Amid the rumors and hoopla encircling U football coach Urban Meyer’s situation, there is still an entire Ute football team trying to go undefeated.
After Florida coach Ron Zook was fired, the rumors flared up about Meyer, even though former Florida coach Steve Spurrier looks to be the lead candidate for the job.
But with each new job opportunity coming up, the same rumors are going to fly and the players have to perform although they don’t know the future plans of their coach. However, some don’t care.
“As much as you respect and love your coach, I don’t play for my coach, I play for my school,” U safety Morgan Scalley said.
To Scalley, the rumors floating about have no effect on the team.
“We don’t talk about it because it doesn’t really concern us,” Scalley said. “We are worried about our upcoming game and what we can control.”
U wide receiver Steve Savoy has a somewhat different perspective on the situation.
“It kind of runs through the locker room, but we don’t focus on it,” Savoy said. “All we can do is take it day by day and make sure we take advantage of the now. He is our coach right now and we just want to win games.”
The threat of a coach moving on is not a new experience for some of the players.
Some of the players, like Scalley, had a similar coaching situation a couple of years ago when former coach Ron McBride was rumored to be fired near the end of the season.
“We tried to stay quiet about that one too, but it was different since we were trying to play for his job,” Scalley said.
The situation is clearly much different this time around. However, even though the players seem to be quiet about the situation, it is playing on the minds of players who will be here next year.
“When I think about the situation next year, then the coaching situation plays on my mind,” Savoy said. “But like I said, I try to focus on the now.”
The situation could take a hit on recruiting. However, the Utes have already signed a high profile quarterback, a kicker and are closing on a tight end.
Meyer must have had to address the coaching issue in his efforts to recruit the high school players and will continue to have to talk about it.
“If I was a recruit, it would play in my mind in a major way and I would ask the coach what was going on,” Savoy said.
Whatever Meyer is saying to the recruits is inspiring them to at least consider the U, which begs the question: Is he assuring the recruits he will be at the U next year?
Savoy’s prediction: “I think the media and everyone is blowing it out of proportion. His family likes it here, he likes it here and I think he will be here next year.”