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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes from Kyle Whittingham’s Weekly Press Conference
9/11/2017 1:41 PM | Football
Opening Statement…
"We have the rivalry game behind us. It is always an emotional affair, so we have to make sure we put it in our rearview mirror and focus all of our attention on San Jose State, which we fully intend to do starting today. We've got another home game this week, which is great. It is always great to get back in front of our fans. We are looking forward to another sold out Rice-Eccles, it is a great place to play. Our players really enjoy playing in front of our crowd. As far as the game last week, some good and some bad. I think we improved overall as a football team from week one to two, but we still have a ways to go. We definitely moved forward in a lot of respects. Some of the same problems surfaced again in week two, too many penalties, things like that, but overall, I am pleased with the effort. Tyler Huntley played outstanding. Defense was outstanding. We had good production there on defense with sacks, takeaways and that big stop at the end there to get the win. Lots of positives, but we definitely have more work to do. The kicking game was solid. Matt Gay, our place kicker, was perfect once again for the second week in a row. Mitch Wishnowsky punted like the Ray Guy Award winner that he is. He is a great weapon for us. Overall, we are still a work in progress like every team in the country is at this point in time, but we feel like we are heading in the right direction, just have to continue to get better week by week."
On Tyler Huntley's involvement in the run game…
"Well he is a true dual threat quarterback. I think as I mentioned after the game that it was a little heavy as far as how many carries he had, but the true dual threats in this country have the same kind of production. That is just how it is. He has charge of the offense and he is going to be a big part of the run game each week. Like I mentioned after the game, we just need to supplement some of that run game with the running backs a little bit better. We probably leaned a little bit too heavily on Tyler last week running the football, but he is a very good runner as you can see. He also did an excellent job throwing the football with a 75-percent completion and 300 yards, no picks. He just did a lot of good things."
On the targeting rule in football…
"Football has changed a lot. It is all in the interest of player safety, which is a big positive. So, you just have to live with it and move forward."
On Troy McCormick, Jr. getting more involved in the offense…
"He is a big play threat. He has great speed, especially when you get him on the perimeter because that is his cup of tea. He put the ball on the ground a couple of times last week, one was when he was already down fortunately, but the other one unfortunately was a costly fumble. But Troy is a guy we have a lot of confidence in and he is a homerun back that is capable of taking it the distance on any play. When Armand Shyne went down that is what necessitated the move from wide receiver to running back and I think in all honesty I think he feels most comfortable at running back. It is his natural position and we are going to continue to feed him the ball and hope for production."
On if the lack of contact in fall camp is the reason for the lack of ball security in the first two weeks…
"That could be, I am not sure that it is the overriding factor, we just have to coach it better. I think that is the starting point, just being more demanding of it. The essence of coaching is to teach and demand. We have to teach it right and then we have to demand it gets done the right way. I was really concerned about the lack of contact in the preseason, I was also really concerned on the tackling on defense as well. We only missed two tackles on Saturday night which is maybe an all-time low ever since I have been at Utah, so it didn't have any ill effect on that. As far as the question goes, when you aren't going live and people aren't ripping at the ball constantly, we might have gone into some bad habits."
On if he hopes that Tyler Huntley won't take as many hits in the coming weeks…
"Well the less hits the better, but he is a very good runner. He is physical. He runs much more physical than his stature, I mean he is only 190 pounds, but he is a very good runner inside. For longevity sake, we hope that he can be a little more evasive and not take those direct shots. Those direct shots are the ones that really start to add up. So, as long as he is being smart and looking for those creases in the defense, I think we will be OK."
On what kind of improvements he wants to see in the red zone and with third down conversions…
"Well we would like 100-percent third down conversions and 100-percent red zone, but that's probably not going to happen so realistically if we can be in the mid 40-percentile in third down conversions approaching 50-percent, that should be in the top-10 or 15 in the country. When I was a defensive coordinator, we tried to limit opposing offenses to less than 50-percent touchdown production in the red zone and offensively 70-percent better for us. If we can have that 20-percent spread, we are going to be in good shape."
On how he wants to achieve more of a balance in the run game…
"Ultimately, more pure running back calls, but our offensive coordinator in Troy Taylor is going to call what is working and so if we are going to give the ball to our backs, they have to run with more violence and be productive. They were in week one, but we didn't get that production in week two, so we have to get back to that."
On after looking at film if there is a common theme in the penalties and what he wants to do to improve…
"The common theme on the penalties seems to be on the perimeter. We are still sloppy with our hands on the outside, meaning we are getting our hands outside the frame instead of keeping them tight. I mentioned last week that I love the aggressiveness of the wide receivers because it is an easier problem to correct with trying to rein them in a little bit to get them to be more technique sound than trying to get them to block. Some receivers don't block, but not here. If you are a receiver here, you block, so that is a positive. But we have got to try to curve the aggressiveness and get it reined in with the technique and fundamentals."
