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2021 Football Camp: Hear it from Whittingham, Final Scrimmage

by Utah Athletics
Aug 21, 2021

SALT LAKE CITY – Fall camp came to a close today as the University of Utah Football program wrapped up its final scrimmage of preseason in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The Utes begin school on Monday, Aug. 23 with preparations continuing for the season-opener against Weber State on Thursday, Sept. 2 in Rice-Eccles Stadium, kicking off at 5:30 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Networks.
 

Head coach Kyle Whittingham met with the media today after the scrimmage in the new Ken Garff Red Zone, giving the group a quick recap of the scrimmage and fall camp.

Overall impression of the scrimmage…
"A good day. It wasn't as physical as last week's scrimmage, the reason being that we did a lot of what we call "thud" work instead of live work throughout the entire time. It was about 50-50, whereas last week it was 100 percent live work. We're about 12 days out (and) we don't have a waiver wire in college, so if you lose some guys you've got who you've got, so we err on the side of being cautious, particular with the 'ones,' but we still got good work done and it was a productive day, and another step forward for us."
 

On what he saw from the quarterbacks today...
"Good stuff. We're still doing a great job and we'll definitely have a guy named on Monday. We'll probably release a depth chart on Thursday, a week out ahead of the game, and go from there."

On whether the decision on the quarterback has been made…
"We'll have an inkling after we watch this tape, so it will be decided in-house today."

More on what the quarterbacks showed in today's scrimmage…
"They've made it tough the entire time. Live I've said, it's going to be a close call, but we feel like we've got enough body of work now to make the call. They're both really good players, I can tell you that. We've got a good situation in that regard. We're picking from two guys who are both very high-quality quarterbacks."

On whether he feels like they have the depth they need at wide receiver…
"Yes, we feel like we do. We've got six or seven guys who we're real confident in, and looking for another guy or two to emerge, and again that depth will be announced on Thursday. Really, the o-line, we've had a lot of guys banged up. That's probably the most concerning thing right now is the continuity of the o-line because it's been a revolving door with guys getting dinged. That needs to change. We've to get those guys playing together as a unit and we're running out of time, so that's the most concerning for me right now. We'll always be able to put the five out there, because we have about 10 or 11 who we really like, but to get the top five out there, we haven't been able to do that because guys have been missing practice."
 

On whether the percentage of vaccination on the team has risen since he last said it was at 92…
"Yes, it's going to be 95. That's probably where we'll level off at, 95 percent."

On whether players who remain unvaccinated will be able to travel…
"Yes, as far as I'm concerned. Now, there my be restrictions with the places we're going. There's a distinct possibility that some of these away games, if you're not vaccinated you can't do it, so that's beyond our control. But we're going to probably end up with half a dozen non-vaxxed out of the 124."

On whether one running back has emerged as the starter…
"No, and that's OK. It's not ideal, but it's OK. It's not as pressing as some of the other positions, like quarterback and o-line, because we feel like we have four real good ones. I'm fairly certain that those guys will separate themselves and sort themselves out in the first game or two, and we'll know who's the primary guy."

On the safety position…
"Right now, Brandon McKinney is running with the ones, with Vonte Davis. Those two guys are the top guys, and Kamo'i Latu and Cole Bishop are running with the twos, and it's a battle for that fifth safety spot. Brandon is very athletic. He was a four-star kid out of high school, and he's got a ton of athleticism and he's very smart. He came to us with a great football background and knowledge of defense, as you'd expect, he played for Washington, a quality program. This is his last year, he's a senior, and he wants to make the most of it. And he has. So far he's had a really good camp."

On the team's schedule going forward now that fall camp is finished…
"What we do, that we've done for many years, is we have a Monday through Thursday run-up to the game and then we repeat it. Monday through Thursday (this week) will be exactly like a game week, and then on Friday we'll start over again Monday and run right up until the game on Thursday (Sept. 2). That's been our M.O. for years, and it gives the players a good idea of what's expected the first run through, and then they know exactly what to expect the second run through."

On the defensive end position opposite Mika Tafua…
"Van Fillinger, right now, has been running with the ones, and Xavier Carlton will be the first guy in, as of now. Mika Tafua and Van are the guys, and X was down for a few days with an injury, and Van really made the most of that. Van is really…the light switch has gone on for him in this fall camp and we're expecting him to have a very solid year."

General overview…
"We feel like we've addressed pretty much every area. The only that, like I said, concerned me was the o-line, but everything else is either addressed or on its way to being addressed. Our punter has gotten much better, and we'll see how he reacts when the bright lights are on. He's done a nice job. And of course we've got an All-Pac-12 kicker returning in Jadon Redding, so we 've got a pretty solid guy there. So I'm going to tell you right now that we've had a good camp and pretty much all the issues have been addressed and all of the questions marks (are being answered), with the exception of getting the five top linemen together."

On Solomon Enis and his leadership…
"He's done a great job. He's only a junior, even though he's been here for a lot of years. He's a junior, but he has really stepped up. Between he and Britain Covey, those are definitely the two leaders at the receiver spot. Solomon knows what the expectations are in this program, and he demands that the receiver group really lives up to those expectations."
 

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