When Utah basketball opened preseason training camp at the start of this week, there was one player on the Runnin’ Utes roster who was absent at practice — and for good reason.
Caleb Lohner, the former BYU and Baylor basketball forward, is busy suiting up for Kyle Whittingham’s football team right now.
“Obviously, he’s doing his thing on the football field and doing well,” Utah men’s basketball coach Craig Smith said.
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Lohner announced in May he was headed to the University of Utah on a football scholarship, and he has made a few plays for the No. 10 Utes during their 4-0 start to the football season.
He’s caught two passes from his tight end position — both for touchdowns — with one each coming in wins over Southern Utah and Utah State, respectively.
Lohner also blocked a field goal against the Aggies.
On his 11-yard touchdown grab in the 38-21 victory over Utah State, Lohner high-pointed the ball for the score. It gave Utah a 17-14 lead late in the first half, a lead the Utes wouldn’t relinquish after a slow start.
On Thursday, Smith was asked whether Lohner has done anything with the basketball program and when the Runnin’ Utes might see him on the court (he would be a walk-on in basketball).
If he plays both sports, Lohner would be competing at the college level from August to March with no break.
“Coach Whitt was great — him and I talked a couple times just, how does this look? Because it certainly has happened in the past, but it’s very rare. Just to be in that conversation, you know how exceptionally talented you have to be, so it’s been a big learning curve. We stay in touch,” Smith said, while adding that Lohner’s high school coach David Evans, is now on Utah’s staff as an assistant coach.
Smith left the door open for having Lohner join the program, with a wait-and-see approach.
“We’ll just see how things play out,” he said. “His intention, I know, is to play, but you just never know how that all goes through the football season and all that that entails, and then we’ll see where it goes.”
With football’s postseason running into the new year and the Utes, the Big 12 favorite, a College Football Playoff contender, Lohner would most likely join the basketball team sometime during Big 12 play — the Runnin’ Utes open league action on Dec. 31 at Baylor, his former team.
Lohner could be unavailable for basketball even longer if Utah makes the CFP and advances. The playoff quarterfinals are on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, the semifinals on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 and the national championship on Jan. 20.
“The good thing for Caleb in terms of the transition, I think it’ll be pretty seamless. He’s played basketball his whole life, and basketball is not like skiing, right? I mean, you get out there and go,” Smith said.
“But he has not done anything with our team in terms of on the floor, when we go do team outings, because his dedication, his priority needs to be where it is right now, and that’s with the football team.”
The football team, too, is hoping to utilize him more.
“Caleb Lohner is a weapon and I think we need to find more ways to use him. I’m sure Coach (Andy) Ludwig will. He’s got a big body and when he goes up on that jump ball at 6-7, he’s literally what, 13 feet up in the air? I mean he’s way up there, tough to defend, and you saw him make that nice catch tonight,” Whittingham said after the Utah State game, as the Deseret News previously reported.
While waiting to see if and when Lohner may join them on the basketball court, the Runnin’ Utes will settle for the opportunity of seeing a fellow basketball player make plays in football pads.
Utah senior guard Hunter Erickson played and roomed with Lohner during his time at BYU and is happy to see him have success on the football field.
“I think he’s been amazing. I was with him, we were together at BYU for two years, and we lived together both years there,” Erickson said. “And it was honestly always like something people would bring up, because you look at him, and he’s like — he literally looks like the statue of David, his face, and he’s built like those statues and he’s like, a legit 6-8. He’s, I don’t know, over 250 now.
“Every basketball player’s dream is, what could I do in football? And he did it. I think he’s just getting started. He’s got a long way to go. He’s an athlete and he’s showing it.”
