The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Football: Utes leave Saturday scrimmage feeling good

Football: Utes leave Saturday scrimmage feeling good

football 50.jpg

Saturday’s scrimmage proved worthwhile to football head coach Kyle Whittingham, but he still sees room for improvement.

“I thought it was a very good work day,” Kyle Whittingham said. “It was a clean scrimmage, very few penalties. We didn’t make every play we needed to make, you never know if you do, but it was good enough.”

Linebacker Jason Whittingham said it was exciting to see all the guys give it their best efforts but thinks they still have more to offer.

“I feel like today’s practice was a lot better than the last scrimmage,” Jason said. “I think the defense was a lot more physical. A lot of guys flying around, making plays. I think the whole team could use a little more tenacity.”

Defensive end Pita Taumoepenu said he saw someone earlier in the scrimmage take a shot at the quarterback, so he figured he would get in his own. Taumoepenu was able to get to the mobile Chase Hansen, but only after Hansen got the better of him.

“We just want to get better every day,” Taumoepenu said. “Every time we come here, we always compete. [Hansen] got me a couple times, so I have to improve myself, get better. I went to try and hit him, and I surprised Coach Whitt.”

Kyle Whittingham also agrees that the defense kicked up its aggressiveness. He likes what he is seeing on the field and hopes they can continue this upward trend.

“They’re flying around,” Kyle Whittingham said. “[I’m] pleased with their work ethic and how they’re approaching the game.”

Taumoepenu feels as though the defense is improving day by day and knows any one of the players can step up when their number is called.

“I believe in all of them,” Taumoepenu said. “I feel pretty good about this year. I feel like this year we’re going to make something special that people won’t expect.”

Travis Wilson was the only quarterback to score a touchdown and had a total of 98 yards on 10 completed passes. Hansen came close to equaling Wilson’s numbers, but a receiver dropped the ball in the end zone, causing Hansen to end the day with 90 yards on nine completed passes.

“Chase Hansen’s game, he’s a runner, and being live and being able to run the football is really his forte. That was taken away today to a certain extent with the quick whistles,” Kyle Whittingham said. “I thought they both performed pretty darn good.”

Kyle Whittingham said he sees Hansen’s arm strength improving with more time, but even now with Hansen’s leadership abilities, and the way he runs the football, the quarterback has solidified a spot behind Wilson and the injured Kendal Thompson on the depth chart.

“In the fall, if spring were over today, it would be those top three, Travis, Kendal and Chase, getting all the reps,” Kyle Whittingham said.

Raelon Singleton recorded the most yards receiving with 33 yards, while Bubba Poole added 20 yards. Poole split his between receiving and running, something Kyle Whittingham hopes will be different come fall.

“We hope that it’s 100 percent slot position,” Kyle Whittingham said. “Ideally, if we could just let him focus on receiver, we think he’s got a good chance to be a playmaker.”

Kenneth Scott added 20 yards in addition to a touchdown as a wide receiver, and his coach knows Scott is going to be a key player in the fall.

“Scottie’s a polished receiver,” Kyle Whittingham said. “His fundamentals, his techniques, are outstanding and right now he is our top guy at wide receiver.”

[email protected]

@kbrenneisen

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *