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FOR STARTERS: Utah Tech (0-0/0-0 WAC) opens up its second full NCAA Division I FCS season (third overall) against defending Big Sky Conference champion No. 7/7 Sacramento State.
* - Utah Tech and Sacramento State met for the first time ever on the gridiron last year in the 2021 Fall season opener in St. George (9/4/21), a game the Trailblazers dropped by a 19-7 count.
* - Saturday's opener will mark the second time in Utah Tech's NCAA Division I FCS era that the Trailblazers will have faced a ranked opponent. In the 2021 Spring opener (and UT's FCS debut game), the Trailblazers claimed a 26-14 road victory at then-No. 22 Tarleton State (Stat Perform) on Feb. 27, 2021.
* - Utah Tech is 3-13 all-time in season openers (1-2 in the Paul Peterson era; 1-8 on the road overall) in its NCAA era, and has dropped four of its last six openers overall. However, the last season-opening win did come on that road at Tarleton (2/27/21).
* - UT is combined 2-24 all-time vs. opponents (FCS and D-II) ranked in the AFCA top-25 Coaches' Poll, which included an 0-6 mark last fall.

QUICK HITS: Utah Tech broke fall camp with 67 returnees from last year's team, including all 11 principle starters on defense, and 10 more on offense. In all, 63 players on UT's 105-player roster either saw game time, or redshirted last season.
* - Along with the 42 newcomers on this year's roster, Utah Tech also welcomed two new coordinators to its coaching staff. On offense, new OC Craig Stutzmann brings his "Spread and Shred" offense to St. George. Prior to his arrival to UT, Stutzmann spent two seasons at Washington State, where as co-OC and QB coach, he helped lead the PAC-12's top red zone offense in 2020 and the conference's third-best passing game.
* - New co-Defensive Coordinator Shane Hunter joins the Blazer staff after six seasons at Virginia, where he was inside linebackers and corner backs coach.
* - Hunter, along with fellow co-DC Misi Tupe, inherit a pair of all-WAC performers from last season, including sophomore safety Tyrell Grayson, who earned 2021 Hero Sports Freshman All-America honors after led all of FCS with 79 solo tackles during the regular season, and led the WAC in total tackles with 103.
* - Sophomore LB Will Leota also earned all-WAC honors as a true freshman after  finished third on the team in tackles with 54 (15th in the WAC), including 15 solo stops.

HI MY NAME IS...: This Saturday's game will be the program's first college football game as Utah Tech University. 

        This past July 1, the institution rebranded to the new moniker, replacing "Dixie State University," while the "Trailblazers" nickname remained in place. 

NEW RADIO HOME OF UT ATHLETICS: Along with the new name, Utah Tech University Athletics announced in July a new five-year multimedia agreement with Canyon Media Corporation. 
        Beginning this fall through the 2026-27 season, all Trailblazer football and men's basketball games, including comprehensive pregame and postgame coverage, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Southern Utah (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City), and streamed on STGNews.com.
        The agreement will also feature select coverage of several other Trailblazer Athletic events throughout the year.

AND A NEW VOICE: In conjuction of the new radio home announcement, longtime Utah sportscaster Rod Zundel was introduced as director of broadcasting and multimedia content for Trailblazer Athletics, and will serve as the new radio voice for football and men's basketball.
        Along with complete radio coverage, Zundel will host "The Paul Peterson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on Fox Sports Southern Utah at 6 p.m. He will also oversee the production of several weekly Trailblazer student-athlete, coach and team online video feature stories, along with other digital content throughout the year. 
        Joining Zundel in the broadcast booth this season is former NFL and Super Bowl winning quarterback Jay Schroeder, who will provide color analysis, while former UT linebacker Steve Cook (2006-08) will serve as sideline reporter for select games. 

UT/SACRAMENTO TIES: Even though Saturday's tilt is the second-ever game between Utah Tech and Sacramento State, two members of the UT coaching staff are very familiar with the Hornet program.
        Head Coach Paul Peterson served as offensive coordinator and QB coach at Sac State from 2012-17, while OL Coach/Run Game Coordinator John Hughes was a defensive assistant and assistant defensive line coach there in 2013-14.

