It’s been a long time coming.
It’s been 244 days since the Utes took the field in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, but the wait is finally over. The highly anticipated 2009 Utah football season is upon us. After countless hours of film study, weeks of grueling practices and months of anticipation, head coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utes will kick off their campaign tonight in front of a sold-out crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium against in-state rivals Utah State.
“It’s finally here,” Whittingham said. “It was a long time coming, we’re excited
to get the season going and excited to find out what kind of team we have and where we stand.”
There are many questions to be answered tonight when the No. 18 Utes face off against former Utah defensive coordinator and newly appointed USU head coach Gary Andersen.
Since spring ball, there has been an open competition for the quarterback position. During fall camp, Whittingham and rookie offensive coordinator Dave Schramm whittled the competition down to two8212;true freshman Jordan Wynn and junior college transfer Terrance Cain.
In fact, Whittingham knows who will start tonight, the team knows who will start and the starter knows who he is8212;but no one is telling. Whittingham claims his secrecy has nothing to do with deceiving Utah State. Rather, the decision was made to make life easier for the starter8212;whoever it might be.
“(The decision) just takes the pressure off the guy,” Whittingham said. “It just lets him prepare and focus and not be distracted. There’s going to be some distractions anyway, but we thought this was the best way to handle this.”
It’s impossible to avoid pressure completely as a starting quarterback for a nationally ranked, Division-I program, but Whittingham is doing everything he can to protect his duo of inexperienced quarterbacks. Whittingham knows that the pressure of a Division-I defense will be plenty for either candidate to handle.
“Whichever guy is in there has never taken a Division-I snap,” Whittingham said. “So that’s a situation where you never know what you got until you put them under fire in a game situation. They’ve both done a nice job, but like I said, till they get in front of 45,000 screaming fans and there’s a defense in a different color and a different jersey, we’ll find out for sure.”
While everyone outside the locker room eagerly awaits the unveiling of the starting play-caller, teammates have played down the quarterback controversy and shown faith in both candidates.
“Obviously there are some unknowns and some things we’ll obviously have to work through,” said starting left tackle Zane Beadles. “But we got two really talented guys back there and I expect both to play very well for us.”
“Personally, it doesn’t matter to me who’s out there,” said wideout Jereme Brooks. “Either way, I’m just catching passes, it doesn’t matter who’s throwing it. Us as receivers don’t care who’s throwing as long as it gets there.”
It will be Schramm’s job to make sure the ball gets to Brooks and his fellow receivers.
Schramm took hold of the offense after the departure of former coordinator Andy Ludwig. He is not alone8212;tonight’s game will be the first for defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake as well.
“(Schramm and Sitake have) done a nice job to this point with the organization and implementation of schemes,” Whittingham said. “If you’ve never coordinated before, there is a learning curve, and they have handled that well.”
Sitake has the responsibility of shutting down the Aggie offense led by quarterback Diondre Borel. The junior is coming off one of the most successful seasons in Aggie quarterback history and was one of only seven quarterbacks in the nation to lead the team in passing and rushing in 2008.
“Diondre Borel is a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He is not a real big guy, but he is quick and fast and can hurt you in a few different ways. To have an effective spread, you need that kind of guy back there.”
Borel will have an experienced offensive line between him and the Utah defense, made up of five returning starters, including senior center Brennan McFadden who is a candidate for the Rimington Trophy, which is given to the top center in the country.
No matter the outcome, both Whittingham and Andersen will learn a lot about their teams come game time. The two friends haven’t spoken in the weeks leading up to the game, out of what Whittingham described as “professional respect” but come kick-off, all friendships
and relationships will go out the window, and all that will be left is to play football.
Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. tonight at Rice-Eccles Stadium.