After reviewing tape of Thursday’s scrimmage and wrapping up practice Friday morning, head coach Kyle Whittingham released a new depth chart for the quarterback position.
Some expected the experience of Corbin Louks would win the junior the job, while others thought junior college standout Terrance Cain would have the edge, but it was true freshman Jordan Wynnwho topped the chart released this week.
The native of Oceanside, Calif., graduated from Oceanside High School early last spring to get a head start on his career as a Ute, and the decision has seemed to pay off. But with just under three weeks until the season opener against Utah State, Whittingham stressed that no starter has been named.
“I want to emphasize that I am not naming a starter,” Whittingham said. “Nothing is etched in stone. The order could change at any time, but Jordan will get 85 to 90 percent of the snaps for now.”
Whittingham would not go as far to say that Wynn will be the starter Sept. 3, but if the true freshman were to start in his first season at Utah, he would be the first player to do so at the U since Scott Cate, who started a single game in 1982.
With the likes of Alex Smith and Brian Johnson preceding him, Wynn will have big shoes to fill.Although both Smith and Johnson played as freshmen, neither started in the first season before leading their respective teams to perfect records as well as BCS Bowl wins. But that’s not where the comparisons between Wynn and his predecessors end.
“(Wynn) is like a Alex Smith,” Whittingham said. “He’s a tremendous thrower, he’s calm under pressure and he’s matured beyond his years. He shows that quiet confidence that you look for in a leader.”
Two more scrimmages are scheduled between now and the beginning of the regular season. All eyes will be on the true freshman to see how he handles the pressures of being atop the depth chart before taking his first snap as a Ute.
Jordan Wynn