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The University of Utah Athletics
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Quotes From Kyle Whittingham's Signing Day Press Conference
2/7/2018 4:19 PM | Football
Opening statement...
"We feel we addressed all our needs and came up with some really good players in this class. I am proud of our assistant coaches in how they worked hard to assemble a pretty talented group of guys. We were well represented as far as geographics. We had a good year in-state. I think it is going to be seven or eight when it is all totaled and we add the missionaries in that won't be joining us this fall but have committed to us. California was good to us again. It was a little light on the junior college transfers relative to years past. It was in the realm of where we've been, but maybe just a few shy of what we usually are. Texas was good to us. So, like I said we are pleased. We lost a lot of talent last year. This time last year we had eight guys get drafted and eight free agent signees, so we had a lot of holes to fill last year. Then the guys we recruited and signed last year stepped up right away. We had a lot of guys that contributed in their first year in the program and we expect it to be the same this year. We feel like our recruiting is on the rise and the guys we got in this class we feel are going to be ready to contribute this fall."
On what Jack Tuttle and Solomon Enis are going to bring to the offense in this coming year...
"We are high on both of those guys and it was right down to the wire with Solomon today. It was between us and one other school and we didn't know until late last night that we were the one. We are elated to have him in the program and I believe he is going to come in and make an impact. Jack Tuttle is already with us since he enrolled in January. From a work ethic, leadership and attitude standpoint he is as advertised. He is everything we hoped he would be. Obviously, we haven't been able to work with him throwing the football yet or any of that stuff, but those two guys are going to be future stars in this program as far as we are concerned. They have a lot of work to do and will develop, but they have the raw material."
On what they learned going through the early signing period for the first time...
"I think there was a higher percentage of signees in that early signing period than we had anticipated. Some had as much as 75-percent of signees sign in that early signing period. We were more like 50-percent when you add the missionaries. Our recruiting isn't as cut and dried as others because we've got missionaries coming and going, so it is a little bit more difficult to figure out the classes. Some of the guys that are in this class we recruited two years ago. I think that it really favors the programs that have stability. When there is coaching turnover and change with as many as signing in that first period, then it really puts a stress on you when you make a coaching change because you are scrambling to get your recruiting going because you don't have that two months, you have three weeks and that is a big difference."
On Solomon Enis' size with losing Raelon Singleton and Darren Carrington II...
"His length is an asset. That is something that is a big positive for him because he is 6-3 with long arms. That is a weapon and an advantage for a receiver. He is a multi-talented guy. You may see him line up in the backfield as a running back or in the wildcat as the quarterback because guys with that kind of athletic ability you can do different things with. We don't want to get too far ahead of the game, but he has a lot of talent and a lot of ability. He is first and foremost a wide receiver and that length is going to be to his advantage."
On if the change in offensive scheme this year impacted on how they recruited...
"Not really. We were very balanced this year. We had a thousand yard rusher in Zack Moss and then we had Darren Carrington II with a big year receiving and then Tyler Huntley had a very good year at the quarterback position, and would have had an even better year if he would have stayed healthy. I think he finished third in the league in total offense. So, I think that the style as far as the run to pass ratio wasn't dramatically different than years past, so I don't think that was a huge factor in the recruiting class."
On if he thinks recruits make decisions based on who has already committed to the program they are interested in...
"I think there is a big correlation there. They are certainly dialed in on who is going where and seeing if this school has three receivers already committed, why do I want to go there when maybe this other school I would be the only guy. And the same goes for who is in that program that can get me the ball if I am a wideout or if I am a running back, how is their offensive line, how many carries do I project, so that definitely plays into it. With the social media and everything being accessible with who is going where, there are no secrets anymore. I think that is really becoming more of a factor every year is players doing their research and deciding where they want to go based on circumstances like that."
On the defensive recruits and who he thinks will make the biggest impact...
"That is a good question. We did emphasize defense, particularly up front. I would say in general we really think we helped ourselves on the defensive line first and foremost, secondly on the secondary. We signed four or five secondary guys. We got some big, strong defensive linemen. Jackson Cravens from Timpview is already 310 pounds, 6-2 and will need to gain 30 to 40 pounds before he is ready to go. David Fotu, Leki's younger brother, is about 280 and by tomorrow will be 290, he just keeps getting bigger and bigger. So, I think we have a group of guys in that defensive class, which was 14 guys overall, and you will probably see close to half of those guys be contributors this fall."
On who out of the signees along with Hunter Lotulelei will be going on missions...
"There are three guys, but those three guys I am not allowed to talk about. There are certain things that have to happen before I am allowed to talk about them whether it is a signed NLI or a deposit for enrollment, that type of thing. So we are going to have a minimum of three of those guys, maybe four or five when all is said and done of those guys that are going to head out on LDS missions before they play for us."
On the signees who are returning from missions and if he likes the change that secures the missionaries that are coming back...
"I think it is probably a positive. The NLI limits have changed. They got counts all over, they have overalls, initials, NLI limits, so I think the way things are structured right now and you are certain a guy is going to come in and play for you, then you want to sign him instead of taking a chance of not getting him in your program. So I think that is a positive thing and that is really for guys who have not been in your program prior to their mission."
On if they have an idea of what position R.J. Hubert will play...
"We will most likely start R.J. off on defense at safety and see how that goes. We know he can play offense as well, that is where he spent most of his time in high school as a wide receiver. The thing that is most impressive about R.J. is his track measurables with his long jump and his 100 meter. So he has the athletic ability, but we are going to start him off on defense and if we feel like it is a good fit, he will stay, and if we feel like we want to take a look at him on offense, then we can always do that."
