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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
11/2/2015 12:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2015
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Weekly Press Conference
Opening statement:
"It was good to get back on track with the win at home against Oregon State. I thought our guys played hard. They had a good week of preparation. It was very positive to be able to put the previous week behind us and just move forward. It was not our best game of the season. On offense, we played efficiently. We didn't put up big numbers, but we were efficient and didn't turn it over. Defensively, we played exceptionally well in the red zone. That was probably the biggest key to the game, our red zone defense. Our defense has played outstanding all year in the red zone. We're about 56% percent in allowing touchdowns in the red zone, which is outstanding. They're doing a nice job down there. Travis [Wilson] bounced back and threw the ball well. Again, not a ton of numbers, but he was efficient. He was over 80 percent in completion percentage with no interceptions and a couple hundred yards so we got mileage out of it, but it was good to see him bounce back. Special teams were solid. Tom Hackett punted the ball extremely well. Andy Phillips nailed all of his kicks. The coverage units were good. Kickoff coverage was good. Overall, it was a solid game. The win was what we were concerned with obviously and we come out of it 7-1. Now it's on to the Huskies. They're probably playing their best football of the season. They had a great game against Arizona, just hitting on all cylinders and really had their way for the entire 60 minutes. We have a big challenge at their place. Washington is the one team we haven't not beaten yet since we joined the Pac-12. That's a challenge for our guys right there to step up. "
On Devontae Booker:
"Obviously he is the focal point of the offense. You know what you're going to get pretty much every week. He runs hard. He's an exceptional receiver out of the backfield. He caught another four or five balls Saturday night. Out of the backfield, I think he had 25 carries so he had about 30 touches. He's a guy who we count on every single week to deliver and he does that. Hopefully he goes over 1,000 yards [for the season] this week. We expect him to because he's knocking on the door so this would be the second year that he's over 1,000 yards. He just has to keep going. He's our guy. He means a lot to this team."
On getting one sack against Oregon State:
"Not really [concerned] because Oregon State was getting the ball out quickly and most of the throws were off of play action. There was very little pure drop-back game. The sprint-out was a big part of the game, in fact, our sack came on a sprint out. Chase Hansen did a great job with his responsibility, firing off the ball and getting the sack for us. I would say it was not a problem with the pass rush. I think we did a pretty good job keeping the pocket restricted and our pass defense was pretty good. The defense overall was good. [Oregon State] barely had over 300 yards of total offense and 12 points. You're not going to lose many games giving up 12 points. That's a pretty good showing."
On tight end Harrison Handley:
"He has an opportunity to show what he can do. He's making the most of it. He's held down the fort and made some big catches. He still needs to get a little more physical in the run game. He'll be the first to tell you that, but he's coming along."
On the offensive line allowing just one sack against Oregon State:
"[Siaosi Aiono] is our inspirational leader on our offensive line and for the team in a lot of ways. We miss him, but Hiva [Lutui] stepped in and did a nice job in filling that void. We were able to run the ball efficiently. We had about 175 yards of rushing [against Oregon State] and just the one sack so it was good to see those guys not miss a beat. `Leka' [Salesi Uhatafe], the right guard, played every snap due to the absence of [Aiono]. There were six guys who played [against Oregon State] and then Jackson [Barton] gave us about 20 to 25 snaps at the left tackle spot and continues to make progress. We think he has a very bright future with a high ceiling."
On what Devontae Booker has improved in the most since coming to Utah:
"He came to us as a very good runner with the ball in his hands, obviously, but he has really blossomed as a pass protector and receiver. That's where he has grown the most. You don't really teach a running back to run with the ball. That's natural. You either can do it or you can't so that's just something that's just inherent. The way that he has improved and progressed in those other two areas has really been the biggest difference in his game."
On Devontae Booker getting enough national recognition:
"It's hard to say [if he is getting the attention he deserves]. There are a lot of good backs out there. [Devontae Booker] is third in the conference in rushing right now. He certainly is more on the radar this year than last year so we'll see how he finishes. If he finishes strong and puts up some good numbers in the last four games, then we'll see if he's recognized."
