Camp Kyle '16: Day 1

2016 Fall Football Camp Day 1, Quarterbacks

8/4/2016 2:27 PM | Football

/galleries?gallery=992 Highlights Photo Gallery

Utes kick off practice.

Preseason prognostications and watch lists can now be stowed away because the 2016 edition of the Utah football team hit the practice field for its first official workout on Thursday.

Under the NCAA's acclimatization period guidelines, the Utes wore helmets and shorts without any other additional football padding for a non-contact practice during their first on-field activity of the season at Ute Baseball Field.

The Countdown is On ...

The countdown to kickoff from Rice-Eccles Stadium against Southern Utah stands at 28 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.

28 DAYS pic.twitter.com/kWdtcjMdWM
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 4, 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 1 Overview ...
• First practice of the season held Thursday morning at the Utah baseball practice field.
• The focus of the training was on techniques and assignments as the Utes installed basic strategic elements.
• Players were in helmets without shoulder pads during the NCAA's acclimatization period. A tag was enough to deem a ball carrier down.
• The Utes wore black matte helmets with red and silver circle and feather logos. The offense wore red practice jerseys (quarterbacks were in white), while the defense was in the black jerseys.

LIVE on #Periscope: WE'RE BAAAAAACK! #CampKyle16 is officially underway. https://t.co/DvQmJ7gfka
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 4, 2016

Media Observation Period Highlights ...
• During the 20 minutes of the day's practice that was open to the media, full-team live work began from the offense's own 40-yard line. The first and second units took three series apiece.
• Caleb Repp made an impressive acrobatic catch in traffic along the sideline.
• Jameson Field high-pointed a pass for a grab on a slant route down the seam.
• Tight ends Siale Fakailoatonga and Harrison Handley converted receptions as well.
• After the entire team met at midfield, the first and second teams finished off their training session with conditioning drills.
• The workout concluded with full-team work for players who were not heavily involved in the earlier periods of practice.

The sun is shining and football is back! #goutes #CampKyle16 pic.twitter.com/Nqxpa1Fcyr
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) August 4, 2016

From Coach Whittingham ...

On today's workout: "It's great to be back out here. We have a lot of talented new guys so it was good to see them in their first action. We had a good first practice, probably like everyone in the country. Everyone's excited, there's nothing special about that. The key is to stay at the same level throughout the entire camp. You can't fade away. You have to stay on top of your game. Be the same guy every day, the same team every day. If we can do that then we'll have a chance.

"It's exciting to get back on the field and find out about your new players. You've seen them and their work ethic in the weight room environment all summer, but it's a little bit of a different ballgame here on the field. We'll see what we have and that will continue to be a process for the next several practices. You're not going to get a great read in just one day, but we have a good start on that.

The opening day of camp is a blast, but the key is to maintain that enthusiasm all the way through. The teams that win championships are the teams that can do that, practice at a high level every day."

On the quarterback competition: "It's off to a good start. All of them did a good job throwing the football. It's going to be several days, if not a couple of weeks, before that starts to sort itself out. All three of them look like they've done their work this summer and stayed sharp. It's going to be a tough choice and that's a good problem to have right now. We're not in a crunch-time situation so we're just going to let it play itself out. Hopefully, they'll continue to get better."

On Troy Williams' health: "He picked up where he left off last spring. There is no residual effect from his injury. He's 100 percent and that's been the case for several months now and he looked sharp today as did the other two quarterbacks [in the starting race, Brandon Cox and Tyler Huntley].

When asked for a brief summary of each quarterback:

"[Williams] brings an air of maturity about him. He's a confident young man with a lot of poise.

"[Huntley] has big-play capability with a dynamic personality. He can beat you running the football or throwing it.

"[Cox] is a great decision maker. He knows the offense inside and out. He is also a dual threat and very steady."

Follow Utah Football on snapchat (utah_football) for more behind the scenes! #CampKyle16 pic.twitter.com/4PwQ99crp3
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 4, 2016

On running back Joe Williams: "He is the primary guy right now. Troy [McCormick] is not only going to play some running back, but you'll see him in the slot [receiver position] quite a bit.

"He has improved a lot, just like every JC kid in their second year here. In that first year, they're getting acclimated. They're figuring out the Division I routine and what it takes to play at this level. Typically in the second year, they flourish. We're hoping that's what exactly takes place with Joe. He's a whole different ball player than he was last year at this time, much more confident. Obviously, that comes with a lot more knowledge of the offense and physically he's much stronger. He's bigger and stronger than when he got here."

On the center position: "That has to be settled soon. Nick Nowakowski is running with the first unit and Lo Falemaka is running with the second unit. After a couple of days, we may look at shifting a couple guys around, but so far after today it was pretty good."

On having an experienced offensive line with four starters: "That's the strength of our team. We hit the ground running today with very few mistakes. It's great to have that experience up front. We also have that on the front of our defense so we have a lot of guys who have played a lot of good football for us in the secondary and tight ends as well. We have a lot of veterans on this team."

On this team's depth: "We feel like the depth all the way throughout the roster has dramatically improved as opposed to when we entered the league. This is a physical conference You get beat up and you're going to have some guys get nicked up along the way. You have to have the 'next man up' mentality and you have to be able to pick up the slack and have no drop off."

Post-Practice Impressions from the Utah Players ...

Quarterback Brandon Cox: "I feel good about the quarterback competition. It's only healthy for all of us to come out here and compete every day. It's only going to make us better as a team."

Quarterback Troy Williams: "It feels good [to be back on the field]. It's a blessing to be back. I'm just going to take it one day at a time and just keep progressing day by day."

Quarterback Tyler Huntley: "Today went pretty well. It's exciting to get everyone back and working together. I'm just going to come out here and do the same thing every day to help the team win."

Running Back Joe Williams: "I'm used to the speed of the game now. We concentrated on how Pac-12 defenses will key on our offense. Today, we just wanted to come out and get our work in and get ready for the season, it's going to be a long grind."

Linebacker Kavika Luafatasaga: "It feels great to be in a Utah uniform and compete with the rest of the team."

Wide Receiver Kyle Fulks: "Everyone's on the same page. We went after it this summer during our workouts and everyone is looking good. I've been in the system for a year and I am acclimated with the playbook so I feel a lot more comfortable running around on the field."

Wide Receiver Tim Patrick: "The receivers have more confidence this year. Last year, everyone was still learning. "

Offensive guard Isaac Asiata: "It feels great to be back out on the practice field. We had a great summer program."

#UtesCamp BTS ...
• Led Zeppelin and a cover of ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" were the musical highlights blaring from the speakers set up on the infield dirt.