The Player Watch, highlighting Utah Utes running back Jaylon Glover.
- Jaylon Glover
- Position: Running Back
- Utah Utes
- 5’8” 205 lbs
Who is Jaylon Glover?
Jaylon Glover was a 3⭐️ in the composites. He attended Lake Gibson High in Florida and was a top 500 recruit of the 2022 class. During his time at Lake Gibson High, Glover ran for 6,096 yards with 80 rushing touchdowns. During his Senior season, Glover ran for 2,073 yards with 26 rushing touchdowns. He also brings a passing profile with 31 receptions for 335 yards during his high school career. Glover concluded his high school career as the Class 6A Player of the Year.
For the Utah Utes, Glover has been able to carve out a role in his first two seasons, appearing in 22 games. This past season, Glover became a focal point of the offense with the plethora injuries at the position. He ran for 562 yards on 137 carries to help lead a struggling offense find their identity. Glover stepped up and will become a focal point in 2024.
Positional Outlook
The Utah Utes lost their leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson to the portal this offseason. Micah Bernard, who started the season opener against Florida, missed the majority of the season due to injury but was able to return for the bowl game. Jaylon Glover has every chance to seize the lead back role.
Glover has been part of the rotation since he came in as a true Freshman in 2022. Utah deploys a two-back system, we just have to see who becomes the lead back. Bernard has been in the system for four years and figures to be the potential RB1. However, it cannot be understated how effective Glover has been.
Overall, Bernard does have the better receiving profile. One could see Bernard being the 3rd down back and the second option with Glover as the main runner. Glover is more of a bruising back while Bernard brings elusiveness to the position. Bernard has never carried more than 106 times in a season, while Glover handled it 137 times this past season alone. He did so with only 1 fumble, which took place in the bowl game against Northwestern. I see Glover as the lead back with Bernard coming in on passing downs and to spell Glover. Either way, both players will be in a rotational situation where they benefit without having all the wear and tear the position brings.
Strengths
Jaylon Glover is a physical back who can get to the second level quickly. Glover had 15 runs over 10 yards with 25 missed tackles forced. He averaged 2.64 yards after contact this past season. Teams loaded the box to stop the run, as Utes’ QB Cam Rising missed the year recovering from a torn ACL. Those are good numbers for a young back who is trying to find his footing within the program.
Jaylon Glover's TD claims the lead for the Utes. pic.twitter.com/1J7u04I1sN
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) September 9, 2023
Glover also has good vision with good contact balance. The biggest strength so far is that he’s earned the trust in this coaching staff. Glover will have a full offseason to continue to refine his craft to win the lead role in the RB room.
Pathway to Success
Jaylon Glover will benefit with Micah Bernard coming back. Glover was asked to take on a much bigger workload than anyone expected in 2023. Prior to the start of that season, expectations were for Glover to be the RB3 to spell the top two players, continue to learn the system and get stronger in the weight room. All that changed after Bernard was ruled out for the season after the first game. It made Glover better for it in the long run, though, as he showed he could handle the workload and the lights weren’t too bright for him. He gained the trust of the coaching staff and it sets him up for a bigger season in 2024. It also gives Glover confidence, knowing he belongs at this competition level.
Last year, Glover had Ja’Quinden Jackson to work with. Jackson was a converted quarterback who is still learning the position himself, meaning Glover couldn’t get the kind of feedback needed to help him succeed. With Bernard being a true veteran in the room, he will be able to give Glover guidance and little nuances that only a veteran can give a young player still learning to hone his craft.
Areas of Improvement & Concern
Jaylon Glover had a successful year, but he has not shown the lateral agility and explosiveness that Ja’Quinden Jackson has shown. When Glover is running the ball it appears his focus is to find the hole and get through the first line instead of reading and reacting. It’s common for younger players to do this. They focus on not turning the ball over and accumulate positive yards instead of being an instinctive runner.
Glover put on weight to compete against the Power 5 schools, though some may like to see him shed 5-10 pounds. It could give him more explosiveness to get to the second level and beyond. Glover has put on over twenty pounds since high school and while it has helped him take on the workload and showcase his contact balance and power, the elusiveness he showed in high school is not there. After all, Glover’s career long run in college is only 30 yards. Glover might be asked to be a bruiser, but we’d like to see him trim down. It could give him the elusiveness and wiggle to become a more complete running back.
2024 Outlook
Jaylon Glover has two years under his belt and has been through the riggers of a full season. The Utah Utes leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12, where defense is optional. The Utes should fair better in the Big 12. While the Pac-12 as a whole had soft defenses, they individually had some stout teams on defense such as Oregon State, Oregon and Washington. Coming into the Big 12, Utah doesn’t have to worry about Oklahoma or Texas and face worse defenses as a whole.
Glover will not have to worry about a heavy box this season, either. Cam Rising is back and Utah went into the portal and grabbed a couple of wide receivers to threaten vertically. Glover will also have the help of Micah Bernard to help him during the season. And maybe, the duo can bring a potent one-two punch into the Big 12. Glover is primed for a breakout season and Ute fans should be excited for what’s to come in 2024.
Andy Pham
Andy is the creator of the Devy Digest. His passion is devy and C2C. Andy's Devy Diguest articles provide insightful, yet thoughtful commentary to give you a leg up on the devy prospects so you know how to approach your devy and C2C drafts. With The Devy Digest podcast, Andy provides episodes of interesting and exciting topics and when he invites guests, you get to be a fly on the wall, listening in on two people having a conversation where they give you a different perspective. Come, join the journey that is Andy's Devy Digest.