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Quotes from Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
11/13/2017 1:38 PM | Football
Opening Statement…
"Can't win a football game when you turn the ball over seven times, that is the obvious takeaway from Saturday. It is a shame too, because it was one of our better, if not our best, defensive performances of the year. I thought the defense was outstanding and did a great job in sudden change, handling adversity with short field situations. There were four or five short field situations that they found themselves in that they did an outstanding job in. So that was disappointing, but you have to keep working on things offensively. Obviously, taking care of the ball is job one. We have to do a much better job than that. To be minus five and to still have it be a one score game, speaks to some of the good things we did in the game. I think if we would have been even in the turnover margin, it could have turned out our way. But that is a big if. We have to do a much better job protecting the football. Special teams is pretty much a non-factor, although we did have the big kickoff return that put us in a short field situation, but we weren't able to capitalize on it. That was good to see the kickoff return game to continue to make strides and be productive. Donavan Thompson came in and played extremely well with Sunia Tauteoli being unavailable. He was out with an injury. I thought Donavan with his first extensive playing time as a Ute performed very well. So now we find ourselves in the same situation we have been in the last several weeks, trying to get our seniors to a bowl game. We have two games left and obviously you need to get six. So, it's all about the Washington Huskies this week. They are coming off a tough loss as well. They got beat by Stanford on Friday night, so I'm sure they are going to be in not a good state of mind. They will be an angry football team. We've got our work cut out for us. They are a talented team, they are strong in all three phases. They have probably the best punt returner in the country, possibly the best of all time. I think he just set the record in punt return touchdowns. They have an outstanding quarterback, a thousand-yard rusher, and they are physical up front on both sides of scrimmage. So, it will be a tough matchup for us. We will be ready to go on Saturday."
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On if he anticipated the growing pains they've had…
"We knew there was some position groups that had complete turnover like the offensive line and secondary, and then obviously breaking in a new starting quarterback. We made that decision as the season approached, so I am not going to say it was completely unexpected. You hope for the best and you hope things will go smoothly, but obviously we have had some growing pains. That is part of the process."
Â
On the status of certain injured players…
"There are a bunch of guys and they will be right down to the wire again this week. I can't give you definitive answers because we don't know right now, we will have to see how the week progresses. It doesn't appear right now like there are any season ending injuries. Although, in the regular season there are only two games left, so it is kind of a relative statement. We just hope for the best, but there are a half dozen guys that are in the situation of are they or aren't they going to play."
Â
On Washington's defense and how they compare to Washington State…
"They are a lot different in their M.O. as far as their scheme. They don't slant and move much at all. They have an outstanding front three. They play an odd front primarily, but not exclusively. They've got their nose tackle that is as good as anyone in the country. He is a tremendous player. They have talent at linebacker and talent in the secondary. They did lose their top corners to injury, but the guys they've got playing now are doing a fine job, so really, their more just line up and punch you in the face where Washington State was beat you with movement and athleticism."
Â
On if he sees similarities between Utah's offense and the offense Stanford used to beat Washington…
"Yeah I think so. That is another thing in the game on Saturday was that we weren't able to run the ball with near enough efficiency. We have to do a better job of that. There are some similarities between Stanford's rush attack and ours and we have to see if we can get something going. We have to get something going if we want to have a chance to win."
Â
On trying to find a balance with Tyler Huntley's various abilities...
"He is a dynamic player. He is the guy that makes plays, makes things happen, but at the same time, the number one job of the offense other than scoring points is to protect the football. So, we just have to continue to do a better job at that. We weren't doing a bad job of that until this week. This past week the floodgates opened. Most of the games this year we had done a good job of protecting the football. But he has playmaking ability, he is very athletic, so you don't want to completely take that away from him, but some of the turnovers with tipped balls, which credit Washington State. They deserve the credit for generating those takeaways, but we just have to do a better job of taking care of it and Tyler playing within the scheme. I don't think Tyler is being completely reckless, I don't see that. I think he understands the value of protecting the football as well as anybody, so we continue to coach and get better at all areas."
Â
On if the team's attitude during practice before UCLA and the Washington State game changed…
"Zero difference. The leaders have been great. The seniors have been making sure that the focus and intensity is there. The practices were almost identical leading into UCLA and Washington State, that hasn't been a problem all year long. I don't anticipate it being a problem these last two weeks of the season."
Â
On Washington's defensive recruiting and scheme…
"They do an excellent job recruiting. They have a system and methodology at what they do. They know they type of guys they want to get into the program and who to target and as I have said many times, that is the name of the game of football is recruiting. They do as good a job as anybody in recruiting."
