Friday night, Utah State came out of the gate with the energy expected for its in-state rivalry with Utah, and the resulting game was trying for both teams. But there were unexpected injuries for Utah starting quarterback Travis Wilson and defensive back Hunter Dimick.
Kendal Thompson entered the game to fill in after Wilson went down in the second quarter when the game was tied 7-7.
“I think we got the job done, and there are some things we need to clean up,” Thompson said. “On a couple jobs later in the game I think we were shooting ourselves in the foot — we missed assignments.”
Although a change in Utah’s pressure towards Utah State occurred in the second half, Thompson entered as the next weapon on offense to close the game. Linebacker Jared Norris has complete faith in whoever is throwing the ball.
“Honestly, we have a great quarterback in Kendall, too, so I thought, ‘Okay, the next guy picks up the rifle,’ and that’s what he did,” Norris said. “He came out, he put points on the board and did what he needed to do win the game, so I thought he did a good job.”
While Utah’s defense could have been deflated by Wilson’s exit, it served as more of a motivation for the players to step up, proving that the team has the ability to adjust quickly to injury.
Kylie Fitts stepped in for Dimick after he left the game, and although he missed a couple of tackles, Norris thought both he and Thompson did a good job of filling in.
“Those are two big guys [Wilson and Dimick] that make plays for us,” Norris said. “But at the same time, we’ve got guys right behind them like Kendall [Thompson], like Kylie [Fitts] that can come here and make plays — that’s a testament to our team overall.”
The fight for a solid offense has been something Utah has been striving for. There are areas where the offense can continue to improve, like running the ball with wide receivers, completing passes and developing special teams. Wide receiver Britain Covey sees the potential and hopes the crowd will as well.
“We have amazing tools on offense that kinda take some pressure off of each other,” Covey said.
It has not been announced for how long Wilson and Dimick will be out during the season, but Whittingham does not foresee them sitting out for a long period of time.
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