Camp Kyle ’16: Day 7

8/11/2016 3:44 PM | Football

68-yard pass to Tyrone Smith highlights first scrimmage of camp.

A 68-yard catch and run by sophomore wide receiver Tyrone Smith from junior quarterback Troy Williams headlined the University of Utah football program's first scrimmage Thursday morning at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Utah's first official scrimmage of the season offered game-like situations as part of the team's seventh official day of the season.

The Countdown is On ...
The countdown to kickoff from Rice-Eccles Stadium against Southern Utah stands at 21 days. UtahUtes.com has each day of @Utah_Football fall camp covered. Use #CampKyle16 on all social media posts to keep track of the Utes and chime in with your thoughts throughout preseason camp.

Hard work makes success possible, and today's scrimmage showed @Utah_Football's hard work is paying off. #goutes https://t.co/yfhovWBRaS
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) August 11, 2016

UtahUtes.com will be your go-to source for videos, GIFs, Facebook Live sessions, photos, quotes, social media reaction and behind-the-scenes tidbits all the way up to when the Utes face the Thunderbirds on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. MT.

Day 7 Overview ...
• After starting the day with drills of individual work for a warmup, the Utes went into 'drive it' mode for two segments, followed by portions of red zone work and capped by three series of two-minute drills.
• Reps for the special teams with a focus on the punt, kickoff return and punt return units were mixed in among reps of the scrimmage.
• A period reserved for the third units of the offense and defense in 'drive it' mode capped the scrimmage.
• The second of five two-a-day sessions in fall camp will be held tomorrow (Fri., Aug. 12).

20-Minute Media Observation Period Highlights ...
• A pre-determined situation put the offense in a 23-21 deficit and taking possession from its own 40-yard line with two minutes remaining in regulation.
• Junior quarterback Troy Williams found sophomore wide receiver Tyrone Smith on a 'sluggo' (slant and go) route on fourth and 20 down the far seam for a 68-yard pickup that put offense on the +3-yard line.

Another look at Tyrone Smith's big catch from Troy Williams today (4th and 20 for 68 yards). #goutes #CampKyle16 pic.twitter.com/ecdHow5fsv
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) August 11, 2016

• Senior placekicker Andy Phillips buried the 25-yard field goal for the "win" as time expired on the clock.
• Other two-minute segment highlights included pass breakups by Julian Blackmon and Pita Taumoepenu.
• Sophomore wide receiver Caleb Repp caught a touchdown on a post pattern.

TOUCHDOWN! ?? @CalebRepp!

More on snapchat (utah_football) pic.twitter.com/4j24Lmu4lb
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 11, 2016

• Senior nickelback Justin Thomas had a 'pick six.'

PICK! @JThomas__12 pic.twitter.com/0Osstmr0jI
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 11, 2016

• Sophomore punter Mitch Wishnowsky took full advantage of his live reps.

#PuntersArePeopleToo @mitchwish pic.twitter.com/GnnQQrxU17
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 11, 2016

From Coach Whittingham ...
On overall feeling about his team: "We're very positive, we have a chance to be good. We're not there yet. We're not ready to play today. We don't have to be ready to play today. We have three weeks left to get ready. So far, we think we have a chance to be a pretty competitive team."

On separation in the quarterback competition: "We're starting to see some [separation]. Troy Williams has the edge right now. We're not ready to say he's our guy, but through seven days in camp he has edge. It's to be continued. We're still not ready to say it's going to be set in stone at this point, but he will start to get more reps with the 1's than he has.

"[Troy Williams] has been the most consistent. He's just run the offense the best, moving the chains and taking care of the football. It's not like [Brandon Cox and Tyler Huntley] are doing a poor job because they're doing a nice job as well, but [Troy Williams] has started to separate himself a little bit over these last couple of practices."

On Troy Williams' 68-yard pass to Tyrone Smith to convert a fourth-down and 20: "That was a great job by the offense and very poor defense. [Smith] got behind the safeties and Troy [Williams] put the ball on a rope right where it needed to be. That was a great play. That was one of the best plays of fall camp so far, offensively."

On other impressive young players: "Zack Moss is starting to do a really nice job at running back. He's a guy who has opened some eyes. The young defensive linemen continue to impress, especially Leki Fotu.

"[Moss] is pushing Troy McCormick for playing time. He's right up there with Troy, along with [Armand] Shyne, he did some good things today, too. He's a guy who just got here right at the beginning of fall camp and wasn't with us at all during the summer so he started right at square one, but he's made up a lot of ground."

On the linebacker depth chart: "It will probably be set after the next scrimmage, which is Tuesday. We'll probably be settled in there. That will go for a majority of the football team.

"Sunia Tauteoli has really stood out during fall camp. He has been No. 1, head and shoulders above the rest. Cody Barton has really made a push over the last three or four days. Kavika Luafatasaga hit a little bit of a wall with the install. He got a little bit overloaded, thinking a little bit too much. As soon as he starts to feel a little bit more comfortable, he has a ton of ability, but right now he's thinking too much."

On the wide receivers: "The focus of the wide receivers all offseason has been to be more of an impact on the offense. They need to be better playmakers, have fewer drops, be more physical in blocking for the run game and we're seeing that. Those guys are stepping up. They're doing a nice job. Caleb Repp made some nice plays today and made a couple of nice grabs.

"Being a great receiver means you have to have a great deal of concentration and that comes through getting extra reps after practice as well. It's a combination of the two [physical and mental repetitions]."

On J.J. Dielman at center: "He's looking very good. His snaps are starting to even out a little bit. He's much more accurate. There are still going to be some growing pains with that, but it looks like right now that we're getting settled into that group of five as the first line. We'll watch the film and continue to evaluate, but right now it looks like that's the direction we're going with Garrett Bolles at left tackle and Sam Tevi at right tackle [Isaac Asiata at left guard, Salesi Uhatafe at right guard and Dielman at center].

"The offensive line has been solid since day 1. They're a veteran group. We expect them to be good and they have performed well since the first day of practice." =

"Good work today. Another step forward." @UtahCoachWhitt pic.twitter.com/gGr6ixBguk
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 11, 2016

Post-Practice Impressions from the Utah Players ...

Wide Receiver Tyrone Smith
"[Receivers Coach Guy Holliday] just wants us to play with more heart. He's all about heart. He doesn't care about where you came from, what you could do. He just wants us to go out there, work hard and stay focused.

"There are a lot of guys who can make plays [in the receiving corps]. Everybody can play. You saw that today, Caleb Repp can jump, catch, he can do everything. Siaosi Wilson has good feet. Everyone has a certain technique that they're good at.

"We have more depth this year because we have more guys who are healthy."

Running Back Joe Williams
"We showed our ability to come together and deal with adversity [during today's first scrimmage]. We had a couple mistakes, but being able to capitalize on that fourth-down and 20 then get the ball down to the 3-yard line and make a field goal opened our eyes as an offense that we're really coming together. We've been competitive, going after the defense every day and going blow for blow."

Defensive End Pita Taumoepenu
"The whole team did a great job [during today's scrimmage]. We're working and trying to get every day.

"The biggest offseason change I made was adding weight. That's the biggest improvement I made. My family and friends pushed me to eat a lot of food and work out a lot.

"My speed is still the same, but I feel like I'm more explosive now since I have put on good weight during summer conditioning."

#UtesCamp BTS ...
• Former Utes Tevin Carter and Gionni Paul were in attendance.