WELCOME TO THE WAC: Utah Tech will also take the field on Saturday as a full football member of the Western Athletic Conference.
        Utah Tech will play five conference games this year, beginning with a road date at in-state rival and new WAC member Southern Utah up the road in Cedar City on Saturday, Sept. 24. 
        Due to previous game contract agreements last fall, the Blazers were only able to play a limited three-game WAC schedule. 

HITTING THE TRAIL: After traveling nearly 13,300 miles for five road dates last season, Utah Tech will "only" have to navigate a grand total of 7,424 miles to-and-from its six road dates this season.
        Three of the Blazers' six road games will be played in the Beehive State, with the first coming on Sept. 17 at Weber State in Ogden (676 total miles), followed a week later by a 102-mile round trip on I-15 to Cedar City to open WAC play at SUU.
        Utah Tech will also stay in-state for its season finale at FBS member BYU, which will be played in Provo (516 miles) on Saturday, Nov. 19.
        Including the round trip to Sacramento this weekend (912 miles), the Blazers will fly to and from Cedar Falls, Iowa (2,544 miles) for their game at Northern Iowa (Oct. 15), and will make their longest trip of the season to Nacogdoches, Texas (2,674 miles) to play at Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 29.
        Last season, UT covered 4,697 round trip miles to play at Delaware (10/30/21), which was the longest trip to play a football game in the program's NCAA era. 

UTAH TECH VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: After playing six top-25 teams in arguably the toughest schedule in the entire FCS subdivision last fall, Utah Tech has "only" three top-25 opponents on its 2022 docket heading into the season opener.
        Including Saturday's game at No. 7/7 Sacramento State, UT is slated to face four top-25 teams - ALL ON THE ROAD - including dates at No. 20/20 Weber State (9/17), at No. 21/21 Northern Iowa (Oct. 15), and at No. 10/10 SFA (10/29). 
        Utah Tech is 3-24 all-time (2-24 AFCA) against ranked opponents in its NCAA era, which includes 14 years as a Division-II program, and two years at the D-I FCS subdivision. 
        The Trailblazers' 2021 gauntlet was rated as the second-toughest schedule at the FCS level (.640) behind only Northern Iowa (.651) by the folks at WarrenNolan.com. 
        UT's 2021 slate featured seven 2021 FCS Fall playoff teams, and the 10 FCS teams the Blazers played combined to post 82-39 (.677) overall record.  
        Utah Tech did split a pair of games against ranked opponents during the Spring 2021 season, highlighted by its third-ever triumph over a ranked foe in the opener at then-No. 22 Tarleton (Stat Perform ranking, 26-14; 2/27/21). UT also dropped a hard-fought 37-27 decision at then-No. 9 Kennesaw State (AFCA and Stat Perform; 3/20/21). 
        Prior to the Tarleton road result, the last UT win vs. a ranked opponent came on Nov. 3, 2018, in a 52-45 thriller at home against then-No. 6 Colorado School of Mines (D-II/RMAC). DSU claimed its first win over a ranked opponent in a 38-31 victory at then-No. 23 Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction (D-II) in 2016.

UTAH TECH RECEIVING VOTES: Though Utah Tech has not officially kicked off the season, the Trailblazers have already done something that they haven't done in the program's NCAA era - received votes in the AFCA FCS Preseason Top-25 Coaches' poll
        UT received two votes in the AFCA's current poll, which marked just the second time since making the move to the D-I FCS level that the program had received votes in any poll.
        The first occasion came after the Blazers' road win at Tarleton in their FCS debut (2/27/21), which garnered them 14 votes in the following week's Stat Perform FCS Top-25 poll. 
        UT has only received votes in the top-25 just one other time in the program's NCAA era, that came during the 2019 season when the Blazers received 37 votes in the AFCA D-II Coaches' Poll (10/20/19) after a 6-1 start to that campaign. 

O CAPTAINS! MY CAPTAINS!: Utah Tech will take the field in 2022 with four team captains leading the charge. As selected by their teammates, this season's captains are senior offensive lineman Nathen Aceves, redshirt freshman quarterback Victor Gabalis, senior linebacker Malaki Malaki, and senior safety Darrius Nash.