Â
On the offensive struggle to start the game right…
"Both not good starts with completely different problems against UCLA and Washington State. The game against UCLA was clock management and then this game it was turnovers. I don't see any parallel there, but the one common factor is slow starts, so we have to try and be better at that. As far as common ground, I don't think you could say one thing is reoccurring."
Â
On 6-6 teams going to bowl games…
"I mean there are so many bowl games, you have to fill them and if you didn't take 6-6 teams you couldn't fill them. I think that is why the qualifying parameters are as they are. There is a good argument to say you should have a winning record to go to a bowl game, but then you are going to have to cut down the number of bowl games."
Â
On Washington's punt returner Dante Pettis…
"He has tremendous quickness and the ability to make you miss. All great punt returners are able to make X number of guys miss, very seldom is it all blocked out and you have a clear path to the end zone. He catches the ball well, he handles the ball and makes good decisions. He seems to have a good idea of when to fair catch or when not to, but he is also very courageous in that respect. You want a guy that has courage. He has great vision and sets up his blocks up well. He is also very fast. So, if you put all of that together, you have the most prolific, at least touchdown wise, of all time."
Â
On the current moral of the team…
"If you define moral as chemistry and hanging together and fighting through it, then they are great. They are all on the same page. As far as everyone being disappointed and angry, that is certainly there as well. No one is thrilled with being 5-5, this isn't where we wanted to be, but as far as defining moral, their mindset and the way they handle their business, I think is very good."
Â
On if he sees the time between the end of the regular season and a bowl game as a benefit for the younger players…
"Huge benefit, there is no doubt about it. It is almost another spring ball because you have about 15 practices, which is exactly what you have in spring football. So, you have a bunch of guys that have been redshirting or are down the depth chart and you get to spend some time with them. You have the travelers come out for a portion of practice and then have the other guys stay and get an extra hour of work in with those guys. Their development is good for recruiting also, getting to go to a bowl game and having recruits in on campus in December and getting to watch practice and watch what is going on. There are a lot of positives in getting to go to a bowl game other than rewarding the seniors. That is the main thrust though as far as I am concerned. These seniors deserve it but there are a lot of things that come with it."
Â
On if there will be any depth chart changes on the secondary…
"Well if there is, it will be due to injury and not performance. I thought Terrell Burgess came in and did a good job. Julian Blackmon in the role of dime/safety in three days of practice did an outstanding job. Jaylon Johnson our true freshman and Javelin Guidry continue to do good things. So, there will be no shakeup other than guys might not be available. Casey Hughes exited the game and didn't come back. Blackmon exited the game and came back but then had to go out again. Those are part of those handful of guys that are up in the air right now."
Â
On if they have to adjust their offense when Darren Carrington II isn't available…
"You have to adjust when you don't have your top receiving threat, yes. He is our top guy and has been the go-to guy this season, so that threat was gone. I thought Raelon Singleton stepped up and picked up the slack along with Demari Simpkins. We had guys that stepped up and made plays. When somebody is out it is someone else's opportunities to make plays."
Â
On if he will change his approach in coaching the next couple of weeks…
"I don't believe in that. There are some coaches that will change things when you are out of the running for a championship and make it fun for them, I call bull crap on that. You stay true to what you believe. You stick to the process, keep working hard. You don't go out there and start playing keep away or tag or any of that nonsense, we will continue to work and work through our problems. That is our M.O., that is my M.O., and that is how we operate."
Â
On if the players or coaches are responsible to keep the mental attitude right…
"All of the above. We are all responsible. It is the coach's responsibility to push the right buttons and coach the guys the right way. You can't coach every player the same way. You have to know your players and know how they respond. It is up to the players to be coachable and accept coaching and not hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves. It is just like life. If you get knocked down, you get up and keep working, keep pushing forward."
Â
On finishing the season with two late games…
"We have two later kickoffs. As I've said, I don't complain about refs and I don't complain about kickoff times, just go with the flow."
Â
On what he can take away from how Arizona State defended Washington…
"They did a great job and the first thing they did was take away the run. They were very stingy against the run. They got after the quarterback and had a bunch of sacks. They just flew around. That was the game right before we played Arizona State, so we studied that film in depth. Our schemes are very different from Arizona State's on defense, so as far as schematically, there is not a lot to take away."
Â
On if giving Troy Taylor autonomy of the offense is something he would do again…
"I think that is the way to go. I don't think a head coach can micromanage everything, there isn't enough time and you end up meddling and I don't think that is the way to go. If you look at our numbers they are mostly up from last year. We are still relative to the rest of the league, but are lacking in some key areas like third down conversions, red zone production. So, we are far from where we want to be, but it is a work in progress I guess you could say."
