The Utah football team is now in its second week of spring practice and the players are more than ready to compete.
Tuesday saw the first tackle practice of the month and it allowed the coaches to see more than last week since players were allowed to go 100 percent, with the exception of hitting the quarterback. Head coach Kyle Whittingham likes what he is seeing out of his guys and expects this to continue in these upcoming weeks.
There are plenty of competitions going on for individual spots, most notably the quarterback position, with Tyler Huntley, Brandon Cox and Troy Williams all competing for the starting job.
As of now, Whittingham would give a slight edge to Cox for having better ball security than the rest; nonetheless, it is still a tight race. Whittingham gives a lot of credit to Huntley for being able to come into the system as an 18-year-old who has been able to demonstrate his overall football knowledge, but he still has a long way to go.
“We like the progression of the quarterbacks and when they have time to throw they’re pretty effective,” Whittingham said. “They got to be field generals, they got to be leaders; the guy that is in charge and the guy that everyone looks up to.”
Defense outshining the offense
With Hunter Dimick leading the way on defense, the offense has been struggling to find its footing. Toward the end of Tuesday’s practice, when the offense was trying to get something going in some live-action plays, it found success early on and eventually made its way within the 10-yard line. Then, the defense came to life and managed to stop the offense on four consecutive plays, coming up with a few stops right next to the goal line.
Throughout practice, various quarterbacks were being picked off, had their passes broken up or were sacked, and all of these things only fueled the defense. Defenders on the sidelines could not get enough of the action and they were loving every minute of it, encouraging the defense to step it up even more.
Whittingham knows his offensive line has plenty of things to work on before it can fully compete with the defense. The offensive line has been struggling without J.J. Dielman’s presence, but that is no excuse for the poor play. Whittingham is confident his players will return to peak form soon enough, however.
“The pass rush gets on you quick so that’s going to be key, we got to be able to block them,” Whittingham said. “We’ll sink or swim and we’ll start swimming at some point. Once all is said and done, that whole line is going to be pretty good.”
Dimick bouncing back
Last season Dimick suffered an injury which put him out of six contests, an injury that he and the coaching staff did not think would take so long to recover from. Back on the field this spring, he hopes to return to his old self, make a strong showing and show the incoming guys what it takes to be a leader of the team.
Whether or not it’s revenge for last season, Whittingham knows Dimick will return to the same mentality he has always had on the field and as a better player.
“He’s a fierce competitor,” Whittingham said. “He was very frustrated and it was difficult for a guy like Hunter to deal with that. He’s healthy now and doing a great job out here. He’s playing with a lot of intensity, but that’s how he always is. ”
@kbrenneisen