2022 POSITION BY POSITION SEASON PREVIEW: 
• Paul Peterson (Boston College, 2005) returns for his fourth season as Trailblazer head coach. Peterson is 11-16 through his first three campaigns at Utah Tech, including an 8-3 mark in the program's final D-II season in 2019, and a 2-3 record in UT's FCS debut in Spring 2021. 
• Peterson welcomes back eight coaches from last season, though his staff will have a new offensive and a new co-defensive coordinator heading into the 2022 campaign. 
• Craig Stutzmann (Hawai'i, 2002) was named Utah Tech's new OC this past January. Stutzmann spent the previous two seasons at Washington State, where he was the Cougars' co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In his first season at WSU, he helped lead the PAC-12's top red zone offense and the conference's third-best passing game. Prior to his time in the Palouse, Stutzmann served in the same role at his alma mater, Hawai'i (2016-19), where he helped guide UH to three bowl games, including a 10-5 record and a 38-34 victory over BYU in the Hawai'i Bowl in 2019.
• Shane Hunter (BYU, 2011) was named Utah Tech's new co-DC just before the start of UT's spring camp. Hunter, who will split DC duties with current linebackers coach Misi Tupe, spent the last six seasons as a defensive assistant coach on then-head coach Bronco Mendenhall's staff at Virginia from 2016-21. Hunter coached the inside linebackers from 2016-20, before moving over to the safety position last season. He helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2019 ACC Coastal Division title and to an appearance at the 2020 Orange Bowl. Prior to his time at Virginia, Hunter served three seasons as a graduate assistant on Mendenhall's staff at BYU, where he worked with the defensive front seven and special teams. He also spent two seasons as defensive line coach at Snow College during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

QUARTERBACK
• Utah Tech broke camp with five quarterbacks on its roster. Redshirt sophomore Kobe Tracy started in UT's final five games last season and saw time in eight games overall. He threw for 1,664 yards and eight touchdowns in those eight games, while completing nearly 61 percent (147-241-8) of his attempts. 
• Two newcomers will also figure into the mix at the top of the Trailblazers' depth chart in redshirt freshmen transfers Boone Abbott and Victor Gabalis. 
• Abbott signed to play at Hawai'i in 2019, where he appeared in one game during the 2020 season (at UNLV; 12/12/20).
• Gabalis played in three games at Washington State in 2021, highlighted by 180-yard, two-touchdown effort off the bench in the second half of the 2021 Sun Bowl (12/31) against Central Michigan.
• UT also brought back redshirt sophomore Kaleb Hatch, while freshman AJ Perez will provide depth at the position.  

RUNNING BACK
• Sophomore Quali Conley is Utah Tech's top returning rusher this fall. Conley played in all 11 games last season and finished with 263 yards on 69 carries and one rushing TD. Conley also caught 24 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown. 
• Conley enjoyed a solid 2021 Spring debut season, which saw him carry the ball 83 times for an even 400 net yards and four touchdowns. He also caught 14 balls out of the backfield for 207 yards and two more touchdowns.
• Junior Thomas Kinslow transferred to Utah Tech after two seasons at NJCAA power Riverside City College, where rushed for a combined 1,273 yards and racked up 1,571 all-purpose yards with 12 touchdowns.
• Redshirt freshman Bretton Stone, who transferred from Snow (UT) JC, had a solid fall camp and could see time in the backfield, along with sophomore Malakai Fakahua, and freshmen Khalid Robinson, Jeter Fenton and Thomas Jones.

WIDE RECEIVER
• Utah Tech's primary receiving corps returns this fall, including three players who caught at least 30 passes last season. Junior Rickie Johnson led the position group with 38 receptions for 387 yards (10.2 ypc) and one touchdown. 
• Meanwhile, junior Keith Davis racked up a team-high 479 receiving yards on 35 catches with a pair of TDs. Fellow junior Michael Moten also had two touchdown catches to go with 422 yards on 30 receptions, as did sophomore David Fisher who racked up 276 yards on 18 receptions with a pair of TDs.  
• UT also returns senior Deven Osborne (5 rec., 87 yards) junior Malcolm Ross-Turner (4 rec., 65 yds) and sophomore Damani Wilks (11 rec., 111 yards), along with redshirts Cailin Daniels, AJ Simpson-Battle and Keishaun Dudley, who will add depth to the corps. In addition, Washington State transfer Joey Hobert will figure into the mix. Hobert played in 13 games at WSU in 2021 and finished the year with 15 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown.
• Utah Tech has two tight ends who will be called upon this season in sophomore returnee Jay McEuen (3 rec., 24 yds) and true freshman Eric Olsen.