On Chase Hansen:
"Without a doubt, we like what we see out of him [at safety]. He's going to play a bunch this week, a bunch. The future for Chase will be up to Chase. I think he's going to be a fine quarterback if that's the direction he wants to go. He's falling in love with the safety position. The short version is that after the season we'll talk to him and see which way he wants to go and whichever way that is, that's the direction we'll go. He's going to play for us somewhere next year full time. It just depends on where he wants to be."
On the absence of tight end Siale Fakailoatonga:
"Siale's blocking was underrated, very much so, and went a little bit under the radar. He's a physical kid. He gave us a big body at that anchor tight end. He's 255 pounds and very physical and athletic."
On the tempo of the offense:
"I think we're where we should be right now as far as what serves us best and what gives us the best chance to win. As injuries start to accumulate, that's less wear and tear on your guys. It's a simple deduction that if you run 80 plays, you're more susceptible to getting banged up than if you run 60 plays. It serves us well on both ends."
On the passing game philosophy:
"I think we have not taken enough shots [down the field] this season as a whole. We probably should have taken more to this point. Our percentage is pretty good when we do take shots, especially with Kenneth Scott. As I said before, he either comes down with the ball or draws a P.I., most of the time. When I talk about being more productive on offense, that includes taking more shots down field."
On his cornerbacks:
"I think the corners are playing very well. I thought they played well Saturday night. Reginald [Porter] had four pass breakups individually, which is a career high for him in one game. Dominique Hatfield, although [Oregon State] went over the top one time on him, it got called back so it didn't count, but he's playing well. We're really playing with four corners right now, with [Porter], [Hatfield] and then Brian Allen and Cory Butler-Byrd. Those are the guys taking the reps. I think it was about 2 to 1. [Hatfield] and [Porter] had about 40 to 42 snaps and then [Butler-Byrd] and [Allen] had about 20 snaps each. That does two things. Number one, it develops those guys behind them for the future. It gives [Allen] and [Butler-Byrd] more reps and number two, it makes the first-string corners fresh at the end of the game, instead of covering 65-straight snaps. They have a break here and there which makes them stronger at the end of the game. It's the same principle when we rotate defensive linemen. We develop guys as well as give the starters a little bit of a break."
On Travis Wilson breaking Brian Johnson's school record for quarterback starts:
"That's great. Travis has been a big part of what we're doing for a lot of years. It speaks to his toughness and resiliency to be able to be available for that many starts. Quarterbacks in this day and age take a pounding. He's a tough guy and that's something to be proud of, in my opinion."
On preparing to face Washington and head coach Chris Petersen:
"[The coaching staff has told defensive and special teams players to just] `do your job.' Stay at home when you're supposed to be at home. Don't try to do too much. [Petersen] has done an outstanding job through the years with special teams. They had those three or four trick plays in the Fiesta Bowl that really were the difference in the game against Oklahoma many years back. It's just about being disciplined and doing your job, your 1/11th, and not trying to do too much."
On the improvement of Utah's depth since joining the Pac-12:
"It's been absolutely critical. That was one of the things we lacked coming into the conference. We've worked hard to improve our depth over the last five years and we think we have. We're still short in a few positions with some numbers depth-wise, but we're miles ahead of where we were when we first entered the league. I think that's been a big reason why, even though we've been hit fairly hard [by injuries] this year, we've been able to maintain and play competitively every week."
On his defense in the red zone:
"They're just making plays. [Defensive coordinator John] Pease is doing a nice job dialing up the right defenses down there. It's just a combination of good coverage in the back and a strong front with the linebackers being active. It's not really any one particular thing. It's a combination of three or four things, but more than anything else it's a mentality. When opponents get down in the red zone, our guys bow their necks and really make an unbelievable effort to keep them out of the end zone. It's hard to win with field goals so if you're just kicking field goals in the red zone, you're not going to win a whole lot of games. You have to get in the end zone. Our defense understands that. We've done a good job of holding teams and making them settle for field goals in the red zone, which has been huge."
On the offense returning to huddling during the Oregon State game:
"A few things brought that up. We always talk about wanting to protect our signals and not tip your hand. When we're not playing at that fast pace that we messed around with it the last couple of years, we've moved to a more traditional pace now, there really is no big benefit in not huddling and no disadvantage to huddling. The pace is very similar so we just figured if it protects the signals a little bit better and makes us less susceptible [to opponents stealing signs], why not?"
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