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The University of Utah Athletics
Quotes From Kyle Whittingham's Weekly Press Conference
9/25/2017 1:10 PM | Football
Opening Statement…
"I am proud of our guys. We had a hard-fought victory on Saturday night down in Tucson. The last couple of times we went down there we didn't fare so well, so it was good to be able to get a victory. It wasn't perfect, but it never is. The guys showed a lot of fight, overcame same adversity and found a way to get it done. Defensively, did a decent job against the run, but not great. We held them to about two-thirds of what they usually get and we were hoping to hold them to about half, we felt that was the winning formula. It was good to get a score on defense, that was a positive. We had five takeaways and a score. Offensively, we did some good things. We had one turnover on offense, that one fumble early, and then we settled down and took care of the football the rest of the way. We had two touchdowns, one to open each half, was the positive while the negative was those were the only touchdowns we scored offensively. We have to get some more production there. Overall, it was a good win. Special teams had an impact as well. Matt Gay continues to be perfect. Boobie Hobbs gave us another big punt return. Mitch Wishnowsky was a weapon in the punt game for us again. So, it was a victory for us in special teams in our estimation on Saturday night as well. No game this week. We got pretty beat up on Saturday, so this will be a good time to have the BYE week and get healed up."
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On if Tyler Huntley's injury is season-ending and how he felt Troy Williams did in his absence…
"There were no season-ending injuries in the game on Saturday, thank goodness. Troy came in and did exactly what I thought he would do and what I expect out of him. He is a professional and he handles himself the right way. Nobody was more disappointed when we announced who would be starting quarterback in fall camp, but he continued his work ethic, his focus, his concentration, and I knew that when his number was called that he would be ready. That was very apparent that was the situation on Saturday night."
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On if the offense will be tweaked some when Troy Williams is under center…
"Yeah, I think so, I think we tweak a little bit, but it isn't a wholesale change. There is no reason for that. Troy is a very capable runner and he is good in the pocket. Troy Taylor will I am sure tailor the game plan to fit his specific skill set, but like I said, I don't think there is a great deal of difference on what we need to change. Troy [Williams] is just as capable of running this offense as is."
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On Matt Gay being able to stay perfect through four games…
"Nothing seems to faze him. He has the perfect mentality for a kicker because he is mentally tough. He is a very confident kid. He is mechanically and technically sound. He has a strong leg and he gets the ball out quick. He has just been a huge plus for us this year. He has done a great job."
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On what they might focus on during the BYE week to prepare for the rest of the Pac-12 season…
"We have plenty to work on, but for this week, the travelers won't see the field. They will have a couple of weight room sessions, but that is it. They need some time off. They have been going at it for nine straight weeks, so they need to be able to get their legs back underneath them and get healed up. Third downs, red zone, we have a lot of things that we need to work on right now and that will start Monday. We will handle this week much like we did during the rivalry week where we will have an extra day of practice during game week."
Â
On if they emphasize takeaways on defense…
"We emphasize that every year, every week and every day. That is our M.O. on defense. It is the most important thing to us. Turnover margin is the most important stat in football and our guys are doing a very good job of taking the football away."
Â
On the defensive backs having a hand in all five turnovers against Arizona…
"First of all, it is a mentality. Our guys believe that we are going to create takeaways and our coaches do a great job of coaching the techniques and fundamentals of it like running into the football. Chris Hart recovers that fumble late in the game against Arizona that Casey Hughes strips is because he is sprinting to the ball. If you are just standing around jogging or watching, there is an offensive lineman in the vicinity that would have recovered it. A lot of times, takeaways are a product of hustle, running at the football and making the most of those opportunities."
Â
On his concern about the penalties through the first four games…
"I have been very concerned. It is not the end of the world. It seems like for four straight weeks, we haven't had the blatant late hits or swinging at a guy after the play. There haven't been any of those, so the penalties that we have had, we can live with a lot of them, but there are still too many. There are still too many and we know we haven't been doing ourselves any favors with how many times we have been penalized, but we still want to be aggressive and push the envelope. False starts have been at a minimum along with delay of game calls, the administrative and ignorant things, so we just have to clean up what is going on. But what is going on, could be worse."
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On what he knows about Stanford and running back Bryce Love…
"I know that Stanford is that they have a physical run game on offense and they play a tough, hard-nosed defense. They obviously have a great answer for Christian McCaffrey in Bryce Love, who is phenomenal. I haven't seen him, other than the one game I watched this weekend, but that was enough. He was very impressive. It was your typical Stanford. They are going to line up, smash mouth football. You know what is coming and they know that you know what is coming, but they are just going to keep doing it anyway."