OFFENSIVE LINE
• For the second-straight year, Utah Tech's offensive line returns virtually intact with 13 players who saw time in at least one game last fall, including eight linemen who recorded starts. In all, 16 linemen return for 2022, three of whom redshirted last fall.  
• Senior Nate Aceves, who started in five of UT's first six games in 2021, is back to anchor the unit at left guard, while true freshman Stryker Rashid is listed below him on the depth chart.  
• Sophomore Ty Hyde (11 games/9 starts) and redshirt freshman Alex Foster (2 games) will handle duties at left tackle, while redshirt freshman David Shinn (4 games) and junior Kanai'i Eldredge (11 games/9 starts) go 1-2 on the depth chart at center. 
• On the right side, junior guard Walter Pongia was a mainstay on the line last year, starting in all 10 games he played, with redshirt freshman Nolan Reynolds (3 games) serving as his primary backup. Meanwhile sophomore tackles Bayo Kinnike (9 games/5 starts) and Cannon Panfiloff (9 games/7 starts) are back with a combined 18 games of experience from last year. 

DEFENSIVE LINE
• Utah Tech welcomes back nine defensive linemen who saw playing time, including five who saw significant minutes last season. 
• Sophomore Syrus Webster burst onto the scene in 2021, leading the line with 40 total tackles (24 solo) in 11 games, which included 5.0 TFLs and two sacks, along with a pair of QB hurries and one forced fumble. 
• Senior Bradley Brown also enjoyed a solid debut season as a Trailblazer, tallying 18 tackles (13 solo) while finishing second on the line with 3.0 sacks and finished with 4.0 TFLs in 10 games overall. 
• Senior Dylan Hendrickson is back for his final go-round after he racked up 11 stops in 11 games last year, including 2.5 TFLs and his 11th-career sack.
• Sophomores Max Christensen III (11 G/16 tackles) and Laytan Tanuvasa (10 G/9 tackles/2.0 TFLs/1.0 sacks) also return following solid debut seasons. 
• Junior Sam Kanongata'a (4G/3 tkls/0.5 TFLs) moves over from linebacker to defensive end behind Webster, while freshman Justin Kirkland and redshirt freshman Micah Vuki will see time at the nose and DT spots, respectively.

LINEBACKERS
• Utah Tech's linebacking corps is as deep and talented as it has ever been, with six of the nine in the unit returning after seeing significant time last season.
• Senior Malaki Malaki anchors the unit after he led the Blazer defense with 36 assisted tackles and finished second overall in both solo stops (58) total tackles (94). Malaki also recorded a team-best 9.5 TFLs, including 2.0 sacks, to go with two QBHs and one forced fumble.  
• Sophomore Will Leota also enjoyed an impressive collegiate debut season after he finished third on the team in both solo tackles (39) and total tackles (54) on his way to second team all-WAC honors. Leota racked up 4.5 TFLs with one sack, two QBHs, and picked off one of UT's nine interceptions in 2021. 
• Senior Kaejin Smith-Bejgrowicz split time between the defensive backfield and linebacker last season, and did not miss a beat. KSB tallied 38 tackles (24 solo) along with 3.5 TFLs and one sack in 11 games last season. 
• Redshirt junior Trace Tupe is also back from an injury that derailed his strong start to the 2021 campaign. Tupe made 10 tackles (8 solo) with 2.5 TFLs in his first two games before suffering a season-ending injury vs. Weber State (9/11/21).

DEFENSIVE BACKS
• Utah Tech boasts arguably one of the most talented and deepest secondary units in the WAC and FCS, headlined by sophomore safety Tyrell Grayson. Grayson finished the 2021 regular season as the unofficial NCAA D-I FCS leader in solo tackles (79) and led the WAC in total tackles (103) on his way to second team all-conference and HERO Sports Freshman All-America honors. 
• Grayson also collected 3.5 TFLs with one sack, led the defense with three forced fumbles, co-led the defense with two interceptions, and finished with 12 PBUs.
• In fact, five of the top-10 tacklers on the UT defense played in the secondary. Senior DB Darrius Nash is back to full strength after he racked up 49 tackles (31 solo) and three sacks in nine games before missing the final two games in 2021.
• Junior CB Colby Williams started in 10 of 11 games played last season and led the Blazer secondary with 21 PBUs, along with one interception and 33 total tackles (26 solo). 
• Sophomore CB Devyn Perkins was just as stout, racking up 14 PBUs and 31 tackles (26) in 11 games, and co-led the defense with two INTs, highlighted by a school record 95-yard pick six in 2021 season finale vs. Missouri State (11/20), 
• Senior Devin Chandler (21 tkls/1 INT/5 PBU) saw time at both corner and safety in nine games last season, as did sophomore Amari Duncan (20 tkls/2 PBU/1 QBH) in eight games. 
• Norfolk State transfer Steve Ashby, along with sophomores Kyle Floyd and Jordan Scott, and freshmen Jonah Henry, Antonio Mayes, Jayden Sheridan, Bryant Weekly, and Jagger Williams, will also figure in the mix in the backfield and will provide more depth to an already deep position set. 

