After not meeting the same level of energy as the defense in Tuesday’s practice, a no-tackle practice on Thursday helped Utah’s offense see how the new installments into their plays looked.
Quarterback Travis Wilson believes his group did not bring enough energy on Tuesday, but they were able to step it up on Thursday, and is happy with the way the offense played.
“We did install a lot on Tuesday but that doesn’t make up for us having lack of energy, lack of juice,” Wilson said. “That’s something we have to bring to every practice and we just got to make sure we want to get better … I think today we did that and got better today.”
Head coach Kyle Whittingham agreed with his quarterback, but also criticized that group for not performing well during the two-minute drill.
“Offense executed pretty good,” Whittingham said. “A lot of energy today. Got a lot done. Wasn’t so shocking the two-minute situation. Other than that it was a positive day.”
Raelon Singleton sat out last season due to injury, but has been making noise on the gridiron at the wide receiver spot this spring. Unfortunately for him and the Utes, Singleton aggravated his shoulder in Tuesday’s practice, and again on Thursday, but hopes the discomfort will end soon. That said, he thinks the offense was more prepared on Thursday.
“[We had] more excitement and I think we did better today,” Singleton said.
Although Whittingham said the offense was able to clean up their play, the coaching staff cannot really assess it until the pads are on.
“It was cleaner today, but it wasn’t live,” Whittingham said. “Definitely took a step forward offensively today.”
On the defensive side, there are a few players that have stuck out.
“Reggie Porter is doing a nice job, Brian Allen doing a nice job with that interception in the two-minute drill,” Whittingham said. “[Everything’s] still up in the air.”
As the No. 1 guy on the depth chart, Wilson has gained the trust of Whittingham and company, and believes that his experience to this point is something that will prove valuable in the coming campaign.
“We have great team chemistry,” Wilson said. “It’s my senior year so definitely want to go out and finish strong and I definitely feel like I can do that with this team.”
Last season, the receivers struggled as a whole, but Wilson sees a lot of potential in that group, who is playing hard each practice. If the receivers are able to produce better than they did last season, the Utes will directly see improvements in the team’s run game.
“A lot of young guys stepping up and doing well, we just got to keep on building them up and make sure we’re executing on the passing game because it’s going to be huge for this upcoming season and it helps [Devontae] Booker out a lot as well.”
While there are a number of position battles going on this spring, one tight race is at the tight end slot. With the departure of Westlee Tonga, it will be interesting to see who will step up in his place. Utah likes to integrate the tight ends into its offense, and Wilson is optimistic that the Utes will find an adequate replacement.
“Our tight ends have been doing great, still trying to find that one solid guy that can be in there,” Wilson said. “So far they’ve been doing really well and learning the offense, hopefully one will emerge and stand out from the rest.”
The team’s next practice is at Rice-Eccles Field on Friday at 4:30 p.m. MT.
“We’re a third of the way through, it’s hard to believe,” Whittingham said.
@kbrenneisen