Utah Football Holds First Scrimmage of Spring

4/11/2015 12:00 AM | Football

April 11, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY - Sophomore linebacker Sunia Tauteoli recorded three tackles for loss totaling eight yards to go with a blocked field goal in Utah's first scrimmage of the spring Saturday morning at Rice-Eccles Stadium. There were 78 total plays run between the first and second units.

"This was an excellent work day," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We had clean execution with very few penalties. I feel very good about where we're at three weeks into camp. The most important scrimmage of the spring will be next week (Saturday, Apr. 18 at Rice-Eccles Stadium from 10 a.m.-noon). That will be a big test."

Tauteoli, a Salt Lake City native and transfer from Snow College, was credited with a team-high three tackles for loss to go with a block of a 50-yard field goal attempt. Uaea Masina turned in a six-yard sack and Pita Taumoepenu came up with a four-yard sack to complete a solid day for the Ute linebacking corps.

"We're in good shape in terms of linebacker depth," Whittingham said. "[Gionni] Paul will be back to practice on Tuesday. [Masina] made a bunch of plays today and [Tauteoli] has a tremendous upside."

Defensive back Andre Godfrey also tallied a three-yard TFL, while linebacker Jared Norris and defensive end Hunter Dimick split one TFL for two yards.

Quarterback Travis Wilson was 10-of-19 throwing on the day for 98 yards with one touchdown to go with a pair of rushes for 10 yards. Chase Hansen completed nine of 20 attempts for 90 yards.

"Wilson and Hansen will continue to get the vast majority of reps during the last two weeks [of spring practice]," Whittingham said. "Kendal Thompson will be in the mix to start when he returns [in the fall]. That's nothing against [Wilson], he is playing his best ball right now and he'll be tough to unseat."

Ten different Utes caught passes on the day as Kenneth Scott had three receptions for 36 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown. Raelon Singleton came up with a 33-yard grab and Harrison Handley turned in a 22-yard reception.

Taylor Loomis (three catches for 10 yards), Evan Moeai (two catches for 20 yards), Bubba Poole (two catches for 17 yards) and Tyrone Smith (two catches for 12 yards) were the other Utes with multiple receptions on the day.

Andy Phillips made both of his field goal attempts -- from 37 and 40 yards. Jon Halliday was 1-of-3 with a make from 38 yards. Poole took a reverse for eight yards on the first play of the scrimmage from the offense's 30-yard line to highlight the first series. The second unit's drive ended with Tanner Larsen blocking a Jake Kane punt.

Next up was the `backed up' section of the scrimmage with the offense working from its own 1-yard line. The first-team defense came up with a 3-and-out before Hansen found Singleton down the right sideline for 33 yards to end the second-team series.

Action moved to midfield as Wilson found Scott on a receiver screen for nine yards for the initial first down of the drive. Moeai made an impressive catch on a ball thrown behind him over the middle for nine more yards. Moeai then gained 11 more yards with another grab down the left seam and the drive culminated with a 40-yard field goal by Phillips.

The second-team drive from the 50-yard line began with Loomis gaining eight yards on a swing pass on the first play and Monte Seabrook running for 11 yards to pick up the initial first down of the series. After the drive was halted, a 50-yard field goal attempt by Holliday was blocked by Tauteoli.

In the next series, Hansen rolled out and found Handley open in the flat for 22 yards on the first play of the second team's drive. But the defense was able to come up with a third-down stop to end the drive.

After a segment of drills focusing on kickoff coverage, the scrimmage continued with red zone work starting from the 22-yard line. Norris tracked down Poole for a 1-yard loss before Wilson rushed for five yards. Norris and Dimick teamed up for another TFL that forced a 37-yard field goal attempt by Phillips, which was good.

The second team's first red zone drive began with a pass breakup by Brian Allen on a Hansen pass over the middle and Tauteoli registered another TFL for four yards. Halliday finished the drive with a 38-yard field goal.

The second set of red zone series started from the 9-yard line with Tani Leha'uli rushing for seven yards to the 2-yard line before scoring the first touchdown of the day. For the two-point conversion, Wilson threw a cross-field pass to tight end Siale Fakailoatonga.

The second unit's drive began with Andrew Fletcher running for eight yards down to the 1-yard line. He ran into the end zone on the next play. The offense was again successful on a two-point try, this time with, Hansen connecting with Jameson Field.

After punt return work, the two-minute drill for both units began from midfield with Wilson connecting with Poole on a crossing route for 20 yards. A holding penalty moved the offense back to the 45, but Wilson then hit Tyrone Smith for 12 yards. On fourth down, Wilson rolled to his left and found Scott along the sideline, where he got two feet in bounds for a 16-yard gain. Wilson then reconnected with Scott for a 17-yard touchdown.

Hansen connected with Chase Loftin on a slant route for 12 yards for the first new set of downs in the second team's two-minute attempt. However, the Ute defense was able to force four straight incompletions to stall the drive.

On the first unit's next two-minute series, Wilson rolled to his left on second down and attempted a 45-yard pass that was broken up by Jason Thompson. Taumoepenu came up with a four-yard TFL to force a Halliday field goal attempt that was no good.

Spring practice continues for the fourth week on Tuesday as the Utes work out from 3 to 5 p.m. The next scrimmage at Rice-Eccles Stadium is Saturday, Apr. 18 from 10 a.m.-noon.

That's a wrap for today's scrimmage! "Proud of the progress we've made in these last 9 practices." @UtahCoachWhitt pic.twitter.com/fES1sWqB8E

-- Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 11, 2015