There has been plenty of talk about Travis Wilson’s six interceptions in last week’s loss to UCLA. As Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham pointed out immediately following the game, the cause for the turnovers was not entirely poor decision-making by Wilson.
“Give UCLA credit, they made [the interceptions] happen. But they weren’t necessarily six bad throws, I can tell you that,” Whittingham said.
Since the game, additional information has come out regarding Wilson’s physical condition during the contest, which may have impacted his play against the Bruins. On Monday afternoon it was revealed to the media that Wilson was fighting an illness during Thursday night’s game and had spent most of his time before kickoff sick in bed.
Wilson has since received medical attention and has been placed on an antibiotic treatment. He did not practice with the team on Monday, but returned to practice Tuesday afternoon and seemed to have regained some of his energy.
“I feel much better today,” Wilson said after practice. “I don’t want to use my sickness as an excuse at all. Sick or not, I still made mistakes [against UCLA]. The important thing is that I learn from those mistakes and play better.”
Wilson said his confidence as the leader of the Utes’ offense is unshaken and he is now focused on what lies ahead.
In preparing for Stanford this week, Wilson knows he will be facing one of the most physical defensive lines in the conference, and is preparing to meet the challenge.
“They are very physical and aggressive so I have to play aggressive right back,” Wilson said. “I have to be smart but take what they give me and come at them hard and fast.”
Utes’ starting tight ends will both be out Saturday
Junior tight end Jake Murphy underwent surgery on a broken wrist today. The wrist was broken sometime during the UCLA game, but Murphy continued to play through the pain and finished the contest with 27 yards on two catches.
After practice on Tuesday Whittingham said that he had not yet been made aware of the surgery’s results and that the team would make an official announcement regarding Murphy’s status on Wednesday. It is currently unclear how long the injury will keep Murphy sidelined, but he will definitely not play Saturday against Stanford.
After the surgery, Murphy tweeted, “I want to thank everyone for the tweets about my wrist. Means so much. I will be hungrier than ever. There’s always a silver lining”
Senior tight end Westlee Tonga will also not start against Stanford, due to an undisclosed injury. Whittingham remarked after Tuesday’s practice on how the injuries will definitely impact the offense’s ability to effectively run the two-tight end package, but expressed confidence in his younger players.
“The guys down the line have to step up,” Whittingham said. “Obviously it’s not the situation we wanted to be in, but it’s part of the game and you play through it.”
Junior Greg Reese is set to start at tight end this Saturday as the Utes host the Stanford Cardinal at home. The other tight end starter will be determined as practices continue throughout the week.