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The University of Utah Athletics
Football Goes to MWC Preview
7/18/2008 12:00 AM | Football
July 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
UTES AT THE MWC MEDIA PREVIEW Representing Utah at the Mountain West Conference Football Preview in Las Vegas, July 21-22, will be Head Coach Kyle Whittingham, senior quarterback Brian Johnson and All-America senior punter/kicker Louie Sakoda.
SPOTLIGHT ON Brian Johnson Senior all-conference candidate Brian Johnson (6-1, 200), Utah's 2007 MVP, is scheduled to start at quarterback for a third year. He has played in 31 games and started 20 in his career. Johnson, a second-team all-conference pick as a sophomore in 2005, has recovered from knee (2006) and shoulder (2007) injuries. He led Utah to wins in eight of its last nine games last year after returning to the starting lineup from a shoulder injury. He concluded the season by being named the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl Offensive MVP. Johnson appears in the school record book in several places and his 65.0% career completion rate ranks second in school history. As a sophomore in 2005, he led the MWC and ranked No. 4 in the nation in total offense (337.0 yards per game) and also led the MWC in pass efficiency.
SPOTLIGHT ON Louie Sakoda A 2007 first-team All-America punter (FWAA, CBSSports.com) and place kicker (Rivals.com) a year ago, senior Louie Sakoda is a two-time MWC Special Teams Player of the Year (2006-07). Sakoda has started at punter since his freshman season and added place kicking duties as a sophomore. A Ray Guy Award top 10 finalist for the past two years, Sakoda has won seven MWC player of the week citations. He enters his senior season as Utah's career field goal percentage leader (83%), ranks second in career field goals made (35) and is third in punt yards (7,831), punt average (42.1) and 50-yard punts (36). Sakoda has placed 43-percent of his career punts (80-of-186) inside the 20-yard line.
KYLE STYLE Fourth-year head coach Kyle Whittingham has posted a winning record and secured a bowl victory in each of his first three seasons as Utah's head coach. He owns a 24-14 career record, and including his 11 years as a Ute assistant, has participated in more wins than anyone in Utah football history. Since he joined the staff in 1994, Utah has won 67-percent of its games (110-55). Prior to becoming Utah's head coach in 2005, Whittingham spent one season as the defensive line coach and 10 years as the defensive coordinator.
TICKET TAKERS Utah has sold over 26,000 season tickets for the first time in school history. Utah has set a new season ticket record every year since Kyle Whittingham became the head coach in 2005 and season sales have increased by over 7,000 tickets during that time.
GRIDBITS Utah will open its 2008 season on Aug. 30 against Michigan in Ann Arbor, marking the fifth-straight year the Utes have kicked off the season against a school from a BCS conference. The Utes are 2-2 in those openers, with wins against Texas A&M (2004) and Arizona (2005) and losses to UCLA (2006) and Oregon State (2007) ... In the last five years, Utah is 10-4 against BCS schools. Wins have come against California, Oregon, Texas A&M, Arizona (twice), North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, UCLA and Louisville ... Utah owns the second-longest current bowl win in the nation at seven. Kyle Whittingham has coached in all seven games of the current postseason streak, including three as the head coach ... The Utes will showcase new uniforms and gear this fall. The university and Under Armour agreed to a five-year partnership on April 8 that designates the performance apparel company as the official outfitter for the Utah football team.
Players Mentioned
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