The Utes kick off their 2015 season Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium against Michigan, and then the long wait will officially be over. The highly-anticipated game is sold out, and players and coaches are eager to get back on the field, but not all for the same reasons.
Linebacker Jared Norris is looking forward to the high-profile game — even more so since this game is at home. Everyone on the team is pumped for the opportunity to show fans what they have been working on for the past nine months.
“The fact that it’s an opponent like Michigan coming into your house, the opportunity to get to play a team like that the very first game doesn’t come by all the time, so we’re excited as we can be,” Norris said.
Even with Utah being a five-and-a-half point favorite against Michigan, most of the attention has gone to the Wolverine side.
Devontae Booker, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about their opponent. Several of his teammates agree Jim Harbaugh is being overhyped. But aside from the buildup of the game, Booker is anxious to go out on the field after not heavily participating in either spring or fall camp.
“I don’t care if it’s Michael Jackson [out on the field],” Booker said. “We’re going to go out there and work hard and not worry about any celebrity stuff.”
Last season, Utah beat Michigan at the Big House 26-10, and this is one thing players keep going back to. While the coaching staff is different, the Utes continue to look back on this game as something positive going in their favor since most of the players will be the same.
Utah is more than certain it will get the job done again, especially with it being at home this time.
“We beat them last year, and we’re going to go out there and give it our all, and we’ll be happy to do it again in our place,” Booker said.
Another takeaway from last season’s game that head coach Kyle Whittingham sees is that his guys were able to go toe-to-toe with Michigan’s players physically; he expects the same thing again, considering Harbaugh’s teams usually have a certain toughness about them.
Preparation-wise, Whittingham is readying his team like he would if they were facing any other opponent. They are studying film and are going through all the phases they normally would. Whittingham may even give Alex Smith a call later this week just to see how he’s doing.
In the meantime, Whittingham did find some consistencies while studying up on all things Harbaugh, a few being that his teams have a strong run game, use the play-action pass and take advantage of their tight-ends and fullbacks.
Although they cannot fully know what to expect, hustle will cover up for what they are missing.
“We’ll make some mistakes first game out,” Whittingham said. “But if you have max effort, you [can] cover up for those mistakes.”
Norris knows he is going to have to bring it, and although he will be focused, he could not wait any longer to wear his uniform out on the field.
“It’s been a long time since we actually got to put on our game jerseys all together,” Norris said. “It’s an exciting time of year, and I think the university’s really excited about it.”
Kick-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
@kbrenneisen
