Camp Kyle ’16: Day 8

8/12/2016 1:44 PM | Football

Utes go through season’s second two-a-day session.

#CampKyle16 continued Friday with the second of five two-a-days for the University of Utah football program at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The Countdown is On ...
The countdown to kickoff from Rice-Eccles Stadium against Southern Utah stands at 20 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.

Ready for another day. Let's get it, Utes. #CampKyle16 https://t.co/kqnLQJmPm1
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 12, 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 8 Overview ...
• The Utah football team was in red helmets, shoulder pads and shorts for the first practice of the day, its second double day of 2016.
• The third of five two-a-day sessions in fall camp will be held Monday, Aug. 15.
• During the live work session that was open to media observation, Reginald Porter broke up a pass and Devonta'e Henry-Cole reeled off a long run.
• An emphasis was put on the coverage game for special teams as the Utes were drilled on working through double teams in the north end zone by Co-Special Teams Coordinator and Cornerbacks Coach Sharrieff Shah.

LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/GtVnztDRkt
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 12, 2016

From Coach Whittingham ...
On today's morning practice: "Today was a good practice. We had a little bit of a slow start, but we finished strong. If we can get the beginning of practice a little better then it would have been really good. As it was, it was a good workout.

"We just came out flat. You can't come out flat. If we come out flat in a game, you're down 14-0 before you know it happened. You have to be ready to go."

On yesterday's scrimmage: "We did a lot of good stuff. It was a clean scrimmage in most respects, not a lot of penalties, a couple of interceptions (which was not good), but we didn't put the ball on the ground as far as fumbling. The defense tackled pretty well. The 1's were just in 'thud' yesterday, but the 2's and 3's were live. The quarterbacks all did some good things. Troy [Williams], as we talked about after practice yesterday, is starting to separate himself. He is getting all of the reps with the 1s. The other two guys [Brandon Cox and Tyler Huntley] are splitting the rest of the reps. By no means is it a finished competition, but [Williams] has earned that to this point. He's outplayed the other two."

On pecking order in the return game: "[An official depth chart has not been settled yet]. Boobie Hobbs is slated right now to return the punts, but Troy McCormick and Kyle Fulks are in a nice battle for the primary kickoff return duties."

On value of freshmen contributing right away: "It's great. The more guys you have on your roster who can play, the better you're going to be. This is a very physical league that we're in, the Pac-12. You're going to get guys banged up. If there is a big dropoff between your 1s and 2s, or your 2s and 3s, you feel that impact, especially as the season wears on. If you have young guys who are contributing and are ready to help you win, that makes everything better and gives you a better chance of winning games."

On Utah's receiving unit: "So far to this point [they've played well]. We're not a finished product. We're not where we need to be, but eight days in, it's been good so far."

CFB's Top 50 defensive lines for 2016: @Utah_Football is among the best. https://t.co/QfVLlcCU36 pic.twitter.com/jX3V46y9HY
— Athlon Sports (@AthlonSports) August 12, 2016

Post-Practice Impressions from the Utah Assistant Coaches and Players ...

Linebacker Sunia Tauteoli
"[Two-a-days are tough], the only thing we can do is to let our energy and attitude take over.

"I'm more comfortable this season. It was a humbling experience last year taking a back seat, but I took advantage of it and tried to get the playbook down like [Gionni Paul and Jared Norris] did. They were very smart and understood everything to a 'T.' Coming back this year, I feel more confident mentally. Physically, I can hit. I like it so that's something that is a given. Just mentally, I need to get that down so last year helped me do that.

"In coverage, I feel more confident this year. Last year, my coverage lacked a little bit. This year, my coverage is getting a lot better as far as zone drops, man coverage, seeing where my advantages are and then trying to expose those.

"I feel like this [year's defense] will be a surprise to everyone. They're going to expect a dropoff, but I think we're going to hit the ground running as a defense."

Tight Ends Coach Freddie Whittingham
"[After Siale Fakailoatonga's season-ending injury], we still have four guys who we can trust and will travel right now. Harrison Handley and Evan Moeai are running with the 1s. Ken Hampel, who is a walk-on, is a solid No. 2, and Wallace Gonzalez moved back to tight end again. He had a very good practice today. He looked really good. We're competing for who will the fourth tight end between [Gonzalez, Chad Hekking and newcomer Bapa Falemaka].

"I tell my guys all of the time that if they can't block as a tight end, we might as well put another receiver in there. The reason you do that is that you can create personnel problems for the defensive coordinator. You can split the tight end out in the slot and have them run a pattern, bring them down attached to the line of scrimmage and have them block power. They have to be able to block like an offensive tackle and run routes like a wide receiver. [Handley] and [Moeai] have both shown that they can do that. [Hampel] is an excellent blocker. [Gonzalez] is a very talented and athletic guy, but the blocking is one part where he's improving and he needs to continue to do so.

"The quarterback needs to know he can trust the tight ends to be in the right spot and run the right route. A good tight end is a big body with strong hands. Oftentimes, he's going to be up against a strong safety or a linebacker and he should win that 1-on-1. We want the quarterback looking for him on third and four. He's going to get open and get to the sticks, catch the ball and move the chains for us."

Wide Receivers Coach Guy Holliday
"We're improving. We're still learning how to work. We have to stop being up and down. We have to be more consistent. Overall, we've improved greatly. To be great, you can't be satisfied with one or two good days. You have to do it every day and we're just learning that.

"Tim Patrick pulls everyone along [as a leader], not verbally all of the time, but by his play. I think Kyle Fulks' pulls people along. Those two have stuck out to me.

"What a lot of people don't realize about height is that if you don't have outstanding speed, you're open by height because most corners are 5'9" or 5'10" and we're playing with athletic 6'3" or 6'4" guys so if even if we're covered a little bit, we're open. The quarterbacks have been learning to just give them a chance and they'll fight for the ball. When you're big and physical, you have a chance to make the quarterback right. Then we have [Fulks] and a couple of other guys who can just run away from you. You have to have one or the other and if you have both then we have a first-round draft pick [in the NFL].

"Our blocking is coming along well. We're finishing to the ball and we're competitive in that category, but again, we're improving but we're not going to sit here and say we're satisfied with it. We have to keep working to it."

#UtesCamp BTS ...
• Personnel from the Pac-12 Networks were on site to interview Defensive Line Coach Lewis Powell, defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei and defensive end Hunter Dimick.