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It's a natural assumption.

With junior quarterbacks Travis Wilson, Kendal Thompson and Adam Schulz all having starting experience, and with redshirt freshmen Brandon Cox and Conner Manning currently vying for the backup role ... and with true freshman Donovan Isom and junior transfer Jason Thompson and returned missionary Chase Hansen entering the mix last year — it's a lot to type, much less evaluate.

Something has to give.

Monday, we learned that Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is under the same impression.

"My guess is there may be one or two, or maybe even three, that get the itch to play sooner and they take their game elsewhere," he said during the first day of bowl prep. "We don't know."

This year saw a seesawing battle between Wilson and Kendal Thompson extend into the final week of fall camp — and then again through the conference slate until Thompson was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Wilson, as fans well know, was captain as a sophomore before doctors discovered an intracranial artery condition that cast doubt on his ability to ever play football again. After receiving his doctor's clearance, he showed up to summer conditioning a sculpted marvel, and he impressed coaches with his decision-making during fall camp.

Both Thompsons followed offensive coordinator Dave Christensen to the U. — Kendal operated a Christensen-influenced offense in high school and saw a chance to start at Utah, with a logjam at Oklahoma, and Jason played for Christensen at Wyoming and was once the heir apparent to Brett Smith.

Manning has one of the quickest releases in the recent memory of Utah running backs coach and longtime D-I head coach Dennis Erickson, and Cox has been described as one of Utah's most athletic and intelligent quarterbacks.

Then there's Isom, staying after practice to toss pinpoint spirals to backup receivers, and Hansen, who had a historic prep career at Lone Peak and was greeted by Whittingham last week when he got off the plane from Australia.

Accounting for them all can make your head spin.

Quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick said there's no way to make them all happy, though he's very proud of the professionalism his current bunch has shown.

"There just aren't enough reps for everybody to get what each of them would probably consider a fair chance," he said. "So we gather as much information as we can with every opportunity that we get."

Monday, that was during a developmental scrimmage, when Cox, Manning and Jason Thompson split reps.

Barring transfer, they are all due back for spring camp, with the possible exception of Thompson, who may still be rehabilitating.

And some may opt to move elsewhere on the field, not the map, Roderick said, as wideout Micah Thomas did in spring before transferring to Texas State. Jason Thompson, for one, is athletic enough that he's "capable of probably playing multiple positions," Roderick said.

Hansen was once recruited by schools as a safety and outside linebacker, but Whittingham said that right now, it's "Plan A, B and C" for him to play quarterback.

This is all getting ahead of ourselves, they agreed.

The focus this week is Colorado State, Roderick said, and preparing Wilson to beat the Rams.

He's proud of what his group has accomplished, even as they've been maligned for a lack of production, combining to go 210 for 349, with 2,381 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Utes ranked 90th in passing yards per game, but the seven interceptions were a third of last year's total.

Said Roderick: "The first conversation I had with the QBs in my very first quarterbacks meeting was, 'What would our record have been if we could just cut our turnovers in half?' Which I thought was a very realistic goal. I asked Travis, 'What if you go from 16 interceptions to eight?' Which I think is reasonable. 'How many more games do we win?' And he said, 'Probably two or three more games.' And I said, 'Exactly.'"

Utah won eight this year, in Year One of a new offense, he said.

With a little continuity, he expects even better play from Utah's quarterbacks.

Whoever they may be.

Twitter: @matthew_piper —

Las Vegas Bowl

O Utah vs. Colorado State, Dec. 20, 1:30 p.m. MST

TV • Ch. 4