Madsen at height of his game

Some Utah football fans might still be lamenting the loss of receivers Paris Warren and Steve Savoy, who may each get selected in this weekend's NFL draft. If the Utes only had a receiver like Warren or Savoy on this year's team for Brian Johnson to throw to ...

Uh, actually they do.

Senior wide receiver John Madsen possesses everything Warren and Savoy had and more. He's taller, can jump higher and, get this, he's faster.

When NFL scouts came to town to watch Savoy and Warren work out last month, Madsen tagged along and may have impressed the scouts even more than his former teammates.

Besides his 39-inch vertical leap, he ran 4.50 in the 40-yard dash, which was faster than both Warren and Savoy and also better than the posted time by USC receiver Mike Williams, who is expected to be a top 10 pick today.

"Maybe because I'm bigger people think I'm slower, but that's not really the case," Madsen said. "I grew up kind of small, but the bigger I got, the faster I got. Hopefully it keeps going that way."

At 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds, Madsen is a size most people figure is better suited for a tight end. But Madsen is definitely a wide receiver, one whom coach Kyle Whittingham says will be one of the team's top offensive threats this fall.

Unfortunately for Ute fans, they won't be able to see Madsen perform in today's Red-White game. In last Saturday's scrimmage, Madsen sprained his shoulder and the Utes opted to keep him out as a "precautionary measure." He is expected to be 100 percent when fall camp opens in August.

Whittingham can't say enough good things about the former Snow College receiver, who never even played a down of high school football.

"We're counting on him to be one of our playmakers this year," Whittingham said. "John's got all the tools — size, speed, intelligence, good hands. He has all the physical talents to be a great wide receiver."

Last year, most of the attention went to Warren, who caught 80 passes, and Savoy, who grabbed 67. Madsen finished tied for third on the team with Travis LaTendresse with 27 receptions, gaining 377 yards with five touchdowns.

"He was overshadowed last year because there were only so many catches to go around last year and his role was diminished," Whittingham said. "This year he's going to be in a featured role."