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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes From Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
10/2/2017 2:46 PM | Football
Opening Statement…
"Alright it is Stanford week, homecoming, there is a lot going on this week. Obviously, the focal point is the football game. Stanford is a really good football team. It is your typical Stanford football team, physical, smash mouth on offense, and they have a tremendous running back. He is averaging over 11 yards a carry, which is unheard of. He has obviously had a terrific start to the season with over 1,000 yards already. They are averaging over eight yards a play as an offense, so they are very efficient. They do what they do very well. They aren't a fast tempo team, they aren't snapping the ball a bunch of times, but they are using their same M.O. they have been using for years, and it has been very successful for them. We have our work cut out for us. It will be a great match up with our rush defense up against their rush offense, just like in the Arizona game. They have a different style of rush offense where Arizona is more of the read option and more out in space, this is more in confined corners. It is more of a heavyweight slugfest, that type of game. We are going to have to be productive on offense and keep their offense on the sideline by us making first downs and not turning the ball over. That will be key for us as it is every week. Of course special teams will factor in predominately as it does every week, so we have to be sharp there as well."
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On how they will try to contain Stanford running back Bryce Love…
"Well first of all you have to be gap sound, and that is where rush defense begins. You have to be sound with your run fits and your gap control. You have to gang tackle this kid because he is not going to go down with an arm tackle. He is a very physical runner, relative to his size. He isn't the biggest guy in the world at 5-11, 195 pounds. Also, it isn't all him, their offensive line does a great job. There is a lot of blocked yardage there for him to get before he is even contacted. So we have to play the blocks game, be sound in our gap control and we have to gang tackle."
Â
On Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello…
"He is a good player. He runs the offense perfectly. It appears they have settled in on him. He is just a sophomore and he is a big kid. He is doing a great job of running that scheme and running that offense."
Â
On if Troy Williams will be starting at quarterback on Saturday…
"We will see who is going to start on Saturday. Everything is up in the air, there are a lot of positions that are up in the air. Troy is completely accumulated with the offense, even prior to the bye week, he didn't need any extra time as far as catching up. He was already up to speed. The bye week did come at a good time for us just at about the midway point if you add fall camp and the first four games opposed to what's left of the season. If Troy is the guy this week, then great. We are not really overly concerned with who the guy is because we know whoever it is will need to get it done."
Â
On how teams have dealt with Stanford playing series with three or four offensive tackles…
"It provides some tough matchups and you have to sub with them. You just try to stay with your base personnel. You are going to be mismatched, so you have to try to go big-on-big and that is something that we have done anytime that we have employed the extra linemen in the run game. So we have a plan that we have used in the past that has been pretty good to us."
Â
On Stanford's defense giving up large numbers this season…
"They have gravitated more to man coverage than they did a few years ago. Other than that, they are well coached. I know their defensive coordinator very well. He is an outstanding exit only guy. They play hard and they have size in the secondary. That is one thing that stands out, is they have length in their secondary."
Â
On leading the south division and being one of three teams to have not lost a conference game this season…
"I would say it is surprising that there is only one undefeated team in the south this early since we have only played one or two games. That is a little unusual, but I think that speaks to the balance of the conference, the division and the conference as a whole. As far as the three undefeated teams, we are just a third of the way through, so it is probably about right for this time of year."
Â
On why Stanford's success at recruiting talent from the state of Utah…
"I don't think there is any correlation, at least none that I have noticed, as far as our entrance into the Pac-12 and them escalating their recruiting efforts here. I think they have always come into Utah. They are a national recruiting base that is going to come into every state in the country, so it is not unusual for them to do that. There are a lot of good players on their team from Utah, and like I've said many times, you can't get them all. You try to put a fence around your state, but a lot of times it's not realistic. I don't know anyone in the country that is able to do that 100-percent of the time. You win with the players you've got and you don't worry about the players you lost in recruiting battles. You focus on the ones you have."