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On the lack of production in Utah's run game through four games…
"We are not awful, I think we are roughly in the middle of the pack in rush offense. We are used to running the football than we are right now, but we are throwing the football better than we have been, so there is give and take. I think it is a combination of things though. I think we need to run the ball off the offensive line a little better, create some creases, run with a little more violence when the ball is in our hands. So, I think it is a work in progress. I think we have a bunch of new guys up front that are figuring out how to work together, so I think it is a combination of all of the above. Still, all of that being said, I think we are right in the middle of the Pac-12 in rushing offense."
On how Utah being one of the only schools in the country with two solid quarterbacks…
"We have three solid quarterbacks. Cooper Bateman and then we have Jason Shelley, who is redshirting. We feel we have recruited that position very well. It is a luxury to have the guys that we've got. It wouldn't work if they were selfish, pouty or whiney, but none of them are like that. They all want to play and are competitive, but they are all team guys. That makes for a great situation and we are very fortunate to be in that situation."
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On if he had to say anything to the offense or Troy Williams when Tyler Huntley went down to get them fired up…
"No, nothing at all. Troy is up, so let's go. We are very confident in Troy, he won nine ball games for us last year. He is a guy that there is nobody on this football team that doubts him, at all."
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On Devonta'e Henry-Cole's performance and if he will get more carries moving forward…
"He gave us some good stuff in that game and had a couple of nice runs. He has great quickness. He isn't the biggest guy in the world but he runs with physicality. His ball security is excellent because he always has the ball high and tight. He is doing his part. I mentioned a few weeks ago that he hadn't gotten as many reps because there were some things he was lacking as far as assignments and things like that and he is starting to clean that up. When he gets completely up to speed, him and Zack Moss should give us a good one-two punch."
Â
On if he has considered looking for a redshirt year for Armand Shyne…
"We think that he is going to redshirt. It will be so late when he does get cleared so it doesn't really make sense to play him when he gets healthy because there will be very little football left. The redshirt is still the plan right now."
Â
On the miscues on punt snapping and if it is due to inexperience at the position…
"A little bit. There was a miscommunication on the one on Saturday night and we will look at that hard on the BYE week and see what we can do to improve it. There have been too many issues, so we need to get that fixed. That being said, I think we have the best punter in America and he makes up for it. His athleticism is just phenomenal and he can make the best of a bad situation as you've seen a couple of times this season. Mitch is doing his part and we have to do a lot better job of helping him out and not making him do so many dramatic things for us. We want him to just punt the football which is what he is paid to do."Â
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"I am proud of our guys. We had a hard-fought victory on Saturday night down in Tucson. The last couple of times we went down there we didn't fare so well, so it was good to be able to get a victory. It wasn't perfect, but it never is. The guys showed a lot of fight, overcame same adversity and found a way to get it done. Defensively, did a decent job against the run, but not great. We held them to about two-thirds of what they usually get and we were hoping to hold them to about half, we felt that was the winning formula. It was good to get a score on defense, that was a positive. We had five takeaways and a score. Offensively, we did some good things. We had one turnover on offense, that one fumble early, and then we settled down and took care of the football the rest of the way. We had two touchdowns, one to open each half, was the positive while the negative was those were the only touchdowns we scored offensively. We have to get some more production there. Overall, it was a good win. Special teams had an impact as well. Matt Gay continues to be perfect. Boobie Hobbs gave us another big punt return. Mitch Wishnowsky was a weapon in the punt game for us again. So, it was a victory for us in special teams in our estimation on Saturday night as well. No game this week. We got pretty beat up on Saturday, so this will be a good time to have the BYE week and get healed up."
Â
On if Tyler Huntley's injury is season-ending and how he felt Troy Williams did in his absence…
"There were no season-ending injuries in the game on Saturday, thank goodness. Troy came in and did exactly what I thought he would do and what I expect out of him. He is a professional and he handles himself the right way. Nobody was more disappointed when we announced who would be starting quarterback in fall camp, but he continued his work ethic, his focus, his concentration, and I knew that when his number was called that he would be ready. That was very apparent that was the situation on Saturday night."
Â
On if the offense will be tweaked some when Troy Williams is under center…
"Yeah, I think so, I think we tweak a little bit, but it isn't a wholesale change. There is no reason for that. Troy is a very capable runner and he is good in the pocket. Troy Taylor will I am sure tailor the game plan to fit his specific skill set, but like I said, I don't think there is a great deal of difference on what we need to change. Troy [Williams] is just as capable of running this offense as is."
Â
On Matt Gay being able to stay perfect through four games…
"Nothing seems to faze him. He has the perfect mentality for a kicker because he is mentally tough. He is a very confident kid. He is mechanically and technically sound. He has a strong leg and he gets the ball out quick. He has just been a huge plus for us this year. He has done a great job."
