in Utah politics! The Utah Republican Party and the Utah Democratic Party are both holding their state conventions! Max Roth is covering the Republicans at Utah Valley University in Orem and Ben Winslow is covering the Democrats at Jordan High School in Sandy. Follow along with FOX 13 News’ live blog of coverage (keep refreshing for updates):
10:13 a.m.
Here’s who is running for what right now:
Russ Slade, FOX 13 News Russ Slade, FOX 13 News
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Russ Slade, FOX 13 News
-Ben Winslow
9:52 a.m.
It’s going to be a big day. Delegates for each of the political parties are choosing their preferred candidates for Congressional races. For the Democrats? The big fight will be hotly contested 1st Congressional District (Ben McAdams vs. Nate Blouin vs. Liban Mohamed vs. Eva Lopez Chavez vs. Michael Farrell vs. Luis Villareal). The Republicans have multiple candidates in that race, too, but more of the interest centers around the newly-formed 2nd Congressional District (Blake Moore vs. Karianne Lisonbee) and the 3rd Congressional District (Celeste Maloy vs. Phil Lyman).
We’ll be updating throughout the day from the conventions, but things won’t really start kicking off until this afternoon.
-Ben Winslow & Max Roth
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