Presuming the breakout wildcat/running back reduces his workload in the defensive backfield in order to maximize his energy, the two most likely candidates to replace him are former starter Nate Ritchie and true freshman Johnathan Hall.
However, Utah’s coaches are cognizant of not reducing Vaki’s efficacy by playing him too many snaps and wearing him out. The initial idea to avoid such a problem was to keep his number of offensive touches relatively small — but that has quickly proven untenable, given his electric ability with the ball in his hands. From there, the messaging became about finding the right balance for the sophomore from Antioch, Calif.
“After he calmed down and felt like he could move, he did really nice. You saw Nate make several really good tackles, he provided a very good presence in the post, he had two or three good quality reps in man coverage. Nate came in and did exactly what we hoped he would do, and that’s provide at least a suitable substitute until Cole was able to get back,” said Shah. “And not only was he suitable, he really excelled in some areas that we thought that he would. So it was nice.
“We’ll see,” Ritchie said with a shrug. “We’ll see what Coach Scalley has to say about it. We’ll see how Sione does, how much he’s running around. I’m gonna prepare my best so I’m able to help out.”“You’re also gonna see Johna Hall if we continue to use Sione more and more on O,” said Whittingham, “… because Nate is really more of a free, and Sione plays more of a strong safety for us.”