Utah Participates in Pac-12 Media Tour

7/25/2011 12:00 AM | Football

July 25, 2011

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LOS ANGELES

PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEDIA TOUR

Utah's first event as member of the Pac-12 Conference is the Pac-12 Bicoastal Media Tour, July 26-28. Coach Kyle Whittingham and senior offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom will represent Utah in the Los Angeles portion of the tour on July 26 at the FOX Studios. Whittingham and the other Pac-12 coaches will then fly to the East Coast, where they will attend media functions in Bristol, Conn. (at ESPN) and New York City on July 27 and 28.

WHITTINGHAM FILE

Entering his seventh year as Utah's head coach, Kyle Whittingham has a 58-20 overall record, a 12-5 mark against BCS schools and 4-3 ledger against the Pac-12. Utah has won 10 or more games and finished in the Associated Press and/or Coaches' Top 25 for the past three seasons. He was named the 2008 National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards committee after leading Utah to a 13-0 season, a victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and a No. 2 final A.P. ranking. Whittingham joined the Utah staff in 1994 as the defensive line coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later. In his 17-year tenure, Utah has won 70-percent of its games (143-61) and 10 of 12 bowl games. He is 6-1 in bowl games, including a victory as co-head coach of the 2005 Fiesta Bowl team. Whittingham has coached seven All-Americans, including five first-team All-Americans (three consensus). A linebacker for Brigham Young from 1978-81, Whittingham earned first-team all-WAC and WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1981. He played in the first four Holiday Bowls and was named Defensive MVP of the 1981 game. In 2008, he was inducted into the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame.

BERGSTROM FILE

Senior offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom (6-6, 315), an All-America candidate from Salt Lake City (Skyline HS), prepares for his third season as the starting right tackle. Bergstrom has played in 36 games in his career with 27 starts. Second-team all-Mountain West Conference a year ago, Bergstrom was recently named to the watch list for the Outland Trophy. He has led Utah's offensive linemen in total plays for the past two seasons (1,400 plays in the 22 games in which OL stats were recorded). Bergstrom, a chemical engineering major, is married to the former Jessica Kruger. They have a daughter Olivia. Jessica is the sister of current Ute defensive linemen Dave and Joe Kruger, as well as former Ute Paul Kruger (now with the Baltimore Ravens).

DYNAMITE DECADE

Utah has made nine bowl appearances since 2001, going 8-1 with a 2-0 record in BCS bowl games. The Utes have finished in the Top 25 five times in the last eight years, highlighted by a No. 2 A.P. ranking in 2008. Utah finished No. 4 in the A.P. poll in 2004. In the last eight years, Utah has averaged just under 10 wins a season (9.88) with undefeated seasons in 2004 (12-0) and 2008 (13-0). Utah enters its first year as a member of a BCS conference after leading the non-automatic qualifying schools with a 22-12 mark against BCS teams from 1998 (the year the system was implemented) to 2010. Included in that mark are seven wins in the last 10 games against Pac-12 teams.

UTES IN A MINUTE

Junior quarterback Jordan Wynn, recently named to the Davey O'Brien watch list, is expected to be fully cleared for fall camp. Wynn missed the Las Vegas Bowl, and could not participate in live or passing drills during spring camp following surgery to his right (throwing) shoulder ... Joining Wynn on preseason watch lists released to date are offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom (Outland Trophy/top interior lineman); receiver DeVonte Christopher (Biletnikoff Award/top receiver) and linebacker Chaz Walker (Lombardi Award/top down lineman-linebacker) ... Positions without a returning starter include running back, both corners, both safeties and placekicker ... New offensive coordinator Norm Chow began installing a multiple offense in the spring, replacing the spread formation Utah has utilized since 2003 ... Utah returns 13 starters and 51 lettermen (see sidebar on page 2 for complete personnel breakdown).

U-TWEETS

The fastest Utes are WR Reggie Dunn and CB Ryan Lacy; both run a 4.32-second 40 ... 2010 Freshman All-America safety Brian Blechen has moved to LB ... "Tri"-starters at RB are newcomers Harvey Langi, John White IV and Thretton Palamo ... Ute alumni coaches are Norm Chow, OC/TE; Tim Davis, OL; Jay Hill, CB/ST; Brian Johnson, QB; Chad Kauha'aha'a, DL and Morgan Scalley, SAF ... Of Utah's six 10-win seasons in its 117-year history, five have come since 2003.

PAC-12 TIES

Ute assistant coaches Norm Chow and Tim Davis have both coached at Pac-12 schools. Chow was the offensive coordinator at USC from 2001-04 and at UCLA from 2008-10. Davis coached the offensive line at USC from 2002-04 and was a graduate assistant at Arizona in 1987 ... Kyle Whittingham's first win as head coach came against Arizona, a 27-24 victory in Salt Lake City in 2005 ... Utah's 37-27 victory over California in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl--its ninth-straight bowl victory--tied the Utes for the second-longest bowl win streak in NCAA FBS history with USC. The second win of Utah's streak was against USC in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl. Utah's bowl win streak lasted from 1999-2009, while USC's extended from 1923-45 ... Utah's all-time record against Pac-12 schools is 76-120-6 (8-5 in the last 10 years). Utah is 3-2 in bowl games against Pac-12 schools.

JUMP START

Seventeen of Utah's 21 incoming recruiting class members are already on campus taking classes. Spring semester enrollees include Isaac Asiata, Harvey Langi, Daniel Nielson and John White IV. Registering in the summer were Siaosi Aiono, Joseph Bryant, Anthony Denham, Seni Fauonuku, Jon Hays, Charles Henderson, Daniel Kristensen, Jared Norris, Jarrell Oliver, Quinton Pedroza, Jordan Robles, Eric Rowe and Travis Still. Still working toward enrollment at the U. are Tevita Bloomfield, Keith McGill, Benji Kemoeatu and Po'u Palelei.

CONFERENCE HISTORY

On July 1, 2011, the University of Utah began official membership in the Pac-12 Conference. The Utes accepted an invitation to join the conference on June 17, 2010. Utah's previous conference affiliations follow: Rocky Mountain Conference (1910-37), Big Seven Conference (1938-47), Skyline Conference (1948-61), Western Athletic Conference (1962-98), Mountain West Conference (1999-2010).

ONCE AND FUTURE FOES

Utah has past league affiliations with three current Pac-12 schools: Colorado (Rocky Mountain Conference, Big Seven Conference), Arizona (Western Athletic Conference) and Arizona State (Western Athletic Conference). Utah's last conference game against CU was in 1947 as members of the Big Seven Conference. Utah's last WAC game against Arizona and Arizona State was in 1977. The two Arizona schools joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978.