Ute Football Team Begins Reporting To Campus On Monday

Aug. 2, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -

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QUICKLY

The Utah football team will begin preparations for the 2002 season on Mon., Aug. 5 when the newcomers report to campus ... The veterans check in on Thu., Aug. 8 and full practices begin a day later ... Practices are open to the public ... The Utes will open the season on Aug. 31 against Utah State in Logan, Utah ... Utah, which finished last season with an 8-4 record and a Las Vegas Bowl win over Southern California, was recently pegged to finish second in the Mountain West Conference in the preseason media poll. The Utes tied for third last year with a 4-3 conference mark.

INTERVIEW POLICIES

Interviews with Utah football players and coaches are conducted at the conclusion of practice. During the preseason, this can be after either the morning or afternoon session. Liz Abel, the assistant athletics director for sports information, will staff the practices. To arrange for interviews, please call Liz at 801-581-3511. *Note: Associate SID Mike Lageschulte (587-9162) will cover practices from Aug. 9-12.

"PRACTICE" PRACTICE

The first day of camp for both the rookies (Monday) and veterans (Thursday) will consist of meetings, class registration and physicals. On Wednesday and Thursday, the newcomers will get a taste of practice by participating in four sessions of non-tackling drills. Full team practices do not start until Friday.

PRESEASON PRACTICE SCHEDULE

During the preseason camp, the Utes will practice three times daily, Monday-Friday. They will take Sunday off. Practice times: 8:15-9:15 a.m., 10:40-11:30 a.m., 4:40-5:30 p.m. There will be three brief blocks of special teams drills every day but Aug. 9. They will go from 8:00-8:10 a.m., 10:25-10:35 a.m. and 4:25-4:35 p.m.

SCRIMMAGES

Utah will hold four situational scrimmages before its first game on Aug. 31 at Utah State. Three scrimmages have been scheduled: Wed., Aug. 14, Sat., Aug. 17 and Tue., Aug. 20. The scrimmages will run from 3:40-5:30 p.m. in Rice-Eccles Stadium. There will be one morning practice on those days, from 8:45-10:30 a.m. Times could change.

PRACTICE LOCATIONS

Morning drills will take place on the McCarthey Practice Fields and afternoon practices and scrimmages are scheduled to take place in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The location could change depending on conditions, so please contact the sports information office at 581-3511 for daily scheduling updates.

TURF TALK

The Utes will have a chance to test out the new playing surface in Rice-Eccles Stadium during preseason camp. Utah officials and Head Coach Ron McBride investigated several options after the existing natural grass was removed and replaced by black top for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. They decided on FieldTurf and installation began in May and was completed by the end of June. It has been tested by a July 4 concert, several soccer scrimmages and individual football workouts. FieldTurf is a woven synthetic blend that cannot be distinguished from natural grass by sight, touch or actual play. Extremely sturdy, FieldTurf should solve the problems Utah encountered with natural grass in 2000-01. Prior to that, the Utes experimented with SportsGrass from 1995-99. From 1972-94, Utah's stadium featured Astroturf.

MEDIA DAY

As has been the case in past years, there will not be a formal media day for the Utah football team. However, the media is invited to attend Ute Fan Fest on Sat., Aug. 24 from noon-3 p.m. in Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah athletes and coaches, including football, will be available for interviews at the Fan Fest.

UTES FARE WELL IN PRESEASON POLL

At the annual Mountain West Conference Football Preview, held July 28-30 in San Diego, Utah received the most first-place votes and finished a close second in total points to Colorado State in the media poll. A year ago, the media picked Utah to finish sixth. The 2001 Utes ended up tying for third in the league.

2002 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll

1. Colorado State (5) 113
2. Utah (8)           111
3. Brigham Young (2)  107
4. UNLV                74
5. Air Force (1)       64
6. New Mexico          57
7. Wyoming             26
   San Diego State     26

SIX UTES NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MWC

Six Utes were named to the media's preseason all-conference team at the MWC Preview in San Diego. Utah dominated the preseason all-MWC defensive team, grabbing five of the 11 spots. The media liked three Ute defenders to repeat their first-team all-conference feats of a year ago. They were senior linebacker Sheldon Deckart, senior lineman Garrett Smith and junior lineman Jason Kaufusi. They were joined on the 2002 preseason team by junior defensive backs Antwoine Sanders and Arnold Parker. Kaufusi and Sanders were two of just three unanimous all-conference selections. The Ute offense was represented by senior offensive lineman Jordan Gross.

