Big Plays Highlight Utah Football's First Spring Scrimmage

4/9/2016 12:00 AM | Football

April 9, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY -- Junior quarterback Brandon Cox threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns, while senior defensive end Pita Taumoepenu registered 3.5 tackles for loss in the University of Utah football team's first spring scrimmage Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"It was a very good scrimmage overall," Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It was a painfully slow start by the offense, but once they picked it up, [the scrimmage] was very competitive and we got a lot done. The defense did some good things today, but it was the second week in a row where there weren't any takeaways. That's good for the offense, but bad for the defense. [Creating takeaways] was our forte last year. We were one of the top teams in the nation [in that statistical category] so we have to get back to that.

"The quarterbacks are doing a nice job of protecting the ball," Whittingham said. "They're doing a good job with their decision-making."

Cox completed 72.0% of his passes (18-of-25) for 223 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, including a 50-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Caleb Repp. Freshman quarterback Tyler Huntley completed seven passes for 66 yards and one score.

"I was pleased [with the quarterback play today], especially Brandon," Whittingham said. "He may have had his best day as a Ute. He was poised, made some nice throws and did a nice job of running the offense."

For the day, Repp posted a scrimmage-best 109 receiving yards on five receptions with one TD.

Eight other Utes caught passes, including a five-catch, 57-yard day by sophomore Tyrone Smith. His longest reception of the day went for 26 yards.

"[That type of performance from the wide receivers] is what we need," Whittingham said. "That was something we lacked last year, the playmaking ability on the outside, but we saw some of that today. As a whole, this wide receiver group has made progress over the last three weeks."

Sophomore tight end Wallace Gonzalez hauled in three touchdown catches, including 1 and 8-yard scores from Cox and a 4-yard TD reception from Huntley.

"[Gonzalez] was very productive today," Whittingham said. "He's athletic. He has size. He has agility, can make you miss, so he's starting to come around."

Senior running back Joe Williams rushed 33 yards (11 carries) with a 1-yard score (long of 17). Junior Troy McCormick contributed 27 rushing yards (long of 14) and added a pair of receptions for 13 yards out of the backfield.

On the other side of the ball, the Ute defense was credited with 16.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks.

Taumoepenu led the way with 3.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, totaling 18 yards. The Provo, Utah native had 2.0 sacks that went for 10 yards.

"Pita is a big-play guy," Whittingham said. "He's going to be an instrumental part of our defense this fall. He was a guy who did a good job for us last year. As far as the amount of reps he got and production, he probably should have had more reps, but he'll get those this year."

Senior defensive tackle Pasoni Tasini recorded 2.0 sacks on the day that resulted in 18 lost yards. Junior linebacker Sunia Tauteoli turned in 2.0 TFL for 11 yards, which included a six-yard sack. Filipo Mokofisi and Alani Havili-Katoa added 1.5 TFL apiece.

Senior defensive end Hunter Dimick, who ended the afternoon with 1.0 TFL, and Mokofisi started the scrimmage by teaming for a one-yard TFL before a Tauteoli sack ended the drive.

As the second units took over, the defense was able to halt the drives after sacks by freshman defensive end Chris Hart and Tasini and another by Taumoepenu ended the drive. On the following series, after two McCormick runs proceeded Huntley finding senior wide receiver Tyler Cooperwood for a 5-yard gain before being tackled short of the first down.

Senior placekicker Andy Phillips was 5-of-6 on field goal attempts on the day with makes from 32, 26, 38, 44 and 50 yards with his lone miss coming from 43 yards. Sophomore newcomer Mitch Wishnowsky was 3-for-4 with makes from 47, 38 and 53 yards to go with a 50-yard miss.

After focusing on punt coverage techniques, short yardage situations took place from the offense's own 30-yard line before `drive it' mode continued from midfield.

Junior tight end Harrison Handley reached back for a one-handed 10-yard catch down the left seam before McCormick picked up a first down with an 8-yard rush. Sophomore safety Marcus Williams came up with an impressive pass breakup from his safety spot and Tauteoli came in for a 5-yard TFL on third down to halt the drive.

After a restart, McCormick rushed for 14 yards on first down and Cooperwood picked up five yards on a jet sweep. Williams then spun for a six-yard gain to pick up another first down before breaking off a 17-yard gain to set up the offense with a first-and-goal on the 8-yard line. Taumoepenu then came up with a 17-yard sack of Huntley to force a 39-yard field goal try by Phillips that was good.

Cox found Repp down the west sideline for a 50-yard touchdown on the first snap of the following drive.

On the next drive, freshman running back Marcel Manalo picked up a rushing first down before Cox found Repp on an out route for four yards and the two connected again for a 12-yard pickup to move the offense to the 23-yard line. Unfortunately, an errant snap was recovered by Manalo for a 27-yard loss. After a 12-yard run by Manalo, Cox connected with Repp for more 11 yard to set up a 50-yard field goal attempt by Wishnowsky that was missed.

After a series of drills concentrated on the kickoff game, junior wide receiver Kyle Fulks rushed for three yards in the first snap of the red zone segment before a holding penalty moved the line of scrimmage back to the 29. Cox then found Smith on a slant for a 26-yard pickup to take the offense down to the 3. Williams forced his way to the 1 before Cox optioned to Williams for a 1-yard TD.

On the ensuing drive, freshman kicker Hayes Hicken missed a 47-yard field goal before Wishnowsky made a 47-yarder. The next drive started from the 9-yard line that ended with a 26-yard field goal by Phillips.

During the following series from the nine-yard line, Huntley found Cooperwood on a crossing route to bring the offense to the 1-yard where Cox found Gonzalez for a 1-yard touchdown.

Following punt return work, a live four-minute drill began with a defensive stop that was highlighted by Taumoepenu and sophomore defensive back Austin Lee combining on a 4-yard TFL. Taumoepenu came up with another TFL to stall the drive.

Two-minute drills ended the scrimmage as Cox found Gonzalez in the end zone to cap the first drive. Then the situation was set with the offense took over at its own 40-yard line with no timeouts and needing a field goal. The offense was able to move downfield to set up a 44-yard field goal by Phillips on the first drive followed by a 50-yard field goal by Phillips on the second.

"We're in good shape after three weeks of spring practice," Whittingham said. "We came out of this scrimmage healthy. There are some bumps and bruises because we had about 100 plays and we'll have about the same scenario next week. Next week is probably the most important scrimmage of the spring."

The Utes continue spring practice next week with practice open to the public Tuesday, Apr. 12 from 3 to 4:45 p.m., followed by a scrimmage on Saturday, Apr. 16 at 10 a.m.