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The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Football: Utah’s seniors prepare to suit up for the last time

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As Utah prepares to play its last game of the season, the senior players are preparing for their final game as Utes. It will be a bittersweet moment as Utah plays its rival BYU in the Royal Purple Las Vegas bowl, a game these players are undoubtedly looking forward to, but the team knows this will be their last time playing with players such as Jared Norris, Gionni Paul, Travis Wilson, Kenneth Scott, and others.

With this knowledge, players’ emotions will be running high over the course of the weekend. Head coach Kyle Whittingham is trying to help his players balance these emotions with calmness during play.

“It’s something we talk about every weekend,” Whittingham said. “We want to play with poise, and we want to play with discipline. All of the emotions certainly run higher in this game.”

While a lot of the spotlight of this game is on coaches Whittingham and Bronco Mendenhall of BYU, Utah’s head coach pointed the light in a different direction leading up to the game.

“This game is never about the coaches,” Whittingham said. “It’s all about the players. College football is all about the players. What’s important are the players and the guys who play the game.”

During the final press conference before the big game, two of Utah’s leaders, Scott and Norris, sat beside Whittingham as the voices of the team. They are the players who the game is all about, and they understood the importance of their last game with this program.

“I’m going out there with my teammates one last time,” Scott said. “I think my time here is overdue, but I can’t wait to go out there and run out that tunnel with them one more time and be able to create more memories that we can talk about years later.”

Scott has been with Utah since 2010 and has been a constant fixture at the wide receiver position in the seasons where he remained healthy throughout the year. He has caught 126 passes for 1,455 yards and 11 touchdowns in his time as a Ute, and while his numbers may not be flashy, his impact on the game has always been felt.

“[Norris and Scott] have been through a lot since we joined the Pac-12,” Whittingham said. “I can’t commend them enough for the job they have done helping us be great in the Pac-12. Their leadership and their play on the field, everything they’ve brought to this team has been instrumental to our progression in the conference.”

On the other side of the ball, Jared Norris, the linebacker out of Bakersfield, Calif., has proved to be just as much of a leader as Scott. Norris was a team captain this year and was second on the team with 86 tackles. Norris led a defense that was No. 6 in the nation in rushing defense and in turnovers gained. Norris has enjoyed his time as a Ute and knows what he will remember when all is said and done.

“It’s kind of a blur,” Norris said of his time in Vegas last year. “But the things that you remember are the little things. Hanging out in the hotel with your teammates. Going to an event. Those are the memories that you will have for the rest of your life.”

To these players, their team is their family. They have fought together and played together for so long now that they have become brothers, and leaving your brothers can be a heart-wrenching experience for these players.

“I’m big on family,” Scott said. “And that’s what this program is all about.”

“I think that as a team we are such a big family,” Norris added. “We’re so well connected. It’s been a great time for us.”

As Norris and Scott, among all of Utah’s other seniors, suit up for their last game, they will look back on their years as Utes. Through the ups and the down, they will cherish the memories they made and carry with them the lessons they learned. In this final game they will look to ride off into the sunset on the shoulders of one last victory.

[email protected]

@Twelvegage96

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