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The best NFL Draft candidates have been in Indianapolis over the last four days to demonstrate their abilities to reporters, scouts, general managers, and coaches at the NFL Combine.
It gives players an opportunity to increase their draft stock and, if they haven’t already, to possibly catch a team’s attention. Out of the six athletes Utah sent to the combine, safety Cole Bishop stood out due to his impressive performance and positive social media buzz.
His 4.45 40-yard sprint speed, which placed third among all safeties, and his 39-inch vertical, which ranked fifth among safeties, effectively put an end to any doubts regarding his athletic ability.
Bishop might have used his connections to get into early second-round talks and possibly even have an opportunity to go late in the first round, according to Rivals’ Alex Markham. Although Bishop was thought to be an established performer in Salt Lake City, there were doubts about whether his physical attributes would hold up in the NFL.
When he met with the Eagles and they asked him to shoot three jumpers, he may have had his worst combined performance when he admitted to missing all three.
College football is a whole different animal. The NFL is currently without its two biggest coaching stars following the retirement of Nick Saban and the return of Jim Harbaugh. Though not as flashy as Saban or Harbaugh, there are still many great coaches at colleges across the nation. So who stands out among the others?
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel both published their own personal lists on Tuesday, naming the top 25 college football coaches in their eyes. Kyle Whittingham of Utah was ranked fifth by Mandel and eighth by Feldman.
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Mandel stated, “The Utes’ incredible number of injuries is why I give last year’s disappointing 8-5 campaign an asterisk.” At an obscure school, Whittingham has demonstrated amazing consistency. In the past ten years, Utah has fielded six teams ranked in the top 25, and it won back-to-back Pac-12 Championships in 2021 and 2022. The Utes are in a strong position to prevail in the Big 12.
With only Kansas’ Lance Leipold—ranked No. 2 on Mandel’s list and No. 3 on Feldman’s—becoming Whittingham’s highest-ranking Big 12 coach on both lists.
Feldman stated, “Whittingham is a well-known tough guy who always fields teams shaped in his image.” “The Utes should never be taken lightly; they are tough, unrelenting, and physical. In the last two years, the Utes have defeated USC three times, and his team had a 39-16 record during the previous four seasons.
Before the 2005 season, Whittingham succeeded Urban Meyer as Utah’s head coach. He has a 162-79 record and three conference championships—two in the Pac-12 and one in the Mountain West.
As he prepares for his 20th full season this autumn, where his Utes will probably be preseason favorites in their new Big 12 digs, he stands as the second-longest tenured head coach at the same school in the nation.
Besides Whittingham and Leipold, the only two Big 12 coaches listed on both lists were Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State (ranked No. 9 Mandel, No. 20 Feldman) and Chris Klieman of Kansas State (ranked No. 16 Mandel, No. 12 Feldman).
No. 21 on Mandel’s list was Iowa State’s Matt Campbell. Mandel and Feldman were No. 13 and No. 11, respectively, for former BYU quarterback and current Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
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