On if the secondary has lived up to expectations through two games…
"In my opinion, yes. You saw a little bit of that in week one and a lot of that in the second ball game. A lot of tight coverage with nobody getting behind us. They are doing a good job of playing the ball. Jaylon Johnson played that nine route as good as you can play it. He did a good job of getting in that receiver's hip pocket, looking, leaning, locating the ball and coming away with the interception. Julian Blackmon had a lot of breaks. I think through two games, we are very pleased with what the secondary has done."
On Marquise Blair…
"He is a very good football player first and foremost, that was very evident during fall camp. He has done a good job of learning the system and we are going to try to feed him more reps each week as the season goes because he is really good. He is just a really talented player that we need to try and find ways to utilize and we will continue to do that as we go through the season."
On the advantage of having a veteran player like Boobie Hobbs in the secondary…
"It is a big luxury. He plays a key position because that nickel spot is probably one of the most difficult positions on defense to play. He came away with a big interception and was solid for us all night long. He is a leader among those guys. He is also a real weapon for us at punt returning. He hasn't really gotten on track yet this season, but I think before it is all said and done he is going to have a really good year returning the ball on punts."
On if there is a reason Raelon Singleton and Demari Simpkins haven't seen the ball as much this season…
"I think it is just the way things have gone so far. They are both very talented and we have a lot of confidence in both of them. Obviously, Darren Carrington II has had two very big games now. Siaosi Wilson had a nice game on Saturday night and had some big catches. That deep post was a momentum changer for us. I think that when all is said and done, you are going to see the ball spread around quite a bit but you know there are going to be one or two guys that become leading receivers and it's obvious Carrington is going to be one of those guys. Samson Nacua is another receiver that is a very reliable target that had some big plays for us on Saturday."
On what stands out about San Jose State's offense…
"Well we are starting to get into that now. They are a spread team. Their running backs are tough, hard-nosed guys. They have a receiver that is really fast. Quarterback is a big kid, a young kid, but big, strong kid. So, they are a work in progress like everyone else. Just in the early stages of looking at them, they appear to be a lot of the same personnel groups that we have and are very similar in their approach. So, we should have a good week of practice against each other in using the scout teams because of the similarities."
On if he has been surprised by Matt Gay's accuracy so far…
"Yes and no. Through practice him and Chayden Johnston waged a very competitive battle for that starting kicking spot and the last week or so of camp, Chayden had just edged him out a little bit and that is why he got the first kick of the season. And when he didn't put it through the uprights, in fairness to Matt, it was time to give him a shot and he has not missed since. It doesn't surprise me because we saw pretty good consistency through fall camp, but he has proved to be very cool under pressure. Nothing seems to bother him which is a great trait in a kicker."
"We have the rivalry game behind us. It is always an emotional affair, so we have to make sure we put it in our rearview mirror and focus all of our attention on San Jose State, which we fully intend to do starting today. We've got another home game this week, which is great. It is always great to get back in front of our fans. We are looking forward to another sold out Rice-Eccles, it is a great place to play. Our players really enjoy playing in front of our crowd. As far as the game last week, some good and some bad. I think we improved overall as a football team from week one to two, but we still have a ways to go. We definitely moved forward in a lot of respects. Some of the same problems surfaced again in week two, too many penalties, things like that, but overall, I am pleased with the effort. Tyler Huntley played outstanding. Defense was outstanding. We had good production there on defense with sacks, takeaways and that big stop at the end there to get the win. Lots of positives, but we definitely have more work to do. The kicking game was solid. Matt Gay, our place kicker, was perfect once again for the second week in a row. Mitch Wishnowsky punted like the Ray Guy Award winner that he is. He is a great weapon for us. Overall, we are still a work in progress like every team in the country is at this point in time, but we feel like we are heading in the right direction, just have to continue to get better week by week."
On Tyler Huntley's involvement in the run game…
"Well he is a true dual threat quarterback. I think as I mentioned after the game that it was a little heavy as far as how many carries he had, but the true dual threats in this country have the same kind of production. That is just how it is. He has charge of the offense and he is going to be a big part of the run game each week. Like I mentioned after the game, we just need to supplement some of that run game with the running backs a little bit better. We probably leaned a little bit too heavily on Tyler last week running the football, but he is a very good runner as you can see. He also did an excellent job throwing the football with a 75-percent completion and 300 yards, no picks. He just did a lot of good things."
On the targeting rule in football…
"Football has changed a lot. It is all in the interest of player safety, which is a big positive. So, you just have to live with it and move forward."
On Troy McCormick, Jr. getting more involved in the offense…
"He is a big play threat. He has great speed, especially when you get him on the perimeter because that is his cup of tea. He put the ball on the ground a couple of times last week, one was when he was already down fortunately, but the other one unfortunately was a costly fumble. But Troy is a guy we have a lot of confidence in and he is a homerun back that is capable of taking it the distance on any play. When Armand Shyne went down that is what necessitated the move from wide receiver to running back and I think in all honesty I think he feels most comfortable at running back. It is his natural position and we are going to continue to feed him the ball and hope for production."
