Utah Football Team Concludes Spring Camp This Saturday

April 22, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -

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SPRING DRILLS END THIS WEEK

The Utes will conclude their 2002 spring camp this week with a lot of activity. On Monday, the Utes will hold their final situational scrimmage starting at 3:15 p.m. at the McCarthey Practice Fields. There will be no practice on Tuesday. Wednesday's practice will not involve any crossover work between the offense and defense, and the defense may not even take the field. There will be a normal practice on Thursday, starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday is the day of the big Red-White game, which will start at 1:00 p.m. at East High. Please see details later in this release.

SEVEN UTES CALLED UP BY NFL

Seven of last fall's seniors have received invitations by NFL teams. Of those, two were draft picks and five were free agents. Wide receiver Cliff Russell was drafted in the third round by Washington and offensive guard Ed Ta'amu was drafted in the fourth round by Minnesota. Signing free agent contracts were offensive tackle Doug Kaufusi (San Diego), defensive tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu (Baltimore), defensive back Yohance Scott (Baltimore), running back Dameon Hunter (Baltimore) and running back Adam Tate (Jacksonville). Russell's signing marks the third time in the last four years a Ute receiver has been drafted in the top three rounds. Kevin Dyson was a first-round pick of Tennessee in 1998 and Steve Smith was a third-round pick of Carolina in 2001.

MACHEN, DAVIS TO HOLD "DRAFT"

University of Utah President Dr. Bernie Machen and Rev. France Davis, two of the celebrity coaches for the Red-White game, will hold a "draft" to choose their teams on Thursday. The draft will start at 11 a.m. in the Smith Center.

RED-WHITE GAME IS SATURDAY

For the first time of Head Coach Ron McBride's tenure, the Utes will hold a full-blown Red-White game on Saturday, April 27 starting at 1:00 p.m. at East High. The game, which is free and open to the public, will feature a Red team and a White team "drafted" by Machen and Davis on Thursday. It will consist of four 12-minute quarters with a five-minute halftime. Utah director of athletics Dr. Chris Hill will serve as commissioner of the game and will conduct the coin toss. Concession stands will be open and fans are encouraged to tailgate before the event. The game will be played regardless of the weather conditions.

CELEBRITY COACHES

The Red-White game will feature local celebrity coaches. Coaching the Red team will be Rev. France Davis, KALL radio morning show host Tom Barberi, U. associate vice president Dr. Ron Coleman, U. sociology professor Dale Lund and Wendy Clark from financial aid on campus. Coaching the White team will be U. president Dr. Bernie Machen, KALL radio personality Brad Stone, U. sociology professor Theresa Martinez and academic advisor Fahina Tavake-Pasi from the U.'s Center for Ethnic Student Affairs (CESA). Other celebrity coaches will be named later.

POST-GAME FESTIVITIES

After the Red-White game, fans who bring their own cameras will be able to take pictures with the Ute players and coaches. The Utes will also sign autographs and take part in a punt, pass and kick session with the kids in attendance.

GAME NOTES

The Red-White game will be held like a normal game with these exceptions: Rather than a kickoff, the ball will be placed on the 20-yard line following touchdowns and field goals. There will be no returns (kickoff or punt), although there will be punts. Every Ute who is healthy will play in the game, including all three quarterbacks.

COACHES' CLINIC

University of Utah head football coach Ron McBride and his staff will conduct a football coaches' clinic on Saturday, April 27, preceding the Red-White game. The clinic will run from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the McCarthey Practice Fields. If the weather is bad, the coaches' clinic will be held inside the Bubble. The cost of admission is $10, which includes lunch. Clinic participants are then invited to watch the spring game at East High. For more information, call Raegan Scharman at 587-7848.

UTE NOTES

Morgan Scalley has been moved permanently to running back. Scalley, who played receiver last year, has been experimenting at running back this spring and has done well. He will still line up as slot receiver on some downs ... Starting "X" receiver Paris Jackson will probably miss the remainder of spring ball, including the Red-White game, due to a sprained ankle. Replacing Jackson will be the threesome of freshman Steven Savoy and sophomores Anthony Areceneaux and Travis LaTendresse ... LaTendresse will float between the two receiver positions ... Redshirt sophomore free safety Steven Smith has decided he prefers to be called Vic. He will be listed as Vic in all future references. Smith transferred from Oregon last year ... Monday's scrimmage will pit the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 2 defense and the No. 2 offense against the No. 1 defense ... On Wednesday, the defense plans to study defending the option and may not even go out on the field.

SPRING INJURIES

The following players will miss the remainder of spring camp: freshman linebacker Steven Thompson (surgery for broken finger, April 11), senior receiver Brad Burtenshaw (broken right hand), senior receiver Josh Lyman (left hamstring) and freshman receiver Kylee Brown (right hamstring). Players who have missed the entire spring camp are: senior all-conference linebacker Sheldon Deckart (right shoulder surgery on Feb. 21, left ankle surgery on Jan. 22), junior all-conference defensive end Jason Kaufusi (right shoulder surgery on Jan. 3 and Apr. 4) and sophomore linebacker Joey Bolinger (right shoulder surgery on Feb. 7).

COACH RON MCBRIDE SAYS

"Monday is our final real scrimmage. On Wednesday we will have the offense and defense break apart and work on their own things. We'll have a regular practice on Thursday.

"Saturday is going to be a really fun day for our players and fans. We are really excited about holding the first real spring game since I've been here. It's a way for the players to put on their game uniforms and enjoy competition. It also will give us a way to evaluate them in a game situation.

"We've already accomplished everything we wanted. We have had more full-speed, contact, live reps this year than any spring since I've been here. We've managed to do that without a lot of injuries. The defense did a lot of blitzing and threw a lot of different looks at our quarterbacks, who had a good opportunity to work on their reads."

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