Devaughn Vele Shares Words of Wisdom At All Poly
Jun 18, 2022, 3:01 PM
Devaughn Vele #17 of the Utah Utes, left, is congratulated by teammates after scoring a touchdown on a first half pass reception during a college football game on October 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
(Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY- Utah football’s Devaughn Vele spent Friday afternoon imparting wisdom onto the up-and-coming talent going through All Poly’s annual football camp. Vele has had a very unlikely journey to becoming a key cog in the Utes’ 2022 offense and shared a bit of his story before the afternoon session of camp broke for a break.
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Who Is That?
Vele came to the Utes in 2019 via Rancho Bernardo High in Sand Diego, California after serving an LDS Church Mission to Samoa. Despite having good size and athleticism to work with, Vele was very under-the-radar out of high school and joined the Utes as a walk-on receiver.
It didn’t take long for Utah to realize exactly what they landed in Vele, and in his first fall camp with the Utes, earned a scholarship. However, that wouldn’t be the end of Vele’s hardship to find a place in college football.
All Hype, Not Much To Show
It didn’t take long for the Utes’ excitement over Vele to spill out to the media. Vele’s name was heard often as a standout in fall camp of 2019 and it was becoming expected that the talented receiver would be a big factor in the offense that upcoming season.
An untimely injury had different ideas. Vele ended up being sidelined for most of the season, only playing in four games. 2020 didn’t fair much better due to the Covid-19 Pandemic shortening the season to just five games. Vele did contribute two catches for 12 yards, but nothing terribly head turning.
So This Is What The Excitement Was About
Two years later, Vele finally had the opportunity to show off why he was quickly put on scholarship and the coaches were pumped to have him playing at Utah. 2021 was a bit of a breakout season for Vele who finished the year with 23 catches for 389 yards and a touchdown.
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His most notable game came against USC where he recorded four receptions for 84 yards while scoring his first touchdown off a flea-flicker that later was revealed to have been a mistake.
This all leads into the 2022 season where many are looking to Vele to be Utah’s top receiver and help the be more vertical down the sidelines. There is confidence Vele can have a big year for the Utes now that he’s healthier and more confident than he’s ever been.
