Whittingham said each of his backs brings "something different to the table" and that if they could be combined, they'd be one great player.

Poston is an elusive runner, whom Whittingham calls "a very good pass protector." Stowers, who is 25 pounds bigger than Poston, needs work in his blocking but has shown flashes this fall with his running. Mack is nearly the same size as Stowers (6-0, 219), and Whittingham has commended him for making the most strides this past week.

"All of them have strengths and weaknesses," said Schramm. "The guys are working hard and give good effort. Our biggest issue is consistency."

Another factor in the run game is Brent Casteel, who is listed as a receiver but ended up as the Utes' second-leading rusher a year ago with 262 yards on 51 carries.

"He's a receiver by trade, but he'll be used in a multitude of ways," said Whittingham of Casteel.

Another advantage over last year will be the addition of Brian Johnson at quarterback.

"The lack of an option element hurt us last year," Whittingham said. "(With Johnson) it opens up a lot of opportunities and possibilities."

So on Aug. 30, you should see No. 32, Asiata, in the Ute backfield with Johnson. But if he's not quite ready, it could be Poston, Mack or Stowers.

Ideally, the Utes will settle on one player by then and ride him for the whole season.

"It's always a positive to have a dominant tailback like we did with Quinton," Whittingham said. "If you can find a guy to carry the load, you can run the ball more effectively and it helps your whole offense."

---

2007 college RBs

This week, the Deseret Morning News previews the running-back situation at each school:

Thursday: BYU

Today: Utah

Saturday: Weber St., SUU

Sunday: Utah St.

---

E-mail: sor@desnews.com