Kyle Whittingham would typically like to wait until after the season concludes to talk with a player about their next steps. Focus on the games ahead of you. Fight to go 1-0 each week. Focus on next season after the current one concludes.

But the Early Signing Period and the transfer portal and the coaching carousel spinning up earlier and earlier each year all help to make that approach pretty untenable.

“What used to be taboo, and you wait until the end of the season to handle all that type of business — it’s too late by then,” Whittingham said at his news conference on Monday. “You’ve got to get a good idea and a good handle on what you’re expecting from those guys that have the option to go either way.”

The big names are obviously Cameron Rising and Brant Kuithe. Neither have played this season for Utah, leaving the door open to a medical hardship waiver and a seventh year of eligibility.

Whittingham says the Utes are currently having discussions with more than just those two.

“We’ve got maybe a dozen guys in that boat that, at the end of the year, (are thinking) do I test the waters of the NFL, do I come back for another year? There’s quite a few guys. And we’ve already begun those discussions,” he said. “We’ve already done that. We don’t have all the answers but we’ve got a good idea of what to expect.”

Other guys who will have decisions to make include Cole Bishop, Jonah Elliss, Van Fillinger, Karene Reid, Devaughn Vele, and Ja’Quinden Jackson — just to name a few.

This offseason will feature a ton of moving parts for Utah. If guys decide to run it back, Utah could very well move into the Big 12 as the preseason favorite to win its new league right away.