On if the lack of contact in fall camp is the reason for the lack of ball security in the first two weeks…
"That could be, I am not sure that it is the overriding factor, we just have to coach it better. I think that is the starting point, just being more demanding of it. The essence of coaching is to teach and demand. We have to teach it right and then we have to demand it gets done the right way. I was really concerned about the lack of contact in the preseason, I was also really concerned on the tackling on defense as well. We only missed two tackles on Saturday night which is maybe an all-time low ever since I have been at Utah, so it didn't have any ill effect on that. As far as the question goes, when you aren't going live and people aren't ripping at the ball constantly, we might have gone into some bad habits."
On if he hopes that Tyler Huntley won't take as many hits in the coming weeks…
"Well the less hits the better, but he is a very good runner. He is physical. He runs much more physical than his stature, I mean he is only 190 pounds, but he is a very good runner inside. For longevity sake, we hope that he can be a little more evasive and not take those direct shots. Those direct shots are the ones that really start to add up. So, as long as he is being smart and looking for those creases in the defense, I think we will be OK."
On what kind of improvements he wants to see in the red zone and with third down conversions…
"Well we would like 100-percent third down conversions and 100-percent red zone, but that's probably not going to happen so realistically if we can be in the mid 40-percentile in third down conversions approaching 50-percent, that should be in the top-10 or 15 in the country. When I was a defensive coordinator, we tried to limit opposing offenses to less than 50-percent touchdown production in the red zone and offensively 70-percent better for us. If we can have that 20-percent spread, we are going to be in good shape."
On how he wants to achieve more of a balance in the run game…
"Ultimately, more pure running back calls, but our offensive coordinator in Troy Taylor is going to call what is working and so if we are going to give the ball to our backs, they have to run with more violence and be productive. They were in week one, but we didn't get that production in week two, so we have to get back to that."
On after looking at film if there is a common theme in the penalties and what he wants to do to improve…
"The common theme on the penalties seems to be on the perimeter. We are still sloppy with our hands on the outside, meaning we are getting our hands outside the frame instead of keeping them tight. I mentioned last week that I love the aggressiveness of the wide receivers because it is an easier problem to correct with trying to rein them in a little bit to get them to be more technique sound than trying to get them to block. Some receivers don't block, but not here. If you are a receiver here, you block, so that is a positive. But we have got to try to curve the aggressiveness and get it reined in with the technique and fundamentals."
On if the secondary has lived up to expectations through two games…
"In my opinion, yes. You saw a little bit of that in week one and a lot of that in the second ball game. A lot of tight coverage with nobody getting behind us. They are doing a good job of playing the ball. Jaylon Johnson played that nine route as good as you can play it. He did a good job of getting in that receiver's hip pocket, looking, leaning, locating the ball and coming away with the interception. Julian Blackmon had a lot of breaks. I think through two games, we are very pleased with what the secondary has done."
On Marquise Blair…
"He is a very good football player first and foremost, that was very evident during fall camp. He has done a good job of learning the system and we are going to try to feed him more reps each week as the season goes because he is really good. He is just a really talented player that we need to try and find ways to utilize and we will continue to do that as we go through the season."
On the advantage of having a veteran player like Boobie Hobbs in the secondary…
"It is a big luxury. He plays a key position because that nickel spot is probably one of the most difficult positions on defense to play. He came away with a big interception and was solid for us all night long. He is a leader among those guys. He is also a real weapon for us at punt returning. He hasn't really gotten on track yet this season, but I think before it is all said and done he is going to have a really good year returning the ball on punts."
On if there is a reason Raelon Singleton and Demari Simpkins haven't seen the ball as much this season…
"I think it is just the way things have gone so far. They are both very talented and we have a lot of confidence in both of them. Obviously, Darren Carrington II has had two very big games now. Siaosi Wilson had a nice game on Saturday night and had some big catches. That deep post was a momentum changer for us. I think that when all is said and done, you are going to see the ball spread around quite a bit but you know there are going to be one or two guys that become leading receivers and it's obvious Carrington is going to be one of those guys. Samson Nacua is another receiver that is a very reliable target that had some big plays for us on Saturday."
On what stands out about San Jose State's offense…
"Well we are starting to get into that now. They are a spread team. Their running backs are tough, hard-nosed guys. They have a receiver that is really fast. Quarterback is a big kid, a young kid, but big, strong kid. So, they are a work in progress like everyone else. Just in the early stages of looking at them, they appear to be a lot of the same personnel groups that we have and are very similar in their approach. So, we should have a good week of practice against each other in using the scout teams because of the similarities."
On if he has been surprised by Matt Gay's accuracy so far…
"Yes and no. Through practice him and Chayden Johnston waged a very competitive battle for that starting kicking spot and the last week or so of camp, Chayden had just edged him out a little bit and that is why he got the first kick of the season. And when he didn't put it through the uprights, in fairness to Matt, it was time to give him a shot and he has not missed since. It doesn't surprise me because we saw pretty good consistency through fall camp, but he has proved to be very cool under pressure. Nothing seems to bother him which is a great trait in a kicker."
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