Friday’s Utah football practice was used to work on issues that came up during the team’s first scrimmage on Thursday, and head coach Kyle Whittingham saw improvement all around the field.
“No live work this morning, but it was physical, there was pads, it was what we call thud tempo,” he said. “They responded, and had a better day. We’ll do some live work tomorrow…we’ll have a good dose of live work and find out where we’re at.”
Chase Hansen took the majority of the reps at quarterback during the session open to the media, and looked sharp working with the receivers and moving the offense down the field. The receivers got open and made plays, and Whittingham was quick to mention the visible improvement by saying “the receivers were better, the quarterbacks were better, everyone on offense was better.”
One player that stood out was wide receiver Delshawn McClellon, who had one of the deepest receptions from Chase Hansen so far in this year’s camp.
“We had a nice run…the pass rush was right on [Hansen], [the ball] may not come out clean if it was live, but it was a good throw nonetheless, good catch, good route,” Whittingham said in regards to the play.
Cornerback picture coming into focus
With the departure of a signature player like Eric Rowe to the NFL, the cornerback position has been one of the more interesting position battles during fall camp.
Almost two weeks in, the picture is becoming clearer. With Reggie Porter locked in as the left starting corner, the competition has been focused on who will start opposite Porter.
One of the players up for contention is 5-foot-9 junior Cory Butler. The JUCO transer was listed as the starting slot receiver on the initial depth chart, but has practiced at corner, and has impressed the coaching staff enough to consider making a move to corner permanent.
“It looks like Cory Butler is closer and closer to being a permanent corner. [But] we’re still giving it a few more days” said Whittingham.
Another player up for the right side is junior Brian Allen, and the competition between Allen and Butler is razor-thin close.
“Brian Allen and Cory Butler are 1A and 1B,” Whittingham said. “Cory really did a nice job relative to the short amount of time he’s been over there.”
Other contenders include Tavaris Williams, Casey Hughes and Boobie Hobbs.
“Tavaris Williams is also a guy that’s a got a lot of talent, and has made great strides since his true freshman year last year. Casey Hughes is also making a lot of improvement, and [Boobie] Hobbs,” Whittingham said. “So those guys are kind of in a pack behind Butler and Brian.”
Whittingham fired up about healthy squad
Injuries are a part of the football, and every team faces the problem at some point during camp. Thus far, Whittingham has been pleased with the way players have endured the first couple of weeks of camp.
“We’ve come out of the first 9 days…I think we’re in pretty good shape [as far as injuries]. A few bumps and bruises,” Whittingham said.
Whittingham still anticipates a healthy squad gearing up for the week one match-up versus Michigan, especially with veterans getting healthy and joining the team for the next few weeks of fall camp.
A few veterans that will soon be joining their teammates on the gridiron are incumbent starters Kenneth Scott and Tim Patrick. The coaching staff expects to see him as well as wide receiver Raelon Singleton out on the as soon as possible.
“We’ve got to get some of those guys out of ‘The Pit’,” Whittingham said. “Scottie [Kenneth Scott], [Tim] Patrick, Raelon Singleton, those three receivers, they’ll make a huge difference when we get them back on the field. We have to get them back sooner rather than later. We hope to get Scottie back tomorrow and then Raelon on Monday. Tim Patrick might be a little further away.”
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