Â
On Tyler Huntley's status…
"We are continuing to go through the evaluation process every day and we will see what transpires for this weekend."
Â
On if Stanford's rush success has been a product of their schedule against teams with weaker rushing defense…
"I think so. I think we are still working our way through that period of time when you figure out exactly who everyone is. I think there is still two or three weeks until you get a good handle on who has what strengths or weaknesses and where you stack up."
Â
On if Stanford has changed the way they play since the last game in 2014…
"They play very similar. They know exactly what they want to do on offense. David Shaw appears to still be calling the plays and he has a great grasp and belief in what he does, and it works. Every year they are competitive and every year they are right up there battling for the conference title."
Â
On what kind of a relationship Troy Williams and Darren Carrington II have created…
"Troy was instrumental in getting Darren here. They had history and a past relationship and that was probably one of the overriding factors of getting Darren in our program. So they obviously have a friendship. Darren is a heck of a receiver. You are going to throw to the guy that is open, and Darren has the tendency to get separation and get open. Also the quarterbacks develop confidence in guys that consistently catch the ball and we have several of those guys, but Darren is right up there with the best in the nation when the ball comes his way and he comes away with it."
Â
On if he has been pleasantly surprised by any of the statistics that Utah leads the Pac-12 in…
"I think the takeaways, I think we lead the conference in taking the ball away and I know we are first in turnover margin. That is the most important thing and the thing that is the most relevant in winning games. There is a lot of other things that factor into that when it comes to field position like net punting. We lead the conference in net punting which flips the field for you and wins that field position battle. Matt Gay leading in scoring. That is what it is all about, the only thing more important than turnover margin is the score, so Matt is doing a great job there. Run defense being No. 1 is a positive, but again, we have a big test this week. We were just OK against Arizona; we weren't great at defending the run against them. I think to this point in the season, there are still two or three more weeks until you really know what you've got. I would say the biggest surprise, well I won't say surprise because it wasn't a surprise, is the way the secondary has played. We have some ball hawks back there. We are leading the conference in pass efficiency defense as well, which is the only passing stat that matters. Overall yards are irrelevant; it is pass efficiency. So, it is nothing that surprised me. I said before the season that those guys were going to have a chance to be really good, so I think that is starting to show."
Â
On if there will be a change at long snapper…
"We are going to give Harrison Handley a shot this week. Harrison will be the guy that snaps. It is not that easy to snap and play a position and that is why we had not experimented with that earlier. When you are playing a series, particularly when you play on offense because you don't have time to do any warm up snaps because you go right from playing offense to snapping the ball, but he is very good. But he has that added X factor that adds a little bit of that unknown, so we are hoping he can handle it. I have confidence in him, if not Alex had a couple of bad snaps, but he has been working hard. He worked hard all of bye week on his snapping. I watch snappers all game and there are error snaps here and there all the time, nobody is perfect. Chase Dominguez, the guy we had the last four years was near perfect, so we were very spoiled, but you are going to see Harry get some snaps this week."
Â
On if Kylie Fitts can't play this week, how he feels about the depth at that position…
"Very confident. We will see what happens with a lot of our guys that got banged up in our last game, but we have Calep Repp and Maxs Tupai who are both very solid. It is the next man up. Like I said, we never really concern ourselves with injuries. If you can't play, you can't play and the next guy that is out there has to do the job. That is how we operate."
Â
On if the scheme will change when facing just one talented running back as opposed to a group of strong rushers…
"It doesn't really change at all. All of that doesn't factor in nearly as much as the rushing attack you are facing. This is a power run attack, you know a lot of power play which is kick out, pull the backside guard, which is probably the most fundamental play in football. They also do a great job of running the counter off that and they also have some isolations. Like I said last week, they know that we know exactly what they are going to do, but they don't care. They are just going to keep doing it because they are physical, they are technique and fundamentally sound, they have great angle and gap schemes and they've been doing it a lot of years. They recruit to it and they know exactly who they want to be and that is who they are."
