 "Photo: Mike Mangum")
SAN DIEGO—Four bowl game wins, multiple All-American and All-Mountain West Conference wins and a defensive MVP award are just a few of the accomplishments the seniors can boast as they finished out the seasons as Utes with a 37-27 win over Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl.
David Reed, Zane Beadles, Robert Johnson, Stevenson Sylvester and Koa Misi are just a few of the seniors who will be missing from the Utah lineup next season, but they made their mark in the final game and season of their collegiate careers.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the football team than I was this evening, particularly the senior class,” said head coach Kyle Whittingham. “It was important to us. We’ve talked as a football team...sending these guys out the right way.”
With the win against the Bears in the Poinsettia Bowl, the Utes extended their bowl game winning streak to nine, and the seniors added Cal to their list of bowl victories—a list that includes Alabama, Navy and Tulsa.
“Me getting recruited here, I was feeling like I could probably win some rings, and I’ve been here for three years and won three rings,” Johnson said. “I feel like me coming to Utah was ‘come to Utah and you win bowl rings.’ ”
Leaving Utah with a winning record isn’t the only thing they will be taking with them, however, as the Utah senior class has been racking up records and awards all throughout the season.
Sylvester was chosen as the defensive MVP of the game as he led the team with eight tackles and had a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“Stevenson plays the best when the lights are the brightest,” Whittingham said. “He’s really a guy that excels in those situations and is well-deserving of the defensive MVP award.”
Sylvester wasn’t the only Ute making noise on defense, as Johnson earned his sixth interception of the season and 13th of his career with a pick in the fourth quarter and ranks in the top 10 in school history in both categories.
Misi also got in on the action, earning six tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss in the win.
Although the defense stole the show in the second half, the offense also got in on the record-breaking plays.
Reed broke the single-season record for receptions and receiving yards with 81 and 1,188, respectively. Both records were set on a 39-yard catch in the fourth quarter.
Although Beadles is a name rarely heard from the field, he has been named to numerous All-American lists.
“Beadles has too many to list,” Whittingham said. “A couple first-team All-American and second and third, but above all that, he is a great person. He is a mechanical engineering graduate as of now, he’s a team leader and four-year starter. I cannot say enough about what Beadles has meant to this football program over the last four years.”
Despite having accumulated many personal honors along the way, the Utah seniors agreed on one thing: Getting the win and going out with a win was the best reward they could have asked for.
“The bowl victory is amazing, (the records) just came along with being part of this great program,” Reed said. “It can’t get any better than the way we finished right there. I couldn’t be more thankful. It’s a happy ending, that’s all I can think.”
p.fieldsted@chronicle.utah.edu
