Utah opened the 2024 season with a 49-0 win over Southern Utah on Thursday. However, the good start came with bad news this week. Utes cornerback Kenan Johnson suffered a season-ending lower leg injury during the first half of the game.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham confirmed the severity of Johnson’s injury on Monday, noting that while Johnson’s season is over, there is a possibility for him to return next year if he chooses. Before his injury, the Georgia Tech transfer had recorded three tackles and was expected to be a key part of the defense.

In Johnson’s absence, Utah will rely on Smith Snowden, Cam Calhoun, and Scooby Davis to fill the void at cornerback. Snowden, who had been playing the nickel position, showed versatility and performed well on the inside. Davis, who grabbed an interception against Southern Utah, provided solid contributions, while Calhoun, a transfer from Michigan, is expected to be back in action this week. Whittingham mentioned that the coaching staff would evaluate different configurations in practice to determine the best setup moving forward.

Three takeaways from No. 12 Utah’s win over Southern Utah

On the offensive side, the return of quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe was a highlight. The duo showcased their chemistry by connecting on three touchdown passes in the first half, underscoring their importance to the team’s success. Rising’s ability to find Kuithe in key moments was crucial and reaffirmed the dynamic nature of their partnership.

Additionally, freshman wide receiver Dijon Stanley emerged as a new offensive threat, recording three catches for 150 yards, including two long touchdown receptions. His performance added another dimension to Utah’s potent offense.

Looking ahead, Utah faces a tougher challenge as they prepare to host Baylor, a rematch of last season’s closely contested 20-13 victory in Waco. Whittingham acknowledged the need to elevate their play, as Baylor is a formidable opponent eager to avenge last year’s loss.

The Trojans were impressive defensively against LSU while the heavily favored Ducks struggled to put away Idaho.

Originally Published: September 2, 2024 at 8:51 a.m.

After almost two years of meetings and listening sessions, the Utah Legislature’s Ethnic Studies Commission drafted its first list of potential recommendations. The draft recommendations, however, don’t offer a lot of specifics.

Ethnic studies were required to be incorporated into Utah’s K-12 core standards by a 2022 law. However, the new proposed recommendations focus mainly on staying in line with HB 261, the state’s recent anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law. It prohibits DEI hiring practices and offices aligned with identity at state-run universities, public schools and government entities.

Beyond those impacts, it has also had a cooling effect on discussions of race and identity.

“The Utah State Board of Education should carefully consider the use of ethnic studies in core standards and curriculum to ensure a narrowly tailored incorporation of age-appropriate opportunities that naturally arise through education without pretextual effort in courses, programs, or activities where ethnic studies is not a primary focus,” reads the first suggestion to the state board, which will ultimately be in charge of incorporating ethnic studies in public school standards.

Some commission members said this means including ethnic studies in topics like history but not requiring it in subjects like math or science.

The second recommendation directs the public education system to “incorporate curriculum of people and cultures that reflect the state’s various demographics without commentary that seeks to violate the neutrality standard established in H.B. 261.”

The drafted guidance was presented at the group’s first public meeting of 2024 on Aug. 29. The commission will continue workshopping the recommendations and vote on them in the future, potentially at an October meeting.

Throughout the commission’s duration it has repeatedly struggled to cohesively define ethnic studies or a vision for how it should be incorporated in schools, and the anti-DEI law has complicated that further.

At the meeting, co-chair Republican Sen. Kirk Cullimore said the law put “parameters” on their work and “colors what those recommendations can be at this point.”

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, the other Republican co-chair, told KUER after the meeting that he doesn’t know if the law changed “what any of the recommendations would have ultimately been, because I think the commission was already headed that direction.”

Democratic commission members Reps. Angela Romero and Sandra Hollins both said they were confused by parts of the drafted list and what “neutrality” means in this context.

Wilcox said the short version is the curriculum shouldn’t say one race or ethnicity is better than another.

For Hollins, that further confused the issue, “because you’re saying that we’re not to promote one race over another. But if you have teachers who are not teaching any diversity because they are scared to, they are promoting one race over another because one race is being taught.”

Hollins said teachers are telling her “they’re scared to talk about anything, for lack of a better word, that’s not white.”

The draft was not uploaded where the public could see it before the meeting started, and while the co-chairs said the list was based on feedback from commission members, others said they hadn’t seen its full contents before the Aug. 29 meeting started.

The committee is also tasked with giving guidance to the Office of the Governor and the state Legislature, one of which suggests “The Legislature should continue to examine the neutrality standard in HB 261 to strengthen positive outcomes and address any unintended consequences.”

In 2022, Gov. Spencer Cox held a ceremonial signing to celebrate the passage of the law requiring ethnic studies to be taught in K-12 schools. The law created the committee to “consider and review” the contributions of diverse Utahns and figure out how to best incorporate ethnic studies into core standards.

School districts and charter schools had until Aug. 1, 2024, to select a curriculum for teaching ethnic studies. However, it became clear that the deadline would not be met since the state’s committee hadn’t even produced guidance to the board.

In a January email obtained by KUER through a public records request, Republican Rep. Candice Pierucci asked state school board member Jennie Earl for guidance on a new deadline.

Earl responded, “I would strike the time completely. The problem is [charter schools and school districts] are continually updating curriculum, but they may only purchase new curriculum for a specific subject every 5-7 years. We update standards every 7-10 years but never all at once. We just finished our English standards and are now starting math. Any date is unsustainable.”

In a 2024 education omnibus bill, lawmakers moved the curriculum selection deadline for districts and charters to Dec. 31, 2025.

Wilcox said they’ll adjust the timeline again in the future if necessary.