Utah
Utah State defensive line: From weakness to strength?
At the end of spring football, Utah State interim head coach Nate Dreiling and defensive line coach Cedric Douglas knew they still had work to do with the Aggies’ defensive line.
There was talent on the roster, with guys like Blaine Spires, Enoka Miago and Bo Maile back from the previous year, plus an influx of transfers like Gabriel Iniguez Jr., Miguel Jackson and Taz Williams. But overall depth was lacking.
The defensive line — a major weakness for USU in 2023 — needed reinforcements. The entire group needed to be better too, or the Aggies would inevitably struggle defensively again.
Fast forward to Utah State’s opener against Robert Morris last Saturday and the changes made by Dreiling, Douglas and company appear to have paid off in a big way.
The Aggies’ defensive line was arguably the best group on defense in Utah State’s win against the Colonials, holding RMU to only 14 points and 362 yards.
Per Pro Football Focus, Aggie defensive linemen were better than all other defenders, outside of a safeties group that includes star junior Ike Larsen and instant impact transfers in Jordan Vincent and Torren Union.
Jackson, a defensive tackle, was the second-highest-rated defender on the team, behind Larsen. And Williams, Miago and Spires were all top 10-rated defenders overall.
Williams and Spires had performances of note. Williams tied his career high with five tackles, including a tackle for loss, only the sixth of his career.
And Spires had a sack, which bumped him up to six in his Aggie career and 8.5 in his collegiate career. No defensive lineman played better than Jackson, though, who routinely took on double teams inside and still affected the RMU run game regularly, particularly in the second half.
The defensive line’s performance did not escape the notice of Dreiling.
“Hats off to the players for earning the trust of the coaches and when it was their time to go in, they played ball,” he said.
For Dreiling, though, it was less about any individual performances and more about how many defensive linemen Utah State was able to play against Robert Morris. It was a group that included the aforementioned Jackson, Williams, Iniguez Jr., and Maile at defensive tackle, plus Miago, Marlin Dean, Cian Slone, Lawrence Falatea and Gabe Peterson at defensive end.
Given the Aggies’ offensive system — which prioritizes speed and quick strikes — depth on defense has been the most critical thing to build; in the first game of the year the Aggies looked like they have developed the needed depth up front.
“That is the deal with this offense,” Dreiling said. “We are going to go as fast as we can and you have to be able to play a bunch of guys. More importantly, you have to be able to trust them. That is what I am proud of.”
“We should never play tired football up front,” he added. “We have enough talent that we feel like we should stay fresh and stay rotating. And that is what you need if you are going to get a pass rush or stop the run. It is going to have to be with a lot of bodies rotating in. Those guys did a great job.”
It wasn’t perfect, of course. Dreilng singled out the lack of a real impactful pass rush as being a genuine problem.
“I wish our pass rush was a little more consistent,” he said. “They had a little too much time back there.”
But overall, for a group that had many question marks entering the season, USU’s defensive front met and perhaps even exceeded expectations.
That could be said for the Utah State defense on the whole, though.
Outside of a few plays in the first half, the Aggies’ defense did what it wants to do, that is force teams to drive the length of the field for their points and capitalize on mistakes that offenses make along the way.
“We want teams to have to drive down the field to earn their points, but you can’t have bad plays and that is what we had (early against Robert Morris),” Dreiling said. “It only takes a couple (plays) in college football to give up points.
“We just have to be locked in more consistently. … We have a chance to play really good football as the season continues, regardless of it is the first, second or third guy up. I think there is a chance for this to be a special year on the defensive side.”
Utah
Nina Dobrev Wears a Bathrobe While in Utah for Sundance Film Festival
Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.
Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival
Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:
The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.
The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.
Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea
Utah
State officials killed three wolves in northern Utah. Here’s why.
The killings took place in a region exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
(Dawn Villella |AP) A gray wolf is pictured in 2004 in Minnesota. Utah officials recently killed three wolves after they were seen near livestock in Cache County.
In a rural stretch of southwestern Cache County, state officials killed three wolves earlier this month after the animals were spotted near livestock, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Tuesday.
The wolves were shot Jan. 9 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley, a move allowed because the animals were found in a small corner of northeastern Utah exempt from federal gray wolf protections.
The region, which lies mostly east of Interstate 15 and extends roughly as far south as Ogden, is considered part of the greater Yellowstone region, where the predator is in recovery. It is the only part of Utah where the state is allowed to manage wolves.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Across the rest of the state, the animal is considered an endangered species. It’s illegal to hunt, harass, trap, shoot or harm them without permission from the federal government.
Jolley said state law directs DWR to prevent wolves from breeding in the delisted area. While the animals were not considered a pack, she said they were believed to be traveling together.
“Lethal removals ensure they don’t establish breeding populations in Utah,” Jolley wrote in a text message.
Caroline Hargraves, a spokesperson for the state agriculture department, said the wolves were found near Avon, a small census-designated community in Cache County of about 500 residents, surrounded mostly by farmland.
Utah leaders have long been hostile to wolves for preying on livestock and thwarting hunters. The state has doled out millions in taxpayer dollars in an effort to get gray wolves removed from the federal endangered species list.
Most confirmed wolf sightings in Utah have involved lone wolves, Jolley said, though small groups have been documented on a few occasions since the first confirmed sighting in 2002.
During the past year, she said, a handful of lone wolves have migrated into Utah from Wyoming and Colorado.
Wolves from Wyoming and Idaho have made their way into Utah at least 21 times since 2004, according to DWR. In September, the agency said it was aware of at least one lone male wolf present in the state.
Utah
Utah family fights to bring children home after mother reportedly arrested in Croatia
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Family members of four Utah children who disappeared with their mother in November are speaking out after the children were located in Croatia.
Now, the family is working through international legal channels to bring the children back home.
The children were last seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a flight with their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Seymour. Authorities say Seymour took the children without the permission of their fathers after posting what family members describe as “doomsday” claims on social media.
MORE | Missing Children
Seymour was arrested in Dubrovnik on January 15 after the family says news articles alerted people she was talking to in Croatia about the accused kidnapping. She now faces four felony counts of custodial interference. Since her arrest, the four children have been placed in a government-run children’s center in Croatia.
Jill Seymour, the children’s aunt, has been in Croatia for nine days with her brother Kendall Seymour, who is three of the children’s fathers. They are trying to secure their release.
“We’re just kind of in limbo waiting to get them out,” Seymour said. “These are our kids, and we can’t get custody of them.”
She says the family is only allowed to see the children for two hours a day. Despite providing the requested documentation, the family has not yet been given a clear timeline for when the children can return home.
“They are most definitely trapped there, and they feel trapped,” Seymour said. “We don’t have a clear-cut answer. We’ve provided all the documents we’ve been asked to provide.”
The family has hired Croatian attorneys and is working with the U.S. Embassy to navigate the legal process. Utah-based attorney Skye Lazaro, who has experience with international custody cases, says Croatia’s participation in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction could ultimately help the family.
“In this case, it’s a good thing and a benefit that they are part of this Hague Convention,” Lazaro said.
However, Lazaro explained that the process can be slow due to translation requirements and court procedures in the foreign country.
“It requires retaining an attorney in that country who can translate the documents into Croatian and provide all the necessary information to a court,” Lazaro said. “That stuff just takes time.”
If local legal efforts stall, the family can formally petition under the Hague Convention, which may speed up the process, though it could still take several weeks.
“To have to continually say goodbye every day is very hard,” Seymour said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster.”
As the legal battle continues, the family is also facing mounting expenses, including short-term housing in Croatia and international legal fees. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover costs and pay for the children’s flight home.
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