Â
On what they might focus on during the BYE week to prepare for the rest of the Pac-12 season…
"We have plenty to work on, but for this week, the travelers won't see the field. They will have a couple of weight room sessions, but that is it. They need some time off. They have been going at it for nine straight weeks, so they need to be able to get their legs back underneath them and get healed up. Third downs, red zone, we have a lot of things that we need to work on right now and that will start Monday. We will handle this week much like we did during the rivalry week where we will have an extra day of practice during game week."
Â
On if they emphasize takeaways on defense…
"We emphasize that every year, every week and every day. That is our M.O. on defense. It is the most important thing to us. Turnover margin is the most important stat in football and our guys are doing a very good job of taking the football away."
Â
On the defensive backs having a hand in all five turnovers against Arizona…
"First of all, it is a mentality. Our guys believe that we are going to create takeaways and our coaches do a great job of coaching the techniques and fundamentals of it like running into the football. Chris Hart recovers that fumble late in the game against Arizona that Casey Hughes strips is because he is sprinting to the ball. If you are just standing around jogging or watching, there is an offensive lineman in the vicinity that would have recovered it. A lot of times, takeaways are a product of hustle, running at the football and making the most of those opportunities."
Â
On his concern about the penalties through the first four games…
"I have been very concerned. It is not the end of the world. It seems like for four straight weeks, we haven't had the blatant late hits or swinging at a guy after the play. There haven't been any of those, so the penalties that we have had, we can live with a lot of them, but there are still too many. There are still too many and we know we haven't been doing ourselves any favors with how many times we have been penalized, but we still want to be aggressive and push the envelope. False starts have been at a minimum along with delay of game calls, the administrative and ignorant things, so we just have to clean up what is going on. But what is going on, could be worse."
Â
On what he knows about Stanford and running back Bryce Love…
"I know that Stanford is that they have a physical run game on offense and they play a tough, hard-nosed defense. They obviously have a great answer for Christian McCaffrey in Bryce Love, who is phenomenal. I haven't seen him, other than the one game I watched this weekend, but that was enough. He was very impressive. It was your typical Stanford. They are going to line up, smash mouth football. You know what is coming and they know that you know what is coming, but they are just going to keep doing it anyway."
Â
On the lack of production in Utah's run game through four games…
"We are not awful, I think we are roughly in the middle of the pack in rush offense. We are used to running the football than we are right now, but we are throwing the football better than we have been, so there is give and take. I think it is a combination of things though. I think we need to run the ball off the offensive line a little better, create some creases, run with a little more violence when the ball is in our hands. So, I think it is a work in progress. I think we have a bunch of new guys up front that are figuring out how to work together, so I think it is a combination of all of the above. Still, all of that being said, I think we are right in the middle of the Pac-12 in rushing offense."
On how Utah being one of the only schools in the country with two solid quarterbacks…
"We have three solid quarterbacks. Cooper Bateman and then we have Jason Shelley, who is redshirting. We feel we have recruited that position very well. It is a luxury to have the guys that we've got. It wouldn't work if they were selfish, pouty or whiney, but none of them are like that. They all want to play and are competitive, but they are all team guys. That makes for a great situation and we are very fortunate to be in that situation."
Â
On if he had to say anything to the offense or Troy Williams when Tyler Huntley went down to get them fired up…
"No, nothing at all. Troy is up, so let's go. We are very confident in Troy, he won nine ball games for us last year. He is a guy that there is nobody on this football team that doubts him, at all."
Â
On Devonta'e Henry-Cole's performance and if he will get more carries moving forward…
"He gave us some good stuff in that game and had a couple of nice runs. He has great quickness. He isn't the biggest guy in the world but he runs with physicality. His ball security is excellent because he always has the ball high and tight. He is doing his part. I mentioned a few weeks ago that he hadn't gotten as many reps because there were some things he was lacking as far as assignments and things like that and he is starting to clean that up. When he gets completely up to speed, him and Zack Moss should give us a good one-two punch."
Â
On if he has considered looking for a redshirt year for Armand Shyne…
"We think that he is going to redshirt. It will be so late when he does get cleared so it doesn't really make sense to play him when he gets healthy because there will be very little football left. The redshirt is still the plan right now."
Â
On the miscues on punt snapping and if it is due to inexperience at the position…
"A little bit. There was a miscommunication on the one on Saturday night and we will look at that hard on the BYE week and see what we can do to improve it. There have been too many issues, so we need to get that fixed. That being said, I think we have the best punter in America and he makes up for it. His athleticism is just phenomenal and he can make the best of a bad situation as you've seen a couple of times this season. Mitch is doing his part and we have to do a lot better job of helping him out and not making him do so many dramatic things for us. We want him to just punt the football which is what he is paid to do."Â
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