Â
On if the tight ends will be more involved in the passing game…
"Hopefully. What they did do in the Arizona game was they were good in the run blocking. That was their role in that game and they embraced it and took a big step forward blocking. The bottom line is whatever they are asked to do or whatever their role is that particular week, they have to excel at it. If they are more involved in the throw game this week, then they have to do a better job at getting open and giving the quarterback confidence in throwing them the ball."
Â
On if the change of quarterback for Stanford will change how they approach the run game…
"You have to play the percentages and that is why you study film and computer reports. As a defensive coordinator if you can get in a rhythm and be right about 85-percent of the time on what you think is coming, which a good defensive coordinator can do that, then you can gamble a little bit and stack the box when you feel it is going to be run. You have to be careful and pick your spots because that quarterback can make you pay for it. You have to decide what you take away. You have to have a hierarchy going into each game."
Â
On if Tyler Huntley can't play, will Troy Williams be able to run well enough to keep the rushing game successful…
"He is a very capable runner. I think he would rather beat you with his arm than his legs, but he can certainly pull the ball down for design QB runs. You saw him get the touchdown in the Arizona game, so he is very capable at that."
Â
On how much higher the level of competition gets compared to the first four games of the season…
"It is tough to right now because like I've said, there are still two or three weeks left before you really get a feel of who is who and where you are at, not only with your opponents but also with yourself. I think this is going to be the stiffest challenge of the year, I said that about our opponent two weeks ago and I think this one exceeds that one."
Â
On if the secondary has had success at open field tackling…
"So far they have been pretty good. Julian Blackmon especially at the corner spot is one of the best tackling corners we have had here in a while. Our safeties are outstanding tacklers and with our scheme, they have to be. You saw Casey Hughes rip the ball loose a couple of weeks ago and has been a good tackler. So I am going to say overall our secondary is one of the better tackling secondary we have had here in the last few years, which will be important in this game."
Â
"Alright it is Stanford week, homecoming, there is a lot going on this week. Obviously, the focal point is the football game. Stanford is a really good football team. It is your typical Stanford football team, physical, smash mouth on offense, and they have a tremendous running back. He is averaging over 11 yards a carry, which is unheard of. He has obviously had a terrific start to the season with over 1,000 yards already. They are averaging over eight yards a play as an offense, so they are very efficient. They do what they do very well. They aren't a fast tempo team, they aren't snapping the ball a bunch of times, but they are using their same M.O. they have been using for years, and it has been very successful for them. We have our work cut out for us. It will be a great match up with our rush defense up against their rush offense, just like in the Arizona game. They have a different style of rush offense where Arizona is more of the read option and more out in space, this is more in confined corners. It is more of a heavyweight slugfest, that type of game. We are going to have to be productive on offense and keep their offense on the sideline by us making first downs and not turning the ball over. That will be key for us as it is every week. Of course special teams will factor in predominately as it does every week, so we have to be sharp there as well."
Â
On how they will try to contain Stanford running back Bryce Love…
"Well first of all you have to be gap sound, and that is where rush defense begins. You have to be sound with your run fits and your gap control. You have to gang tackle this kid because he is not going to go down with an arm tackle. He is a very physical runner, relative to his size. He isn't the biggest guy in the world at 5-11, 195 pounds. Also, it isn't all him, their offensive line does a great job. There is a lot of blocked yardage there for him to get before he is even contacted. So we have to play the blocks game, be sound in our gap control and we have to gang tackle."
Â
On Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello…
"He is a good player. He runs the offense perfectly. It appears they have settled in on him. He is just a sophomore and he is a big kid. He is doing a great job of running that scheme and running that offense."
