As the Utah football team played its first scrimmage of spring camp, the scoreboard at the south end of Rice-Eccles Stadium showed a replay of last year’s 24-21 victory for the Utes over USC.
In that matchup on Oct. 25, 2014, Travis Wilson played what might have been the drive of the then-junior’s career. With a little more than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Utes down 17-14, Wilson led the offense down the field and into USC territory to set up for the chance of a winning score.
With a heavy blitz flushing him out of the pocket, Wilson scrambled for a 19-yard gain, putting the ball inside the one-yard line. Two plays later, Wilson found now-departed receiver Kaelin Clay on the right side of the end zone for a catch, which, after review, was ruled a touchdown. The score came with just eight seconds left in the game, as the Utes would hold on to the win by Wilson’s late-game heroics.
This year, Wilson will look to finish his Utah career strong with a few more big wins and big plays in big moments.
Wilson, who went 10-for-19 with 98 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s scrimmage, noted that he has been feeling a lot more confident in his throws. The quarterback says that aspect of his game is the biggest area of improvement as the Utes prepare to build on a 9-4 season in 2014, which concluded with a 45-10 rout of Colorado State in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. Wilson scored four times in that game: three times on the ground and once through the air in his MVP performance.
The San Clemente native has not, however, arrived to this point without a few lows to contrast those highs in his career.
Shortly after a victory over then-No. 5 Stanford in his sophomore year, Wilson suffered a season-ending concussion against Arizona State, which later revealed that Wilson had a preexisting injury to an intracranial artery. The shocking discovery threatened to prematurely end Wilson’s football playing days.
Thanks to that and an injury to his throwing hand, Wilson went through periods of inconsistency, leading to his being benched a few games last season. But despite all of that, Wilson is leading a Utah offense that “was executing well” on Saturday, according to head coach Kyle Whittingham.
Quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick echoed Whittingham’s remarks, saying, “[Wilson] looks like a guy that has been here for four years. The game has slowed down for him. All the things that he’s been through doesn’t seem to faze him.”
In preparation for the fall, Wilson hopes to be playing the best football of his career.
“I feel like each year I’ve gotten one step better, so I definitely feel like I need to keep on getting better and progressing and make sure that this is my best year,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s teammates have taken notice of his efforts and look to the senior quarterback as a leader on this squad.
“I learn a lot from Trav. He looks good. He’s throwing the ball well. He makes great reads,” said fellow quarterback Chase Hansen, who is participating in his first spring camp since returning from an LDS mission. “I try to take as many mental reps as I can when I’m not in — just watching him … take control of the offense. He’s a great guy to learn from.”
While several of his biggest wins have come from within the confines of RES, Wilson calls the road win over Michigan last September his favorite memory as a Ute.
“It was a great stadium and definitely a great game,” he said. “It was definitely one of the highlights of the last couple of years.”
This year, when the Utes welcome Michigan and its new head coach Jim Harbaugh to Salt Lake City on Sept. 3, Wilson will look to get another big victory.
@austinfacer