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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes From Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
10/23/2017 2:33 PM | Football
Opening Statement…
"Not a lot of positives from our game Saturday. Not much offensive production because they pretty much did to us what they did to Washington, it was like a duplicate copy. We turned the ball over four times, one for a pick-six. We scored 10 points, so a net three points offensively and you aren't going to win any football games with your offense scoring net three points. Obviously, that was a huge disappointment. Defensively, we didn't play horribly. We held them to about 340 yards or so, and that can lead the conference if you can do it every week, but again, it just wasn't good enough against the run. That is something that has shown up in the last few weeks now. That was due to technique errors. We had 16 missed tackles, which is too many. The technique errors on the edge was what really caused us a bunch of yards in the run game. So, that was not good. We lost the turnover margin. Defense, did a good job early on holding them to field goals and that was with battling some tough field position. We had two of the interceptions ended up at the 23-yard-line and I think the 31, so they had some short fields going in that they had to deal with. But bottom line we have to coach better. We have to get them ready, have to have better plans on both sides of the ball and we have to be better coaches. That is kind of the short version. It was good to see Matt Gay hit that 53-yard field goal. Stepped up and had a lot of confidence and just drilled it. Mitch Wishnowsky netted nearly 50 yards a punt, so there were a few positives sprinkled in there, but overall, we didn't play nearly good enough to win the football game. That is why we find ourselves sitting at 4-3 now and it is not where we wanted to be obviously. Now we head into Oregon where they are 4-4 and on a three-game losing streak of their own and so it will be two teams that need a win. That is the storyline."
On if after Tyler Huntley was hit on his shoulder if there was consideration in putting Troy Williams in after halftime…
"No, because Tyler said it was a non-factor and the trainer said it was fine. So, no. Tyler is our guy and he will continue to be our guy. Obviously, he was a little rusty. I anticipated Tyler to have a little more effective game, but he was a little rusty and not 100-percent. Again, every coaching decision you make is based on what gives us the best chance to win and that is what we determined."
On how the team is feeling mentally after three losses in a row…
"Well we have a team meeting today, so I will have a lot better handle on that later on in the day, but they have to be resilient just like I say every week. When you drop a football game or when you win a football game you have to come back with the same resolve and the same work habits. They understand that, that is something that we preach. You have to get ready for the next Saturday regardless of what happened on the previous one. So, I think it is a pretty mature football team and I think we have good leadership and my guess is we will come back and have a good week of practice. But like I said, as coaches we have to do a better job of getting them ready for a game and to put them in positions to be successful."
On if Tyler's throwing shoulder is going to limit their ability to go down field often…
"Well he took some shots in this game. That is really a question that has to be answered by the trainers and Tyler and the feedback that we got was that he was good enough to do what we needed him to do in the offense."
On if he thinks there is a disadvantage having so many coaches on the field as compared to up in the booth like last season…
"No, it has typically been one full-time guy on both sides of the ball up in the box and that is how it has been most years. We may make some modifications this week with that, but so far it has not been out of the ordinary."
On if he thinks he has more questions than answers about the team so far this season…
"I think that is a relative question. I think in some senses yes, but then in some senses no. I think that we've seen a lot of positives and seen a lot of negatives and have been working all over the board. We would like to be more consistent. We started off 4-0, just what we had hoped. Another thing, we had two tough, emotional losses in close games, and I've seen it happen before where it is tough to rebound from that. But again, that is my job as a coach and our job as a coaching staff to make sure we are ready to go. But that is something that I have seen happen before."
On if he can expand on having coordinators on the field or in the box and if he thinks it makes a big difference in the game…
"In my own mind and the way I envision things, and really it is from a defensive coordinator perspective because that is what I have been, I haven't been an offensive coordinator, but defensive coordinators in general should be on the field and offensive coordinators in general are best served in the box. Like I said, you may see some changes this week, that is a topic of discussion. But defensively, you are in more of a reactionary position where you have to react to substitutions of the offense and get personnel in and out and then give the signal after you know what the offense is doing, there is more of a time crunch and a situation where the lag in communication could cause problems. Offensively, you are up there and you have a better prospective of the field and you can see more of what is going on. You get a clearer picture of coverages and pressures and where they are coming from. So in an ideal world, defensive coordinator down, offense up, but there are plenty of people who have been successful doing it otherwise, but I think that is the norm."
On if he lets the coordinators choose if they'd like to be in the booth or on the field…
"For the most part. There may be a time that I say no, this is how we are going to do it, but for the most part yes. Morgan Scalley had always been up until about the bowl game last year, I can't remember when he moved, but it opened his eyes to being able to sub much more effectively at the last minute and get the groups on that he wants. So, if they have a strong preference, I usually go with it unless I think that it isn't working."
