Upcoming Event: Football versus Idaho on September 3, 2026
Football
vs Idaho
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
9/8/2014 12:00 AM | Football
Sept. 8, 2014
Opening Statement:
We took a step forward in our game against Fresno State, relative to the season opener, in a lot of different areas. Defensively, we played a lot better. Defended the run like we are supposed to. We started out fast defensively with five consecutive three-and-outs. Our defense didn't allow them to get on track early and never looked back. The only real glaring negative of the game was when we pulled the first defense. The second D showed sloppy play, both from a schematic standpoint as well as a penalty standpoint. So that was disappointing to not see better things out of the second defense. Otherwise, a positive day. Special teams was solid again. Tom [Hackett] punted the ball extremely well. Andy Phillips, except for the one kickoff that went out of bounds, did a nice job. We didn't get much going in the return games like we had the week before, but still, there was good special teams play overall. It was a good win. We needed to get the win and we did. Now we're in the bye week, focusing on Michigan. Obviously we don't play them for 12 days, but we'll start getting ready this week for that game.
On Tom Hackett:
He is doing a great job flipping the field. We're second in the country in net punting right now, primarily due to Tom and the way he's punting the football. We gave him player of the game in the locker room after the game. He's been a weapon through two games, and we hope it continues. We need it to continue. Applaud the rest of the punt team - it's not just Tom. The snapper, the coverage and everything that is going on there has been solid, but Tom has stood out. It's good to see him be recognized nationally. It's well deserved.
On Travis Wilson:
He's had two good outings and has been very efficient with the ball. The numbers as far as yardage haven't been enormous, but what he's done with his throws has been very good. Above everything, he's taken care of the football. That's something we have to continue as well.
On what the coaches have learned during the first two games:
I think quite a bit. We've learned that our two kickers are great weapons for us. We've learned that the offense has been completely embraced and executed by the players to the point where we feel like it's going to be a positive for us the rest of the year. We'll find out, but through two games it looks very positive. Defensively, it was good to get Brian Blechen back. He and Tevin Carter are doing a nice job at the safety spots. We're doing some good things on defense. There are some detail things that need to be cleaned up on defense - that's very apparent through two games, even though our numbers were a lot better against Fresno State, we still have a lot of things that can be made cleaner, and need to be improved upon or we will get exploited with the upcoming schedule.
On the secondary and Dominique Hatfield:
The secondary graded out well. We were in good position. They did get a few balls on us and we had a couple of PIs, but we play aggressive in the secondary and that's the nature of how we play. A lot of man-to-man coverage. Dominique Hatfield was a positive. We think he's going to be a guy who can really become an exceptional corner. He's still in the learning phases and still gaining experience, but what he did on Saturday with his first start and his first opportunity to be a full-time defensive back, we're very pleased with.
On the defense and being among the national leaders in sacks and tackles for loss:
It's only two games, but we are off to a good start. Last year I believe we led the nation in sacks through the regular season. It appears that we have a group this year that is able to do the same thing. Nate Orchard is obviously the headliner of that group and a guy who gives us great pressure off the edge. The tackles for loss is a product of good defensive line play and linebackers getting downfield, which they did a better job of on Saturday. There is a lot that we have not shown yet.
On Nate Orchard:
We hope for him to do the things that Trevor Reilly did for us last year. Some weeks it was as a defensive end, some weeks it's as a linebacker. Most weeks it's going to be a little of both. What Trevor gave us for the last couple of years is exactly what we think Nate is going to be able to do for us this year. You have to be smart. Nate's strength right now is his pressure off the edge. We don't want to take him out of that position very often, but there are going to be times, as there was last week, where we do utilize him and drop him off into coverage, particularly if offenses start sliding the line his way and trying to account for him in protection. Then if we drop him off it's almost a wasted effort on the offense's part to try to protect where he is and it frees up someone else on the other side.
On injuries:
We hope to have Gionni Paul back for Michigan, but that's unknown at this time. I think we're on the verge of getting him back, but we don't know. We had some bumps and bruises in the last game. We've got some guys who are a little bit banged up. In that respect, the bye comes at a good time. We'll see how things go during the week off and how much healing can take place.
On Kenneth Scott:
It was probably his best game as a Ute, at least in my recollection. He did a great job catching the football. All the receivers did. We had zero drops in the game, which was outstanding. Kenneth was a big part of our success on Saturday. He made some key plays for us, and it's great to have him back. I can't overemphasize how great it is to have him back with us.
Players Mentioned
DB/LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
P
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
DE/LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ FootballCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - College football analyst Yogi Roth
Wednesday, May 06
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley
Wednesday, April 29
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football legend Brian Johnson
Friday, February 20
Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley Introductory Press Conference | 1.06.25
Tuesday, January 06