With the first week of fall camp in the books and only three weeks until the season opener against Utah State, head coach Kyle Whittingham and his coaching staff still has not named a starting quarterback.
“I say it’s dead even,” Whittingham said. “Now, not every day is dead even, but through the first six days of practice, it’s dead even.”
Through the first week of fall practice, all three candidates have shown considerable improvements from last spring. As the group continues to improve, the coaching staff’s decision has not been made any easier.
“Just like the rest of the team, (the quarterbacks) have come to work every day,” said first-year offensive coordinator Dave Schramm. “I’ve seen improvements every day in each one of them.”
Junior quarterback Corbin Louks is competing with junior college transfer Terrance Cain and true freshman Jordan Wynn. Schramm said he knows the jump to FBS football is not an easy one for junior college transfers and high schoolers to make, but has faith in all thee candidates.
“(Adjusting toFBS football) takes time,” Schramm said. “The speed of the game jumps up on you. You can’t talk about it, you can’t see it on film, you just have to go do it and get used to playing that fast.”
Louks is the only quarterback on the roster with experience at the FBS level and got a chance to see the speed of the game last season when he appeared in nine games for the Utes.
“My main thing is to try not to think about (the quaterback competition),” Louks said. “When you start thinking about it is when you press too hard and make mistakes. I’m just trying to improve my game, improve the offense and get better everyday.”
While Louks chooses not to dwell on the competition, Terrance Cain welcomes it.
“Competition always brings out the best in everybody,” Cain said. “Everybody goes through it, its just part of football. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Andthough a competition like this would feel like added pressure for most, true freshman Jordan Wynn doesn’t see it that way, even in his first year out of Oceanside High School in California.
“I don’t look at it as pressure,” Wynn said. “You just have to go out there and do your best and see where the chips fall. All three of us are talented but in the end it has to be one.”
Eventhough there are still about three weeks until the season opener, every day that goes by is another day that Utah’s talented group of receivers and running backs don’t know who will be leading them on the field this season. Whittingham, however, said he believes that while a starter has not been named, the offense is coming together nicely.
“When I think back to last fall, we may be further ahead offensively then we were then,”he said. “Only time will tell but we’re doing a nice job.”
“Every practice is important,” Schramm said. “Every meeting is important at this time of year. We play in three weeks so everything we do is important. We can’t waste a practice, a meeting, a rep or even a minute. We have to be better today then we were yesterday.”
Utah kicks off its season Sept. 3 when the Utes host Utah State at Rice-Eccles Stadium.