Around The Hill, 1/12/2022: “Way-Too-Early” Top 25 Polls, DL Coach Sione Po’uha, Bamidele Olaseni

In Football News...

• The final AP poll was released with Utah finishing at #12. Others of interest include BYU #19, Oregon #22, USU #24. Each FBS school in the state finished in the Top-25.

• Here is a detailed look at all of the AP ballots. Utah’s highest mark was #6 from Leah Vann who covers LSU. Utah’s lowest mark was #16 from Steve Batterson who covers Iowa.

• Jon Wilner at Mercury News released his “ridiculously early” top-25 rankings for 2022. Wilner placed Utah at #6, Oregon at #17, and USC at #24. One surprise was Florida at #7.
• In ESPN’s “way-too-early” top-25 rankings, Utah checks in at #7. Other Pac-12 teams included Oregon at #12 and USC at #22.
• In Bleacher Reports “super early” top-25, they put Utah at #5. Oregon was the only other Pac-12 team included, checking in at #13.
• In the Athletic’s “too early” top-25, Utah is ranked #4. Oregon was the only other Pac-12 team at #16. ($)
• In Sports Illustrated’s “way-too-early” top-25 rankings, Utah comes in at #5. Other Pac-12 teams include USC at #13 and Oregon at #20.

• In 247 Sports’ “way-too-early” top-25 rankings, Utah is #8. Other Pac-12 teams include Oregon at #13 and USC at #23.
• In CBS’s “way-too-early” top-25 rankings, Utah is ranked #13. Other Pac-12 teams include USC at #14 and Oregon at #18.
• Pro Football Focus ranked former Ute Marcus Williams as the #8 free agent in this year’s class.
• Utah is tied for the 9th best odds to win the College Football National Championship next year.

• Defensive line coach Sione Po’uha announced his retirement. Thanks for everything, coach!

• Hans Olsen and Scott Garrard shared their end of season Top 10 players in the state of Utah.
• Bamidele Olaseni was given a shoutout by the NFL.

• I have a feeling Jaylon Glover is gonna get us a lot of commits over the next few years. Probably not this one though.

In Basketball News...

• You can check out Craig Smith’s weekly press conference.

• Update on Branden Carlson

In Gymnastics News...

• This is one of the biggest meets of the year. Be there!

• The Red Rocks got some well-deserved recognition for their performance last week.

Around the Pac-12...

• Dan Lanning, the new Oregon head coach, was the defensive coordinator for the National Championship winning Georgia Bulldogs. His first game as the Oregon head coach will be against his former team, Georgia.