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The University of Utah Athletics
Ute Football Gets Off to a Good Start
8/6/2009 12:00 AM | Football
Aug. 6, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY--
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Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham liked what he saw from his players on the first day of the 2009 football camp. He split the first practice into two sessions, with the projected starters and No. 3 players running through drills for an hour and a half, followed in suit by the No. 2 and No. 4 players. The Utes will follow the same practice structure Friday, before coming together as a team on Saturday and practicing as one unit for the remainder of camp. Practices are closed to the public.
Whittingham gave a good overall review of the team and saved particular praise for a pair of newcomers. "Latu Heimuli is going to be really good," said Whittingham about the true freshman defensive tackle making his first appearance as a Ute. Of junior college transfer Terrance Cain, one of three contenders at quarterback, Whittingham noted, "Terrance made obvious improvement from the spring."
In post-practice interviews, the quarterbacks were the most requested players by a large media gathering. Junior Corbin Louks and true freshman Jordan Wynn practiced with the early group and, after a 45-minute weight lifting session with the rest of the A group, fielded questions. Cain took his turn with the press when practice concluded at around 12:15.
The 105 players in camp included every scholarship player expected with the exception of three junior college signees who did not complete the necessary academic requirements. Defensive end James Aiono will finish his schooling at Snow College during the fall semester and will enroll at Utah in January. Maxwell Lacy and Ray Magee are still hopefuls for camp. Whittingham predicted it would be two weeks before the status of Lacy or Magee is finalized.
The Utes made it through the no-pad practice sessions pretty much injury-free. Only linebacker Mo Neal, who suffered muscle cramps, had to leave the field early.
Whittingham addressed questions about Utah's chance to succeed faced with three relatively untested quarterbacks by answering, "We expect to contend for the conference title and to defend our conference title. Our goal every year is to win the conference title. From top to bottom, we have excellent players."
The buzz around practice centered on the hairstyle of choice of the linebackers and cornerbacks. The linebackers showed up with all or part of their hair dyed platinum blond. Some, like Stevenson Sylvester, sported bright blond Mohawks, while Kepa Gaison reserved just the tips of his long locks for blond and Chad Manis went with blond spots all over his head. The cornerbacks had "ATC" shaved into the backs of their heads--some dyed red or blond. The initials stood for "Air Traffic Control."
The Utes were attired in new Under Armour practice gear.
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