At Monday’s opening press conference for the U football team regarding the upcoming season, a seemingly different attitude was present, compared to the past few years.
I am not talking about the new offense, which is the question that everyone wants to see answered, but just the simple attitude that new coach Urban Meyer has brought to the team.
Regardless of how successful this team is this season, there is no question in my mind that the school took a step in the right direction by hiring Meyer.
As a stark contrast to ex-coach Ron McBride’s attitude, Meyer puts a lot of emphasis on discipline-and even more on breaking down strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams.
McBride let his coordinators do most of the work for him and was more of a motivational guy, rather than the general that the team needed.
I am not bashing McBride, but at some points during last season, it did not seem that he had complete control of his team.
For example, at the end of the first half against Air Force, the clock was winding down and the Utes had the ball at the Falcon 18 yard line. Due to poor communication from the sideline, the clock kept ticking until the Utes were forced to take a timeout.
After the game, McBride said that he thought the Utes should have run a play and didn’t know what was going on with the offense.
He was the head coach and should have been the one making the decision, but the problem was that he didn’t have complete control and the coordinators-not to mention quarterback Lance Rice-were confused.
The exact opposite tone has been set by Meyer this year, and it should filter down to the rest of the team. But the question is, can the Utes have a complete turnaround in Meyer’s first year?
Of course they can.
The attitude alone should prevent the team from letting too many close games slip through its fingers.
Not only that, but it will maximize the productivity of the talent the team has.
Nobody questions the amount of talent the team has, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
With a talent-filled defense leading the way, the U offense does have some room to maneuver, yet it has to be better than the garbage that the team put on the field last year.
Against just about every decent team the Utes played last year, the offense sputtered because it was obvious what the team was going to do, and the coaching staff-particularly McBride- didn’t seem to know how and when to adjust.
Running the offense through the I formation is a very tough feat to accomplish if you want to be successful.
Even though the Utes lack quality wide receivers, which is a position that is vital to this new style of play, the offense will still be more successful than last year just because it has opened up.
Paris Warren is better than any receiver the Utes had last year, and running the ball out of the shotgun will not cause the same deficiencies seen in the running game last year.
As a reader, you should be saying, ‘So, Asad, you are telling me that we can have the same-or better-run production that we had last year, and that we also have the possibility of having a successful passing attack, which we have not had for a very long time? Wow, Asad, this is amazing! Why wasn’t this in place before?’
I respond by saying, “God only knows-but everything is better now, so don’t you worry.”
OK, so maybe all the problems are not fixed. But the foundation for this team has changed, and that alone should make Ute fans excited for the upcoming season.
Every game the Utes play this season is winnable, which was the case last year, but maybe this time the Utes can win more than five games.
It seems the Utes made all the right moves in the offseason, at least in terms of coaching. The discipline that the coaches have instilled into the players should lead the Utes to at least a bowl game, if not more.
Even a conference title is possible-just don’t quote me on that.
Rest assured that if the Utes do lose to the Aggies on Thursday-which would be utterly embarrassing-it will be the end of the world and the Utes should cancel the rest of the season.
But it’s not going to happen.
It wouldn’t have surprised me if they lost to Utah State last year, but come on, people-change is in the air.