On if he is concerned that they don't have an "offensive identity"…
"It is very concerning. In the past, even though our numbers haven't always been great, we have been a tough, run the ball down your throat with some play action football team. Right now we are still searching for who we are. That is concerning when we are seven games in. I am asking the same question. We have to find out what we do best and hitch our wagon to that and go in that direction."
On if he thinks Tyler Huntley will be 100-percent for the Oregon game…
"I hope so. He will certainly be improved, we hope, as far as how he is feeling. Again, that is a question that he and the trainers would answer, but you won't know the answer, because we just don't address it. It's policy."
On Arizona State's defense being prepared for Tyler Huntley and what they can do differently…
"We have to do a better job at not having tendencies. Right now, there are some things that are tendencies of ours that we need to get corrected and you saw that on one of the picks. He ran to the screen area before our receiver did, so definitely some things that we need to address."
On the if they will have to rotate players on defense against Oregon due to the targeting calls and injuries…
"There are a few other guys that are in question for this game as well, so as we start to get more feedback tomorrow morning with where these guys are, we will have to see what the likely hood of them playing is. We know Donavan Thompson and Corrion Ballard are out for sure for one half, but there are five or six guys that we don't know what their status is going to be. So, we can't answer that question until we find the status of these other guys."
On Oregon's offense…
"It depends on who the quarterback is. They are very different when Braxton Burmeister, a freshman is the quarterback as opposed to the starter in Justin Herbert. Obviously, they are more run oriented with the freshmen with the QB run game and not quite as complex. But that is to be expected when you have a freshmen running the offense as opposed to a guy who did a good job for them last year and was off to a pretty good start this year before he went down."
On if he felt Zack Moss got enough carries against Arizona State…
"No, probably not. He is on his way to being a thousand yard back if we feed him the ball a little bit more. By the same token, early in the season, his play didn't really warrant more carries, but now that he has become a different player, absolutely, he needs to get more carries than he did on Saturday."
On playing in Autzen Stadium…
"It is a tough place to play. It usually is the leading attendance at least in percentage to capacity in the Pac-12 for several years now. I don't know how they stack up this year, but in years past they have oversold that place to like 105-percent. It is very loud, the student section will get after you and it is a great facility. It is a great venue to play in."
On if this is an emotional week for Darren Carrington II to go back to Eugene…
"I was thinking about that yesterday. I haven't talked to Darren about that specifically, but that was something I was thinking about as I was watching film. I think he will be excited to go back and play."
On if a Pac-12 Championship is out of reach, what are the goals for the rest of the season…
"Well one of our goals was to become the best football team that we could become. We paired down the goals this year and focused on just a few. We still have not played up to our potential, we have not played our best football game. As far as a complete game, with all three phases, so that is something that we are striving for every week, is to get better. And I don't think we did that last week, I think we took a step backward."
On what he might say to Darren Carrington II in anticipation of his emotional return to Eugene…
"The usual stuff. Don't press, let the game come to you. Don't try to play outside of the framework of the offense. Just do your job. Carrington came away with six catches for 50-plus yards in the last game, so not a big factor in the game, but that can be a disadvantage if he makes it into a big deal."
On how satisfied he is with Troy Taylor's game planning at this point in the season…
"Well I think our numbers are a little bit better than last year. Not dramatically, but we are certainly better throwing the football through six or seven games. I haven't done an exact comparison, but based on where we finished last year, we are ahead of that curve this year so far."
On if he sees similarities between Utah and Oregon's recent struggles…
"Yeah, I mean their lack of continuity at quarterback, we have had that. I am not real familiar with their injury situation or that type of thing, but there are some similarities. They started out 3-0 and then dropped a game and then won a game and then dropped three. So I think there is somewhat of a pattern there."
On the offensive struggle with third downs…
"It has been a problem all year long. Third downs, we are horrible at converting. Defensively, we have been pretty good with third downs, outside of last week because they were at about a 50-percent conversion rate. So, that is another reason why we couldn't get off the field. Offensively, that has been a big concern since early in the season. I think we are dead last in that area in the Pac-12."
On how their defense has changed with the new staff…
"A lot of man coverage with an odd front. They are playing hard and they have a lot of athletes. They are fast on defense and we will have our hands full."
On if he thinks the problems with third downs come during first and second downs…
"I would say it is more on third down because we haven't had an inordinate amount of third and longs, the third downs have been reasonable and we just haven't converted. We aren't good at third and short, we aren't good on third and medium and we aren't good on third and long."