Â
"Can't win a football game when you turn the ball over seven times, that is the obvious takeaway from Saturday. It is a shame too, because it was one of our better, if not our best, defensive performances of the year. I thought the defense was outstanding and did a great job in sudden change, handling adversity with short field situations. There were four or five short field situations that they found themselves in that they did an outstanding job in. So that was disappointing, but you have to keep working on things offensively. Obviously, taking care of the ball is job one. We have to do a much better job than that. To be minus five and to still have it be a one score game, speaks to some of the good things we did in the game. I think if we would have been even in the turnover margin, it could have turned out our way. But that is a big if. We have to do a much better job protecting the football. Special teams is pretty much a non-factor, although we did have the big kickoff return that put us in a short field situation, but we weren't able to capitalize on it. That was good to see the kickoff return game to continue to make strides and be productive. Donavan Thompson came in and played extremely well with Sunia Tauteoli being unavailable. He was out with an injury. I thought Donavan with his first extensive playing time as a Ute performed very well. So now we find ourselves in the same situation we have been in the last several weeks, trying to get our seniors to a bowl game. We have two games left and obviously you need to get six. So, it's all about the Washington Huskies this week. They are coming off a tough loss as well. They got beat by Stanford on Friday night, so I'm sure they are going to be in not a good state of mind. They will be an angry football team. We've got our work cut out for us. They are a talented team, they are strong in all three phases. They have probably the best punt returner in the country, possibly the best of all time. I think he just set the record in punt return touchdowns. They have an outstanding quarterback, a thousand-yard rusher, and they are physical up front on both sides of scrimmage. So, it will be a tough matchup for us. We will be ready to go on Saturday."
Â
On if he anticipated the growing pains they've had…
"We knew there was some position groups that had complete turnover like the offensive line and secondary, and then obviously breaking in a new starting quarterback. We made that decision as the season approached, so I am not going to say it was completely unexpected. You hope for the best and you hope things will go smoothly, but obviously we have had some growing pains. That is part of the process."
Â
On the status of certain injured players…
"There are a bunch of guys and they will be right down to the wire again this week. I can't give you definitive answers because we don't know right now, we will have to see how the week progresses. It doesn't appear right now like there are any season ending injuries. Although, in the regular season there are only two games left, so it is kind of a relative statement. We just hope for the best, but there are a half dozen guys that are in the situation of are they or aren't they going to play."
Â
On Washington's defense and how they compare to Washington State…
"They are a lot different in their M.O. as far as their scheme. They don't slant and move much at all. They have an outstanding front three. They play an odd front primarily, but not exclusively. They've got their nose tackle that is as good as anyone in the country. He is a tremendous player. They have talent at linebacker and talent in the secondary. They did lose their top corners to injury, but the guys they've got playing now are doing a fine job, so really, their more just line up and punch you in the face where Washington State was beat you with movement and athleticism."
Â
On if he sees similarities between Utah's offense and the offense Stanford used to beat Washington…
"Yeah I think so. That is another thing in the game on Saturday was that we weren't able to run the ball with near enough efficiency. We have to do a better job of that. There are some similarities between Stanford's rush attack and ours and we have to see if we can get something going. We have to get something going if we want to have a chance to win."
Â
On trying to find a balance with Tyler Huntley's various abilities...
"He is a dynamic player. He is the guy that makes plays, makes things happen, but at the same time, the number one job of the offense other than scoring points is to protect the football. So, we just have to continue to do a better job at that. We weren't doing a bad job of that until this week. This past week the floodgates opened. Most of the games this year we had done a good job of protecting the football. But he has playmaking ability, he is very athletic, so you don't want to completely take that away from him, but some of the turnovers with tipped balls, which credit Washington State. They deserve the credit for generating those takeaways, but we just have to do a better job of taking care of it and Tyler playing within the scheme. I don't think Tyler is being completely reckless, I don't see that. I think he understands the value of protecting the football as well as anybody, so we continue to coach and get better at all areas."
Â
On if the team's attitude during practice before UCLA and the Washington State game changed…
"Zero difference. The leaders have been great. The seniors have been making sure that the focus and intensity is there. The practices were almost identical leading into UCLA and Washington State, that hasn't been a problem all year long. I don't anticipate it being a problem these last two weeks of the season."
Â
On Washington's defensive recruiting and scheme…
"They do an excellent job recruiting. They have a system and methodology at what they do. They know they type of guys they want to get into the program and who to target and as I have said many times, that is the name of the game of football is recruiting. They do as good a job as anybody in recruiting."
Â
On the offensive struggle to start the game right…
"Both not good starts with completely different problems against UCLA and Washington State. The game against UCLA was clock management and then this game it was turnovers. I don't see any parallel there, but the one common factor is slow starts, so we have to try and be better at that. As far as common ground, I don't think you could say one thing is reoccurring."