SPECIAL TEAMS
• Utah Tech returns every primary kicker and specialist back from last season. Sophomore PK Connor Brooksby is back after he went a perfect 19-of-19 in PAT tries and 10-of-17 in FG attempts in 2021. 
• Brooksby tied two program NCAA-era records with 8 PATs and a 50-yard FG in the win vs. Fort Lewis (11/14/21), while his 10 FGM were the second-highest single season total in program history.
• Sophomore punter Andrew Day punted 41 times for 2,230 yards (41.3 ypp) last season. He booted eight punts of 50 yards or more, with 11 punts downed inside the 20 yard line.
• Day recorded 20 fair catches and had only four touchbacks. He connected a career-long 76 yard kick vs. Weber State (9/11/21), which was the third-longest punt in the program's NCAA era.
• Day also kicked off 42 times and recorded 18 touchbacks.
• Fisher returned 13 kickoffs for 303 yards (23.3 ypr). He rattled off a season and career best 33 yard return vs. Tarleton State (10/16/21).
• Davis led UT with seven punt returns for 79 total yards (11.3 ypr).
• Sophomore Baylor Payan is back for his second season as long snapper on punts and FG/PAT attempts. 

#AB3FOREVER: Linebacker Malaki Malaki has once again been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2022 season. The senior captain is the second Trailblazer player to wear the coveted number since the 2021 spring season. 
        The awarding of the No. 3 jersey has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. UT Head Football Coach Paul Peterson noted that the No. 3 jersey would be awarded to a student-athlete who best exemplified Reinhardt's leadership, both on and off the field. 
        "When we lost a great young man in Abraham [in 2019], we wanted to honor him and his legacy the best we possibly could," Coach Peterson said. "Abe was a perfect representative of our team culture which focuses on toughness, hard work, trust and accountability.
        "Malaki exemplifies everything that we are trying to build here at Utah Tech. He is tough, works tremendously hard, is a great student and leader. Malaki will continue to wear AB3's jersey this season in honor of his legacy."

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Heading into Saturday's season opener, eight Trailblazers enter the game with some impressive streaks on the line.
        On offense, Tracy will look to extend his streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass to six-straight games, while Davis (11-straight games), Conley (10-straight games) and Johnson (9-straight games) will look to extend their collective pass reception streaks.
        Meanwhile on defense, Malaki and Nash have recorded at least one tackle in 27-straight games, while Colby Williams (14-straight), Grayson (11-straight) and Floyd (10-straight) will seek to continue their impressive double-digit game tackle streaks. 

RECORDS WATCH: We are on "Records Watch 2022" as several Blazers look to move up the career charts as we get underway on Saturday.    
        On offense, Conley (663 yards) stands just 23 yards and one rushing TD away from cracking the top-10 lists on both lists. Meanwhile, Tracy (1,819 yards/10 TDs) needs 103 passing yards and two TD passes to move into solo seventh on both of those lists.
        On defense, Malaki (224) needs 52 more total tackles to become UT's career leader in that category, and is 3.0 TFLs shy of vaulting to second (22.0 TFL) on that list.
        In addition, Hendrickson (11.0) enters his final season just 3.0 sacks shy of becoming UT's career sacks leader. 
        Brooksby (10 FG/19 PATs) is also poised to move up the charts as he is two field goals and two PATs away from vaulting into fourth and ninth place, respectively, on those kicking lists. 

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech opens its five-game home slate against former RMAC rival Chadron State on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff inside Greater Zion Stadium is set for 7 p.m.