SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah football team is 12 days away from playing West Virginia in the 2017 Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 11:30 a.m. MST. The game will take place in the Cotton Bowl and air live on ESPN.
That Bowl Hype...
Utah is playing in a bowl game for the fourth-straight year ...
Kyle Whittingham holds a 10-1 bowl record and the best bowl win percentage (91%) in NCAA history ... Whittingham's 10 bowl wins ties him for second among active coaches ... Utah is 4-0 in bowl games since joining the Pac-12 Conference and 16-4 all-time.
Award Season...
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Matt Gay: Lou Groza Award winner, Pro Football Focus All-America second-team, Sports on Earth All-America second-team, CBSSports.com All-America second-team, The All-America second-team, College Football News All-America first-team, Bleacher Report All-America first-team, SB Nation All-America first-team, ESPN.com All-America first-team, USA Today All-America first-team, Sports Illustrated All-America first-team, AFCA All-America second-team, Walter Camp All-America second-team, Sporting News All-America first-team, FWAA first-team, AP All-America first-teamPac-12 All-Conference first-team
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Mitch Wishnowsky: Ray Guy Award finalist, Walter Camp All-America second-team, FWAA second-team, AP All-America third-team, Sports on Earth All-America second-team, CoSIDA Academic All-Distrcit, Pac-12 Academic All-Conference first-team, Pac-12 All-Conference first-team
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Julian Blackmon: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention, Pac-12 All-Conference second-team
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Darren Carrington II: Pac-12 All-Conference second-team
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Salesi Uhatafe: Pac-12 All-Conference second-team
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Boobie Hobbs: Pac-12 All-Conference second-team
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Lowell Lotulelei: Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention
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Filipo Mokofisi: Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention
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Kavika Luafatasaga: Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention
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Lo Falemaka: Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention
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Johnny Capra: CoSIDA Academic All-District, Pac-12 Academic All-Conference first-team
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Harrison Handley: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference first-team
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Nick Heninger: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference first-team
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Pita Tonga: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference first-team
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Terrell Burgess: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference first-team
- Demari Simpkins: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference second-team
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Darrin Paulo: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference second-team
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Connor Haller: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference second-team
- Devonta'e Henry-Cole: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
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Hayes Hicken: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
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Casey Hughes: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
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Tyler Huntley: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
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Jake Jackson: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
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Troy Williams: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
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Alex Whittingham: Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorable mention
Voices from Practice...
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On West Virginia...
"Well first off they have really good skill on the outside on offense with receivers all over the place. They have playmakers. That will be a challenge for us. They run a three-three stack on defense, so that can present some problems as well. We have had extra time to prepare so hopefully we will be ready to go in about 12 days."
On what a win against West Virginia would mean to the program after an up and down season...
"It would be a good way to send the seniors out. We won our last home game, so we check that box, now it is an opportunity to send them out with a winning record and positive bowl experience. That would be big."
On how much they can improve between now and heading to Dallas...
"We got back on the practice field and we will hopefully get a few guys back that we were missing toward the end of the season. That will help us be better right there. But it just depends on how hard they work. The bowl record is what it is because of the past players work ethic. So far if you gauge it off today, these guys are in the same mindset as the groups before them."
On what he thinks this season has done for Darren Carrington II as a player and a person...
"Hopefully it has done a lot for him. He has been a great teammate and he has had absolutely zero issues. He is low maintenance and has been a guy that came in and did exactly what we expected him to do. He has been a little banged up over the course of the year and that slowed him down. I think he would have caught 80 or 90 balls if he would have been healthy the whole year, but when he was out there he was a big plus for us. I can't say enough good things about how he has conducted himself here."