"Not a lot of positives from our game Saturday. Not much offensive production because they pretty much did to us what they did to Washington, it was like a duplicate copy. We turned the ball over four times, one for a pick-six. We scored 10 points, so a net three points offensively and you aren't going to win any football games with your offense scoring net three points. Obviously, that was a huge disappointment. Defensively, we didn't play horribly. We held them to about 340 yards or so, and that can lead the conference if you can do it every week, but again, it just wasn't good enough against the run. That is something that has shown up in the last few weeks now. That was due to technique errors. We had 16 missed tackles, which is too many. The technique errors on the edge was what really caused us a bunch of yards in the run game. So, that was not good. We lost the turnover margin. Defense, did a good job early on holding them to field goals and that was with battling some tough field position. We had two of the interceptions ended up at the 23-yard-line and I think the 31, so they had some short fields going in that they had to deal with. But bottom line we have to coach better. We have to get them ready, have to have better plans on both sides of the ball and we have to be better coaches. That is kind of the short version. It was good to see Matt Gay hit that 53-yard field goal. Stepped up and had a lot of confidence and just drilled it. Mitch Wishnowsky netted nearly 50 yards a punt, so there were a few positives sprinkled in there, but overall, we didn't play nearly good enough to win the football game. That is why we find ourselves sitting at 4-3 now and it is not where we wanted to be obviously. Now we head into Oregon where they are 4-4 and on a three-game losing streak of their own and so it will be two teams that need a win. That is the storyline."
On if after Tyler Huntley was hit on his shoulder if there was consideration in putting Troy Williams in after halftime…
"No, because Tyler said it was a non-factor and the trainer said it was fine. So, no. Tyler is our guy and he will continue to be our guy. Obviously, he was a little rusty. I anticipated Tyler to have a little more effective game, but he was a little rusty and not 100-percent. Again, every coaching decision you make is based on what gives us the best chance to win and that is what we determined."
On how the team is feeling mentally after three losses in a row…
"Well we have a team meeting today, so I will have a lot better handle on that later on in the day, but they have to be resilient just like I say every week. When you drop a football game or when you win a football game you have to come back with the same resolve and the same work habits. They understand that, that is something that we preach. You have to get ready for the next Saturday regardless of what happened on the previous one. So, I think it is a pretty mature football team and I think we have good leadership and my guess is we will come back and have a good week of practice. But like I said, as coaches we have to do a better job of getting them ready for a game and to put them in positions to be successful."
On if Tyler's throwing shoulder is going to limit their ability to go down field often…
"Well he took some shots in this game. That is really a question that has to be answered by the trainers and Tyler and the feedback that we got was that he was good enough to do what we needed him to do in the offense."
On if he thinks there is a disadvantage having so many coaches on the field as compared to up in the booth like last season…
"No, it has typically been one full-time guy on both sides of the ball up in the box and that is how it has been most years. We may make some modifications this week with that, but so far it has not been out of the ordinary."
On if he thinks he has more questions than answers about the team so far this season…
"I think that is a relative question. I think in some senses yes, but then in some senses no. I think that we've seen a lot of positives and seen a lot of negatives and have been working all over the board. We would like to be more consistent. We started off 4-0, just what we had hoped. Another thing, we had two tough, emotional losses in close games, and I've seen it happen before where it is tough to rebound from that. But again, that is my job as a coach and our job as a coaching staff to make sure we are ready to go. But that is something that I have seen happen before."
On if he can expand on having coordinators on the field or in the box and if he thinks it makes a big difference in the game…
"In my own mind and the way I envision things, and really it is from a defensive coordinator perspective because that is what I have been, I haven't been an offensive coordinator, but defensive coordinators in general should be on the field and offensive coordinators in general are best served in the box. Like I said, you may see some changes this week, that is a topic of discussion. But defensively, you are in more of a reactionary position where you have to react to substitutions of the offense and get personnel in and out and then give the signal after you know what the offense is doing, there is more of a time crunch and a situation where the lag in communication could cause problems. Offensively, you are up there and you have a better prospective of the field and you can see more of what is going on. You get a clearer picture of coverages and pressures and where they are coming from. So in an ideal world, defensive coordinator down, offense up, but there are plenty of people who have been successful doing it otherwise, but I think that is the norm."
On if he lets the coordinators choose if they'd like to be in the booth or on the field…
"For the most part. There may be a time that I say no, this is how we are going to do it, but for the most part yes. Morgan Scalley had always been up until about the bowl game last year, I can't remember when he moved, but it opened his eyes to being able to sub much more effectively at the last minute and get the groups on that he wants. So, if they have a strong preference, I usually go with it unless I think that it isn't working."