Â
On if Troy Williams will be starting at quarterback on Saturday…
"We will see who is going to start on Saturday. Everything is up in the air, there are a lot of positions that are up in the air. Troy is completely accumulated with the offense, even prior to the bye week, he didn't need any extra time as far as catching up. He was already up to speed. The bye week did come at a good time for us just at about the midway point if you add fall camp and the first four games opposed to what's left of the season. If Troy is the guy this week, then great. We are not really overly concerned with who the guy is because we know whoever it is will need to get it done."
Â
On how teams have dealt with Stanford playing series with three or four offensive tackles…
"It provides some tough matchups and you have to sub with them. You just try to stay with your base personnel. You are going to be mismatched, so you have to try to go big-on-big and that is something that we have done anytime that we have employed the extra linemen in the run game. So we have a plan that we have used in the past that has been pretty good to us."
Â
On Stanford's defense giving up large numbers this season…
"They have gravitated more to man coverage than they did a few years ago. Other than that, they are well coached. I know their defensive coordinator very well. He is an outstanding exit only guy. They play hard and they have size in the secondary. That is one thing that stands out, is they have length in their secondary."
Â
On leading the south division and being one of three teams to have not lost a conference game this season…
"I would say it is surprising that there is only one undefeated team in the south this early since we have only played one or two games. That is a little unusual, but I think that speaks to the balance of the conference, the division and the conference as a whole. As far as the three undefeated teams, we are just a third of the way through, so it is probably about right for this time of year."
Â
On why Stanford's success at recruiting talent from the state of Utah…
"I don't think there is any correlation, at least none that I have noticed, as far as our entrance into the Pac-12 and them escalating their recruiting efforts here. I think they have always come into Utah. They are a national recruiting base that is going to come into every state in the country, so it is not unusual for them to do that. There are a lot of good players on their team from Utah, and like I've said many times, you can't get them all. You try to put a fence around your state, but a lot of times it's not realistic. I don't know anyone in the country that is able to do that 100-percent of the time. You win with the players you've got and you don't worry about the players you lost in recruiting battles. You focus on the ones you have."
Â
On Tyler Huntley's status…
"We are continuing to go through the evaluation process every day and we will see what transpires for this weekend."
Â
On if Stanford's rush success has been a product of their schedule against teams with weaker rushing defense…
"I think so. I think we are still working our way through that period of time when you figure out exactly who everyone is. I think there is still two or three weeks until you get a good handle on who has what strengths or weaknesses and where you stack up."
Â
On if Stanford has changed the way they play since the last game in 2014…
"They play very similar. They know exactly what they want to do on offense. David Shaw appears to still be calling the plays and he has a great grasp and belief in what he does, and it works. Every year they are competitive and every year they are right up there battling for the conference title."
Â
On what kind of a relationship Troy Williams and Darren Carrington II have created…
"Troy was instrumental in getting Darren here. They had history and a past relationship and that was probably one of the overriding factors of getting Darren in our program. So they obviously have a friendship. Darren is a heck of a receiver. You are going to throw to the guy that is open, and Darren has the tendency to get separation and get open. Also the quarterbacks develop confidence in guys that consistently catch the ball and we have several of those guys, but Darren is right up there with the best in the nation when the ball comes his way and he comes away with it."
Â
On if he has been pleasantly surprised by any of the statistics that Utah leads the Pac-12 in…
"I think the takeaways, I think we lead the conference in taking the ball away and I know we are first in turnover margin. That is the most important thing and the thing that is the most relevant in winning games. There is a lot of other things that factor into that when it comes to field position like net punting. We lead the conference in net punting which flips the field for you and wins that field position battle. Matt Gay leading in scoring. That is what it is all about, the only thing more important than turnover margin is the score, so Matt is doing a great job there. Run defense being No. 1 is a positive, but again, we have a big test this week. We were just OK against Arizona; we weren't great at defending the run against them. I think to this point in the season, there are still two or three more weeks until you really know what you've got. I would say the biggest surprise, well I won't say surprise because it wasn't a surprise, is the way the secondary has played. We have some ball hawks back there. We are leading the conference in pass efficiency defense as well, which is the only passing stat that matters. Overall yards are irrelevant; it is pass efficiency. So, it is nothing that surprised me. I said before the season that those guys were going to have a chance to be really good, so I think that is starting to show."
