Utah’s first game against Michigan is drawing near, and players and coaches are finally shifting their attention to their opponent after focusing mainly on plays and schemes throughout spring and fall camps. While many fans have had their eye on this game since December, Utah is looking at it like any other opener.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham is working on scouting the Wolverines, and both sides of the ball are directing their energy to Michigan’s counterpart.
“The players are sensing it’s getting closer,” Whittingham said. “Very little crossover between the offense and defense. Everybody’s honing in on what we expect to see on Thursday night.”
One thing troubling the entire team is what exactly they should prepare for. Michigan has a brand new coaching staff led by Jim Harbaugh in his return to the collegiate ranks. While the Utes cannot definitively guess what they will be given two Thursdays from now, they are examining plays from Harbaugh’s former teams, like the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford along with former schools/teams of the rest of the coaching staff.
While there’s not much to go off besides that, Whittingham is confident about how his players will handle themselves against all the new schemes the Wolverines have to offer.
“We’re doing the best we can to piece together our best guess scenario,” Whittingham said. “Our players are excited about it. It’s a great opportunity and a lot of national attention.”
Squad working together to achieve goals
In an effort to continue improving, plenty of goals have been set for this season and the players are the ones who choose them. The coaches remind the players of their goals throughout the campaign to ensure they are all aiming in the same direction, but goals become more specific within each side of the ball.
“We have offensive and defensive objectives we want to hit every week,” Whittingham said. “[But] bottom line is you gotta make plays.”
Wide receiver Kenneth Scott tries to keep the energy upbeat as a team captain, especially because he thinks people view them as an underdog against Michigan. All of the captains try to keep things lively and focus on the positive rather than the negative.
At the same time, Scott expects the offense to be ready to go once it’s game time. From the blockers to the quarterback, everyone needs to know what they are doing.
“[We need to] be more efficient and make sure the whole ’11’ is doing their job,” Scott said.
This is something defensive end Hunter Dimick is double-checking on the defensive side. He wants to make sure everyone is on the same page, which could mean players sacrificing the spotlight so that the defense can shine as one unit.
“If we can get to where we’re not all individually trying to make plays, but play together, we’ll be a lot more successful,” Dimick said.
Utes are talented, and deep
While there were no changes on the depth chart from last week to this one, this is partially because coaches are still waiting on a few players to play in live situations after resting from injuries. But other positions, like Travis Wilson at quarterback, are not up for debate.
“Still waiting on a couple receivers and we’ll see what happens in the next few days,” Whittingham said.
Scott did not practice too heavily in fall camp, but with what he was able to do and what he is doing now, he clearly knocked off some of the rust in his limited action. Now, he’s being cautious of what he is doing so that he can be at full strength for Michigan.
Sidelined for most of that period of time, Scott made sure all of the wide receivers were on the same page, even if they are not listed anywhere on the depth chart.
“We know what talent we have around here, this is all about giving the opportunity to the QB to sling it,” Scott said.
Experience on the defensive side only adds to the depth of this team, and with returning players familiar with the gameplan, it only makes it more difficult for players to keep their spots. But for Dimick, if the entire team keeps working hard, their depth will be beneficial throughout games.
“We’ve got a lot of guys returning and we want to build on what we did last year, ” Dimick said.
@kbrenneisen