On if he is concerned that they don't have an "offensive identity"…
"It is very concerning. In the past, even though our numbers haven't always been great, we have been a tough, run the ball down your throat with some play action football team. Right now we are still searching for who we are. That is concerning when we are seven games in. I am asking the same question. We have to find out what we do best and hitch our wagon to that and go in that direction."
On if he thinks Tyler Huntley will be 100-percent for the Oregon game…
"I hope so. He will certainly be improved, we hope, as far as how he is feeling. Again, that is a question that he and the trainers would answer, but you won't know the answer, because we just don't address it. It's policy."
On Arizona State's defense being prepared for Tyler Huntley and what they can do differently…
"We have to do a better job at not having tendencies. Right now, there are some things that are tendencies of ours that we need to get corrected and you saw that on one of the picks. He ran to the screen area before our receiver did, so definitely some things that we need to address."
On the if they will have to rotate players on defense against Oregon due to the targeting calls and injuries…
"There are a few other guys that are in question for this game as well, so as we start to get more feedback tomorrow morning with where these guys are, we will have to see what the likely hood of them playing is. We know Donavan Thompson and Corrion Ballard are out for sure for one half, but there are five or six guys that we don't know what their status is going to be. So, we can't answer that question until we find the status of these other guys."
On Oregon's offense…
"It depends on who the quarterback is. They are very different when Braxton Burmeister, a freshman is the quarterback as opposed to the starter in Justin Herbert. Obviously, they are more run oriented with the freshmen with the QB run game and not quite as complex. But that is to be expected when you have a freshmen running the offense as opposed to a guy who did a good job for them last year and was off to a pretty good start this year before he went down."
On if he felt Zack Moss got enough carries against Arizona State…
"No, probably not. He is on his way to being a thousand yard back if we feed him the ball a little bit more. By the same token, early in the season, his play didn't really warrant more carries, but now that he has become a different player, absolutely, he needs to get more carries than he did on Saturday."
On playing in Autzen Stadium…
"It is a tough place to play. It usually is the leading attendance at least in percentage to capacity in the Pac-12 for several years now. I don't know how they stack up this year, but in years past they have oversold that place to like 105-percent. It is very loud, the student section will get after you and it is a great facility. It is a great venue to play in."
On if this is an emotional week for Darren Carrington II to go back to Eugene…
"I was thinking about that yesterday. I haven't talked to Darren about that specifically, but that was something I was thinking about as I was watching film. I think he will be excited to go back and play."
On if a Pac-12 Championship is out of reach, what are the goals for the rest of the season…
"Well one of our goals was to become the best football team that we could become. We paired down the goals this year and focused on just a few. We still have not played up to our potential, we have not played our best football game. As far as a complete game, with all three phases, so that is something that we are striving for every week, is to get better. And I don't think we did that last week, I think we took a step backward."
On what he might say to Darren Carrington II in anticipation of his emotional return to Eugene…
"The usual stuff. Don't press, let the game come to you. Don't try to play outside of the framework of the offense. Just do your job. Carrington came away with six catches for 50-plus yards in the last game, so not a big factor in the game, but that can be a disadvantage if he makes it into a big deal."
On how satisfied he is with Troy Taylor's game planning at this point in the season…
"Well I think our numbers are a little bit better than last year. Not dramatically, but we are certainly better throwing the football through six or seven games. I haven't done an exact comparison, but based on where we finished last year, we are ahead of that curve this year so far."
On if he sees similarities between Utah and Oregon's recent struggles…
"Yeah, I mean their lack of continuity at quarterback, we have had that. I am not real familiar with their injury situation or that type of thing, but there are some similarities. They started out 3-0 and then dropped a game and then won a game and then dropped three. So I think there is somewhat of a pattern there."
On the offensive struggle with third downs…
"It has been a problem all year long. Third downs, we are horrible at converting. Defensively, we have been pretty good with third downs, outside of last week because they were at about a 50-percent conversion rate. So, that is another reason why we couldn't get off the field. Offensively, that has been a big concern since early in the season. I think we are dead last in that area in the Pac-12."
On how their defense has changed with the new staff…
"A lot of man coverage with an odd front. They are playing hard and they have a lot of athletes. They are fast on defense and we will have our hands full."
On if he thinks the problems with third downs come during first and second downs…
"I would say it is more on third down because we haven't had an inordinate amount of third and longs, the third downs have been reasonable and we just haven't converted. We aren't good at third and short, we aren't good on third and medium and we aren't good on third and long."
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
P
/ FootballFormer Utah Football Head Coach Urban Meyer inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
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