Â
On 6-6 teams going to bowl games…
"I mean there are so many bowl games, you have to fill them and if you didn't take 6-6 teams you couldn't fill them. I think that is why the qualifying parameters are as they are. There is a good argument to say you should have a winning record to go to a bowl game, but then you are going to have to cut down the number of bowl games."
Â
On Washington's punt returner Dante Pettis…
"He has tremendous quickness and the ability to make you miss. All great punt returners are able to make X number of guys miss, very seldom is it all blocked out and you have a clear path to the end zone. He catches the ball well, he handles the ball and makes good decisions. He seems to have a good idea of when to fair catch or when not to, but he is also very courageous in that respect. You want a guy that has courage. He has great vision and sets up his blocks up well. He is also very fast. So, if you put all of that together, you have the most prolific, at least touchdown wise, of all time."
Â
On the current moral of the team…
"If you define moral as chemistry and hanging together and fighting through it, then they are great. They are all on the same page. As far as everyone being disappointed and angry, that is certainly there as well. No one is thrilled with being 5-5, this isn't where we wanted to be, but as far as defining moral, their mindset and the way they handle their business, I think is very good."
Â
On if he sees the time between the end of the regular season and a bowl game as a benefit for the younger players…
"Huge benefit, there is no doubt about it. It is almost another spring ball because you have about 15 practices, which is exactly what you have in spring football. So, you have a bunch of guys that have been redshirting or are down the depth chart and you get to spend some time with them. You have the travelers come out for a portion of practice and then have the other guys stay and get an extra hour of work in with those guys. Their development is good for recruiting also, getting to go to a bowl game and having recruits in on campus in December and getting to watch practice and watch what is going on. There are a lot of positives in getting to go to a bowl game other than rewarding the seniors. That is the main thrust though as far as I am concerned. These seniors deserve it but there are a lot of things that come with it."
Â
On if there will be any depth chart changes on the secondary…
"Well if there is, it will be due to injury and not performance. I thought Terrell Burgess came in and did a good job. Julian Blackmon in the role of dime/safety in three days of practice did an outstanding job. Jaylon Johnson our true freshman and Javelin Guidry continue to do good things. So, there will be no shakeup other than guys might not be available. Casey Hughes exited the game and didn't come back. Blackmon exited the game and came back but then had to go out again. Those are part of those handful of guys that are up in the air right now."
Â
On if they have to adjust their offense when Darren Carrington II isn't available…
"You have to adjust when you don't have your top receiving threat, yes. He is our top guy and has been the go-to guy this season, so that threat was gone. I thought Raelon Singleton stepped up and picked up the slack along with Demari Simpkins. We had guys that stepped up and made plays. When somebody is out it is someone else's opportunities to make plays."
Â
On if he will change his approach in coaching the next couple of weeks…
"I don't believe in that. There are some coaches that will change things when you are out of the running for a championship and make it fun for them, I call bull crap on that. You stay true to what you believe. You stick to the process, keep working hard. You don't go out there and start playing keep away or tag or any of that nonsense, we will continue to work and work through our problems. That is our M.O., that is my M.O., and that is how we operate."
Â
On if the players or coaches are responsible to keep the mental attitude right…
"All of the above. We are all responsible. It is the coach's responsibility to push the right buttons and coach the guys the right way. You can't coach every player the same way. You have to know your players and know how they respond. It is up to the players to be coachable and accept coaching and not hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves. It is just like life. If you get knocked down, you get up and keep working, keep pushing forward."
Â
On finishing the season with two late games…
"We have two later kickoffs. As I've said, I don't complain about refs and I don't complain about kickoff times, just go with the flow."
Â
On what he can take away from how Arizona State defended Washington…
"They did a great job and the first thing they did was take away the run. They were very stingy against the run. They got after the quarterback and had a bunch of sacks. They just flew around. That was the game right before we played Arizona State, so we studied that film in depth. Our schemes are very different from Arizona State's on defense, so as far as schematically, there is not a lot to take away."
Â
On if giving Troy Taylor autonomy of the offense is something he would do again…
"I think that is the way to go. I don't think a head coach can micromanage everything, there isn't enough time and you end up meddling and I don't think that is the way to go. If you look at our numbers they are mostly up from last year. We are still relative to the rest of the league, but are lacking in some key areas like third down conversions, red zone production. So, we are far from where we want to be, but it is a work in progress I guess you could say."
Â
Players Mentioned
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LB
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LB
/ FootballHead Coach Kyle Whittingham weekly press conference - 9.15.25
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Monday, September 08