Breakout Performance: Van Fillinger
Utah has been waiting for Van Fillinger to start making his impact for their defense. The second year defensive end was a four star recruit and the second highest rated recruit in Utah’s 2020 class. Fillinger played sparingly in 2020, and through the first three games of 2021 had yet to record the first sack of his career. That would change in a big way in the Pac-12 opener for the Utes as Fillinger put together a big game helping the defense carry Utah to a 24 – 13 win over Washington State.
Fillinger picked up the first sack of his career in the first quarter. He ran a stunt to the inside, but recognized that the quarterback was trying to escape pressure to the left, Fillinger retraced his steps to the outside and closed quickly to wrap up the quarterback. He would strike on a stunt again late in the third quarter. This time he powered through the blocker and tripped up the quarterback for his second sack of the game. The young defensive end was making plays but he was still not done.
With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Fillinger maintained contain at his end spot and disengaged the blocker to bring down the quarterback before he could escape the pocket. Fillinger played smart and showed good athleticism as he closed on the quarterback quickly once he disengaged blockers. The defense created pressure on the quarterback and Fiillinger led the way with his three sacks in the game.
After not recording a sack in his career before Saturday, Van Fillinger made 5 tackles and 3 sacks against Washington State. He was one of the stars for a Utah defense that recorded eight sacks and intercepted three passes in the game. Fillinger’s emergence was a big boost for the Utes and if he can continue to be a star throughout the Pac 12 schedule, the defense will be a tough match-up for anyone. Utah had been waiting for Fillinger to make his mark and he had his fingerprints all over the Washington State quarterbacks on Saturday.
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