Â
On if there will be a change at long snapper…
"We are going to give Harrison Handley a shot this week. Harrison will be the guy that snaps. It is not that easy to snap and play a position and that is why we had not experimented with that earlier. When you are playing a series, particularly when you play on offense because you don't have time to do any warm up snaps because you go right from playing offense to snapping the ball, but he is very good. But he has that added X factor that adds a little bit of that unknown, so we are hoping he can handle it. I have confidence in him, if not Alex had a couple of bad snaps, but he has been working hard. He worked hard all of bye week on his snapping. I watch snappers all game and there are error snaps here and there all the time, nobody is perfect. Chase Dominguez, the guy we had the last four years was near perfect, so we were very spoiled, but you are going to see Harry get some snaps this week."
Â
On if Kylie Fitts can't play this week, how he feels about the depth at that position…
"Very confident. We will see what happens with a lot of our guys that got banged up in our last game, but we have Calep Repp and Maxs Tupai who are both very solid. It is the next man up. Like I said, we never really concern ourselves with injuries. If you can't play, you can't play and the next guy that is out there has to do the job. That is how we operate."
Â
On if the scheme will change when facing just one talented running back as opposed to a group of strong rushers…
"It doesn't really change at all. All of that doesn't factor in nearly as much as the rushing attack you are facing. This is a power run attack, you know a lot of power play which is kick out, pull the backside guard, which is probably the most fundamental play in football. They also do a great job of running the counter off that and they also have some isolations. Like I said last week, they know that we know exactly what they are going to do, but they don't care. They are just going to keep doing it because they are physical, they are technique and fundamentally sound, they have great angle and gap schemes and they've been doing it a lot of years. They recruit to it and they know exactly who they want to be and that is who they are."
Â
On if the tight ends will be more involved in the passing game…
"Hopefully. What they did do in the Arizona game was they were good in the run blocking. That was their role in that game and they embraced it and took a big step forward blocking. The bottom line is whatever they are asked to do or whatever their role is that particular week, they have to excel at it. If they are more involved in the throw game this week, then they have to do a better job at getting open and giving the quarterback confidence in throwing them the ball."
Â
On if the change of quarterback for Stanford will change how they approach the run game…
"You have to play the percentages and that is why you study film and computer reports. As a defensive coordinator if you can get in a rhythm and be right about 85-percent of the time on what you think is coming, which a good defensive coordinator can do that, then you can gamble a little bit and stack the box when you feel it is going to be run. You have to be careful and pick your spots because that quarterback can make you pay for it. You have to decide what you take away. You have to have a hierarchy going into each game."
Â
On if Tyler Huntley can't play, will Troy Williams be able to run well enough to keep the rushing game successful…
"He is a very capable runner. I think he would rather beat you with his arm than his legs, but he can certainly pull the ball down for design QB runs. You saw him get the touchdown in the Arizona game, so he is very capable at that."
Â
On how much higher the level of competition gets compared to the first four games of the season…
"It is tough to right now because like I've said, there are still two or three weeks left before you really get a feel of who is who and where you are at, not only with your opponents but also with yourself. I think this is going to be the stiffest challenge of the year, I said that about our opponent two weeks ago and I think this one exceeds that one."
Â
On if the secondary has had success at open field tackling…
"So far they have been pretty good. Julian Blackmon especially at the corner spot is one of the best tackling corners we have had here in a while. Our safeties are outstanding tacklers and with our scheme, they have to be. You saw Casey Hughes rip the ball loose a couple of weeks ago and has been a good tackler. So I am going to say overall our secondary is one of the better tackling secondary we have had here in the last few years, which will be important in this game."
Â
Players Mentioned
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QB
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