COMING SOON

Utah opens its 2002 campaign against Utah State on Aug. 31 in Logan. Game time is 7:00 p.m. MDT. Utah's first home game is on Sept. 7 against Indiana. Kick-off is 6:00 p.m. in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utah-IU game is the first of three straight games against Bowl Championship Series teams for the Utes, who play at Arizona on Sept. 14 and at Michigan on Sept. 21. After that grueling stretch, Utah will open its Mountain West Conference season against Air Force on Sept. 28-Homecoming in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

AT THE HELM

Ron McBride has an 83-57 record in his 12 years as head Ute coach. He has the second most wins of any coach in Utah football history. McBride has won a share of two conference titles (1995 and 1999) and has 10 winning seasons. He has taken the Utes to six bowl games and has a 3-3 bowl record. Utah capped last year's 8-4 season with a 10-6 win over USC in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day.

SEEING STARS

Utah returns five all-conference players from a year ago, all from the defense. First-team all-MWC picks in 2001 were defensive linemen Garrett Smith and Jason Kaufusi and linebacker Sheldon Deckart. Making the 2001 all-MWC second team were defensive back Antwoine Sanders and defensive lineman Lauvale Sape.

KICKOFF TIMES

Five game times have now been finalized for the 2002 Ute football season: Utah State, Aug. 31, 7:00 p.m. MDT; Indiana, Sept. 7, 6:00 p.m. MDT; Arizona, Sept. 14, 7:00 p.m. MST (8:00 p.m. MDT); Michigan, Sept. 21, 12:00 p.m. EDT; Air Force, Sept. 28, 1:00 p.m. MDT. Due to network television obligations (Utah is part of the Mountain West Conference's pact with ESPN), the remaining start times will not be determined until 12 days in advance of the game. As soon as Utah officials are informed of the start time for a game, it will be posted on Utah's official web site (www.UtahUtes.com).

TV APPEARANCES

Utah is already guaranteed at least four television appearances in 2002 and could potentially have all of its games televised. The Utes will appear on their flagship station, KJZZ, vs. Utah State and Indiana. The Utah-Michigan game is scheduled for ESPN and the Utes will play Air Force on ESPN+Plus. Utah has applied for a waiver from ESPN to televise its Sept. 14 game at Arizona. A decision is expected in the next week or two.

FAN FEST

The Crimson Club, University of Utah athletics department and the Deseret News will sponsor the third-annual Ute Fan Fest on Sat., Aug. 24 from 12 noon-3 p.m. on the south plaza of Rice-Eccles Stadium. Student-athletes and coaches from all 19 varsity Ute athletic teams will participate in the Fan Fest, which is free and open to the public. The Fan Fest will also include interactive games, pictures with the athletes, autographs, prize drawings, food, drinks and entertainment by the U. pep band, cheerleaders and Crimson Line.

MCBRIDE ON THE PRESEASON CAMP

"We want to come out of two-a-days with a real physical, dedicated football team. With the schedule we're facing, we'll have to be totally committed to playing one game at a time. To be really good, the players have to understand that they need to know how to make plays in the fourth quarter. They have to take all the little things that hurt us a year ago and make sure they're behind us. We will use some of our time preparing to win close games and to respond in crunch time.

"The guys have been very self-motivated over the summer. The vast majority have been coming in and working hard on their own. They get motivation from the fact that we have a solid football team and our schedule allows us to prove we're a top-caliber program.

"One of the positions we need to take a hard look at is offensive tackle. We need to get some depth there. That's a real key for us.

"I'm excited about practicing some in the stadium. It should allow us to be more effective in some ways because it's closed in and the isolation should really help the players' concentration. Also, it gives us a chance to get used to the new playing surface."

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