Since the battle for starting quarterback has been put on hold until fall with Troy Williams being unable to finish spring practices with a sore throwing arm, Brandon Cox is taking full advantage of every snap he gets on the field. He’s even starting to create some distance between himself and freshman Tyler Huntley and looks like the clear frontrunner.
Cox has been in the Utah system for some time now and, because of it, has really been able to learn all the ins and outs of the offense. At Saturday’s scrimmage, he was 16-of-24 throwing the ball, threw for four touchdowns and finished with 158 yards. He also had a rushing touchdown on top of all of that.
He did not perform as well toward the end of the scrimmage, however, when the Utes were practicing their hurry-up offense in the two-minute drill. He threw a pick-six, so there’s still plenty left to work on, but for now, he feels confident in his ability to lead the offense down the field in most other situations.
“Not only is the play important, but sometimes taking the next step to lead the guys on the field to score touchdowns,” Cox said.
He’s taken the approach head coach Kyle Whittingham has when someone gets injured and has instilled the mentality of “next man up.” Granted, no one has been given the starting job — he still has a lot to fight for, but at the same time he isn’t focusing on what he needs to do to win that position.
Cox wants the entire offense to improve. He wants whoever is on the field to be making plays and does not care who gets the ball into the end zone. It’s about the team, and that mentality has been helpful to both Huntley and Williams.
While he’s taking advantage of the extra plays he gets on the field because of Williams’ injury, Cox wants him back out on the field. They all do their best trying to make the others better, and in the end they all want the same thing — a win.
“Tyler being a freshman, I was in that role when I first came in during spring, so I know what he’s going through,” Cox said. “I kind of take him under my wing and show him the ropes and show him what he can do better. He’s a great quarterback and has a bright future. As a quarterback group, we like to stay close-knit and learn from each other.”
Whittingham has noticed that all three of his quarterbacks do a good job of leading the team. Huntley impresses him the most in this area because of his age and surprising ability to be just as effective as either Cox or Williams when commanding the offense. Huntley finished Saturday’s scrimmage just 10-of-23 through the air for 65 yards and one touchdown. Not ideal numbers for either Whittingham or Huntley, but Whittingham wouldn’t call it a bad day. There are plenty of things left for not only him to work on, but the rest of the offense, as well.
Huntley also threw an interception during the two-minute drill, so Whittingham’s going to need one of these potential starters to really step it up this final week of spring practice. Cox has the slight edge, but nothing is set in stone. Whittingham is sure that both Cox and Huntley will give it their best effort to try and leave a lasting impression on the coaching staff before spring practices conclude.
“Brandon’s ahead right now,” Whittingham said. “If we had to play tomorrow it would be Brandon, but there’s still a lot of opportunity between now and when we do have to play for a change to occur.”
@kbrenneisen