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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
8/28/2006 12:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2006
Opening Statement
"We're obviously excited to get the season under way. Like everyone else in America, we're sick of beating on each other. Since spring ball, we haven't had a chance to line up against anybody else. So we're more than ready to do that.
"We came out of two-a-days relatively healthy. It is a situation where we have a couple guys who are questionable. Other than that, we feel pretty good about where we're at health-wise.
"We've got our work cut out for us with UCLA. They're a very good football team ... 10-2 last year with one of those losses to national champ runner-up USC. They had a big win in their bowl game. They're athletic and they're fast. They lost some key players, as did we. They're breaking in a new quarterback - Bel Olson - ironically enough, who started his career down south at the Y. It's his first collegiate start. He hasn't seen a lot of action in the last five years. So it has been a while since he's performed under fire. There are a couple new coordinators for UCLA. Openers are always best-guess scenario anyway. But with two new coordinators, it makes it even more so. The offensive coordinator came from in-house, which gives us a little more predictability. The defensive coordinator comes from the Washington Redskins. It is his first time as a coordinator, so there's no tape to go on. We're not sure what schemes he's going to present to us.
"In any event, we're excited to get under way. The Rose Bowl is a great venue to play in. It is a good opportunity for our players - playing in the Rose Bowl and playing an upper-echelon Pac-10 team like UCLA."
Facing a new quarterback
"Our M.O. will still be to bring pressure. That has been the case for several years now. We're not going to deviate from that. We are who we are defensively and it has been a successful recipe. With that, you still have to pick your spots and you can't be careless. You have to be intelligent how you go about your blitz packages."
On game speed and UCLA's team speed
"I think they very well could be the most athletic team we play all year long. Why wouldn't they be? They have Pac-10 facilities, Pac-10 budget, they have it all. Why wouldn't they be an outstanding football team? We expect to see a bunch of guys out there who can really run. That's just the nature of UCLA's football team over the last couple years.
"Our practice tempo is such that the game is almost slowed down as far as tempo. Now the players we practice against may not be as fast as what we'll see in the game. As far as the tempo and pace we work in practice -- we do that for one reason -- so the game does slow down for our players."
On what Utah knows about UCLA's schemes with two new coordinators
"Very little, defensively. Offensively, we figure there is going to be a lot of carry-over. The offensive coordinator was the quarterbacks coach last year. (UCLA head) Coach (Karl) Dorrell - his personality is going to show up no matter who the coordinator is, as far as the offensive schemes. Other than not having a chance to see the quarterback work, we feel we have good tape to go on from their season last year.
"Defense is a different issue. We've collected all the tape where Coach (DeWayne) Walker has been. Most recently, he was with the Washington Redskins. He's been at USC and had several stops at some really good places. Again, that's best-guess scenario because he has not been a coordinator yet. So what he's going to put together and what he likes, personally, we're going to have to wait until game time to find out."
On how long it takes to figure out what a new coordinator is doing
"A couple series. You can tell in a couple series what the basic premise of what they're doing is. Certainly by the end of the first quarter, you better have a very good idea."
On the atmosphere at the Rose Bowl
"We're hoping for about 7,500 Ute faithful. I'm not sure what they average. We're anticipating 60,000 or 70,000. It is a lot like the Big House in Michigan where we played a few years back, where it isn't right on top of you. It is a bit more spread out situation. We're expecting our players to handle it very well, not be in awe of the venue or the crowd, and just go out and play very well."
On Mike Liti's performance in fall camp
"Mike Liti had an excellent camp. He's playing his best football as a Ute and he will split time with Darryl Poston. Right now there is now 1 and 2. They'll split carries. I can't say enough about how Mike has handled this two-a-days. He has stepped his game up, along with Darryl. They'll be carrying the bulk of the load."
On Utah's speed at wide receiver
"Our receiver corp ... I've been bragging about those guys since the spring. I feel the same now as I did then. It is an outstanding, young, gifted, fast group of guys. Is it going to be an advantage for us? Having fast receivers is an advantage. Team speed-wise, it is going to be a good matchup. I'm not sure we'll have a speed advantage. But it is certainly an advantage to have a fast group of wide receivers."
-UU-
Players Mentioned
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