Junior transfer Troy Williams has seemingly taken over the reigns of quarterback and should be expected to start in the season opener against SUU on Thursday Sept. 1.
Williams sat out the majority of spring camp with a sore throwing arm and neither he nor the coaching staff wanted to risk further injury. However, he more than made up for the time he was out in fall camp. Since returning to the field, Williams has proven his worth to the coaches, and according to head coach Kyle Whittingham, Williams is the clear frontrunner for the starting job.
True freshman Tyler Huntley is poised to be the backup, and fifth-year senior Brandon Cox has chosen to leave the Utah football program as a result. Cox did have a leg up on the two newcomers considering he had been in the system for a longer time, but when things got down to business, he wasn’t able to outshine Williams or Huntley.
Although this could leave the team a bit short at the quarterback position in the event of an injury, Whittingham is not at all worried because of Chase Hansen. While Hansen is listed as a full-time safety, he will be the Utes’ third option if necessary. This doesn’t mean Hansen will be taking any reps in practice for the offense — he will still be lining up on the other side until circumstances require him to do the opposite.
“It’s not ideal; [it] does create a depth issue, but quarterback is a unique position,” Whittingham said. “One guy plays, and the guy who maybe sees the future isn’t exactly what he hopes for oftentimes finds another place to play.”
Whittingham will also look to see if any of the walk-ons have the potential to step up after seeing some quality play out of them in the spring.
Defense needs to step up
Typically the defense is a step ahead of the offense — the offense doesn’t always come together until the final days before the season opener. However, it’s a different story this season. The defense has fallen behind, much to the dismay of cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah, who is disappointed in an overall lack of effort from his group of guys.
However, it’s not the first rotation of guys he’s having issues with — it’s the second rotation, or, more or less, the lack thereof.
Shah wouldn’t be able to name one freshman who he thinks has solidified their spot to fill in the shoes of Dominique Hatfield, Reggie Porter or Brian Allen. He needs the younger guys to take more advantage of the resources given to them, and he hopes they can pull it together before the season opener.
“None of these young boys can claim they haven’t had the reps or the opportunities to see it on film, get it in practice — can’t make those accusations to us coaches because you’re telling stories,” Shah said. “You have 700 mentors to help you, asking to stay after practice, let’s work some more, and they don’t want to do it, and we keep seeing too many mistakes.”
Nine practices left
The team only has nine practices left before the season opener and there is still plenty left to work on. Whittingham feels confident in most of the position groups in terms of who will be given that starting role, but there’s always room for improvement.
The wide receivers have made the most strides since the beginning of fall camp, and it’s the group Whittingham wanted to get the most out of. With the likes of Kenneth Scott and Britain Covey no longer in the lineup, Whittingham was looking for the next guy up, and plenty of players showed him why they should be given a starting role.
“I think we’ve progressed adequately, but we’ve still got nine practices left, and we need every one of them,” Whittingham said. “Every position needs to do work, that’s an ongoing process that never ends. What we need to do [is identify] who’s going to be in the mix and who’s maybe not quite ready to play.”
@kbrenneisen