Utes Show Improvement in Second Scrimmage

8/17/2010 12:00 AM | Football

Aug. 17, 2010

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SALT LAKE CITY -- While the Ute football team is not yet ready to take on season-opening foe Pittsburgh, head coach Kyle Whittingham liked what he saw at today's scrimmage-the second of fall camp.

"We're close to being where we should be at this time, which I wouldn't have said yesterday," said Whittingham. "We're not game ready yet, but we don't have to be. Our biggest improvement was with our tackling and takeaways. The flip side, of course, is that our offense wasn't holding on to the ball well enough."

That's to be expected when the Utes pit the "1's against the 1's and the 2's against the 2's," continued Whittingham. "It's almost impossible to have a 'good' scrimmage when you do that, because when one side does well, the other doesn't. There is give and take."

He went on to explain that the final scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday will feature fewer plays with the first-string offense and first-string defense going head to head. "Tomorrow, our emphasis shifts to Pitt," said Whittingham.

In today's scrimmage, the Ute offense scored five touchdowns, although just one came in a full-field situation, with the offense starting on its own 35-yard line. That score featured a 10-yard touchdown pass from Terrance Cain to tight end Dallin Rogers. Two more touchdowns came during red zone drills. One featured Cain connecting with Matt Asiata for a 17-yard pass play that showed off Asiata's running abilities after the catch. In other red zone action, freshman receiver Kenneth Scott made a leaping grab in the end zone on a 13-yard pass from Jordan Wynn.

Safety Greg Bird, who made several big plays for the defense, scored a touchdown on a 21-yard fumble return in red zone play. During the two-minute drills, Edie Wide scored on a 5-yard run.

Today's standouts included Tauni Vakapuna, who rushed 10 times for 52 yards (long of 41), DeVonte Christopher (three receptions for 40 yards), Bird and Christian Cox (forced fumble, tackle for loss).Vakapuna saw increased action with Sausan Shakerin sidelined with a concussion.

Just two quarterbacks took snaps. Wynn was 10-of-15 for 119 yards and a touchdown and Cain was 16-of-22 for 139 yards and two touchdowns (one interception).

In other news, defensive back Lolo Tenifa has been added to the practice roster ...Matt Martinez and Chad Walker remain deadlocked for the starting job at middle linebacker (Jamel King is temporarily out of the mix with a concussion) ... Walk-on Dave Fagergren is the new No. 2 behind J. J. Williams at rover linebacker. With Williams out until further notice due to a foot injury, Fagergren and walk-on Tyson Buck are seeing a lot of action at rover ... Redshirt freshman Jamal Smith has moved from receiver to cornerback.