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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
9/22/2014 12:00 AM | Football
Sept. 22, 2014
Opening Statement
It was good to get the win on the road at Michigan. Very proud of our guys, players and coaches. Defense played exceptionally well. Special teams were very good. Offensively, we weren't as productive as we'd like to be, but we took care of the football. We just turned it over the one time. That was probably the biggest stat of the game, the turnover margin - 4-1, +3 for us. Historically, our chances are very good anytime we're on the plus side of the turnover margin. Proved to be the case again. We start Pac-12 play this week. Washington State this week, coming to our place, homecoming game. Open up for the first of nine-straight Pac-12 games with a bye mixed in there at some point. It's conference play from here on out. We came out of the game in pretty good shape as far as bumps and bruises. We'll get back on the field tomorrow, we'll just lift today, and we'll get going for Washington State.
On being ready to compete in the Pac-12:
I think we're faster. I think we're better on the perimeters with the wide receivers, the secondary. We're getting good quarterback play right now. That's got to continue. Keep Travis healthy. I think we're improved across the board, but probably everyone else in the conference is as well. I've said that many times. I think that we have some things going for us right now, but it's a tough conference. Every week will be a challenge.
On Travis Wilson:
He'll be playing this week. He's a tough kid. He'll be the first to tell you that he needs to use better judgment in some cases. He's a tremendous competitor and exceptionally tough and very smart, he just didn't use the best judgment on that one isolated play.
On Travis Wilson returning after being injured against Michigan:
It gave us a big spark. That's what you want to do. Coming out of halftime, if you've got the ball you want to score, and if you're on defense you want to get a stop, and that sets the tone for the half. We marched right down - that was our best drive of the game by far, the opening drive of the second half. Very efficient, very productive. It was great to have Travis engineering that drive.
On Gionni Paul and his first game as a Ute:
I can't say we were expecting that kind of impact, but we know that he's a good player. We know he's a playmaker. We know he plays with a passion. But to be the Athlon Defensive Player of the Week, not only [the player of the week] in the Pac-12, but nationally, we are very fortunate to have him in the lineup, particularly with Jason [Whittingham] out. He's a great player, and he showed it on Saturday on a big stage.
On Kendal Thompson and future plans for him:
We thought we were going to get him in the game on Saturday. It just so happened it was because Travis went down, but he's played very well and contributed. That will be the plan the rest of the way. There is never going to be a point where we say 'at the start of the second quarter you're in.' That's not how we operate. He brings enough to the table that when Dave [Christensen] and I feel the time is right, he can take some reps and help the team. That's not to take anything away from Travis, because Travis is playing exceptionally well. It's not a case of Travis not getting it done, it's trying to utilize all of our weapons.
On Washington State:
We did watch that game [against Oregon] on the way home. We had TV sets on the way home so the entire airplane was pretty much glued to that game. Very prolific on offense throwing the football. They are averaging nearly 500 yards passing, which is tremendous. I don't know what the NCAA record is, but if they are able to keep that pace they will probably have the record. Connor Halliday is an exceptional quarterback. He did some good things against us last year, and they took the Ducks right down to the wire. We know they are prolific on offense and this might be the best defense Coach Leach has had since he's been at Washington State. They are a very dangerous team. They are sitting at 1-3 but they are dangerous. They have weapons and they are a very good football team. They just haven't gotten off to a great start.
This is a big departure [from other offenses we face during the season.] Week in and week out, usually your starting point on defense is to stop the run, but with Washington State you don't do that. You still have to be aware of the run. They hurt us with a couple of runs last year as I recall, a couple runs that popped, but how they are going to beat you is throwing the football. You have to make sure you have all your bases covered with mixing up your coverages and getting pressure on the quarterback.
On Washington State head coach Mike Leach:
We did not know each other in college. I didn't know he was a fan of mine. I am trying to think of the first time we met. I can't recollect exactly when the first meeting was. We've been friends for a lot of years now. I have a lot of respect for him and everything he's done in his career. He's such a great guy to hang around with. He's intriguing, has a great sense of humor, he always has something very interesting to talk about. I really enjoy the time I'm able to spend with him. Our wives get along very well in addition. We didn't know each other back in the day when I was playing. I think I was graduated, but I think he started helping out in the office in spring football.
It was great [when he came in to address our guys during his time away from coaching.] We picked up some good stuff from him. It was during his time when he was away from the game for the one season. He came in and gave us some really good ideas and helped us out.
On the defense:
Michigan did not get in the red zone the entire game. I think all three position groups are playing well - the secondary, the linebackers and the front. There is no real weakness right now. We're getting good pressure on the quarterback with mostly a four-man rush. We are mixing in some zone blitz, but maybe not as much as a dose as we have in years past. We're getting tackles for loss and sacks from the front. Tackles from the linebackers and good coverage in man situations in the zone drops, and then the secondary seems to be covering much better this year. Not that we had bad coverage last year, but we're making more plays back there. More pass breakups, and we had the three interceptions on Saturday that really helped our cause.
On the secondary against Washington State:
It's a tough matchup because they have so many different receivers. You can't just focus on one or two or even three. They have 4-5 guys who are very good and are producing for them. We've got to have more than just the two outside corners. Justin Thomas is playing very well at the nickel in addition. They really present matchup problems with their skill and their speed, and you have to adjust your personnel to equate your speed with theirs. That will be a challenge for us, to make sure we have enough skill on the field to match up with their skill.
On special teams:
The guys are working extremely hard all week in practice. We have a punter and a kicker who have a ton of talent in Tom Hackett and Andy Phillips. Returner Kaelin Clay is a big-time returner. The starting point is always talent and players, and we have that. The guys have all bought in. The entire team understands the importance of special teams. Every guy on the team has bought into what we're doing in that regard. What you see is the finished product on Saturdays. We hope it continues. It's only three games in but so far we're off to a pretty good start.
Players Mentioned
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