On if he feels they have addressed the safety position as far as depth goes...
"We think we have done that. With Malone Mataele in the mix and R.J. Hubert and then we have Corrion Ballard and Philip Afia returning, but unfortunately Afia will miss spring ball due to an injury, and Marquise Blair, we think we are going to be in good shape there. Chase Hansen, who is scheduled to play linebacker, can play either."
On being able to recruit all over the country and even internationally with Thomas Yassmin...
"We are coast-to-coast recruiting and even intercontinental. Thomas Yassmin, the outstanding rugby player from Australia, he has great measurables as well. That is something that is very important to us, is the measurables. He is 6-5, 240-plus pounds, run like a deer and is an outstanding rugby player. It is a project and he is going to be raw when we get him, and we understand that, but we are excited about him. He is a big kid with a big frame. He is 240-plus now and he is going to be 250 or 260, he has that kind of frame on him. So, we are going to start him at tight end. Potentially he could be a defensive end, we will just have to see what happens. We think he has a chance to find a home somewhere."
On if Yassmin might redshirt his first year because of the transition from rugby to American football...
"There is a good chance of that. With a player that needs to develop and gain experience in American football, that is a very realistic possibility. We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but we will see how quick he picks things up and how far away he is technique wise and fundamentally. Some kids are more naturally fundamentally and technique sound than others, that's just how they come to you. There are a lot of unknowns with Thomas, but the things that we do know, we really like."
On if they felt they needed to add more depth at the running back position injury problems the last few seasons...
"We have six spot dedicated to running backs and we were at four after this season, scholarship running backs that is. Devin Brumfield gets us to five, so we are actually one shy of where we would like to be at this point, but we definitely felt we needed to add at least one or two going into the recruiting season. With Zack Moss and Armand Shyne hopefully being healthy this year, Devonta'e Henry-Cole and then T.J. Green who we redshirted, we think that Devin is going to be a good fit with that group. And then we have Seoni Lund who is actually going to start off at linebacker because he is a big kid, so he may have outgrown that running back spot."
On the improvements they have made as a staff in the recruiting realm...
"We feel like are gaining momentum every year and that every year is better than the last. I think that was evident last year with the amount of NFL guys that we had. Hopefully we can continue that trend. I don't think we are going to have eight every year, I don't think that is realistic, but I agree with you that we feel completely entrenched in Power Five recruiting. It is very competitive, but we feel like we are winning our share of the battles. Pretty much every kid on the list here had Power Five offers elsewhere and we can stand toe to toe with a lot of people and come out getting a lot of these guys."
On Andrew Mata'afa not playing his senior year of high school and if they will expect him to be ready to go come fall camp...
"We feel he is going to be ready to go. Jackson Cravens was in the same boat. He didn't play a snap his senior year and still had tons of offers. Andrew is a very talented young man that was maybe a little overlooked because of him not being able to play his senior year. We saw enough on film of his junior year to know that he was a great player. We go back to measurables and he has some really great measurables that are going to translate to a really great player."
"We feel we addressed all our needs and came up with some really good players in this class. I am proud of our assistant coaches in how they worked hard to assemble a pretty talented group of guys. We were well represented as far as geographics. We had a good year in-state. I think it is going to be seven or eight when it is all totaled and we add the missionaries in that won't be joining us this fall but have committed to us. California was good to us again. It was a little light on the junior college transfers relative to years past. It was in the realm of where we've been, but maybe just a few shy of what we usually are. Texas was good to us. So, like I said we are pleased. We lost a lot of talent last year. This time last year we had eight guys get drafted and eight free agent signees, so we had a lot of holes to fill last year. Then the guys we recruited and signed last year stepped up right away. We had a lot of guys that contributed in their first year in the program and we expect it to be the same this year. We feel like our recruiting is on the rise and the guys we got in this class we feel are going to be ready to contribute this fall."
On what Jack Tuttle and Solomon Enis are going to bring to the offense in this coming year...
"We are high on both of those guys and it was right down to the wire with Solomon today. It was between us and one other school and we didn't know until late last night that we were the one. We are elated to have him in the program and I believe he is going to come in and make an impact. Jack Tuttle is already with us since he enrolled in January. From a work ethic, leadership and attitude standpoint he is as advertised. He is everything we hoped he would be. Obviously, we haven't been able to work with him throwing the football yet or any of that stuff, but those two guys are going to be future stars in this program as far as we are concerned. They have a lot of work to do and will develop, but they have the raw material."
On what they learned going through the early signing period for the first time...
"I think there was a higher percentage of signees in that early signing period than we had anticipated. Some had as much as 75-percent of signees sign in that early signing period. We were more like 50-percent when you add the missionaries. Our recruiting isn't as cut and dried as others because we've got missionaries coming and going, so it is a little bit more difficult to figure out the classes. Some of the guys that are in this class we recruited two years ago. I think that it really favors the programs that have stability. When there is coaching turnover and change with as many as signing in that first period, then it really puts a stress on you when you make a coaching change because you are scrambling to get your recruiting going because you don't have that two months, you have three weeks and that is a big difference."
On Solomon Enis' size with losing Raelon Singleton and Darren Carrington II...
"His length is an asset. That is something that is a big positive for him because he is 6-3 with long arms. That is a weapon and an advantage for a receiver. He is a multi-talented guy. You may see him line up in the backfield as a running back or in the wildcat as the quarterback because guys with that kind of athletic ability you can do different things with. We don't want to get too far ahead of the game, but he has a lot of talent and a lot of ability. He is first and foremost a wide receiver and that length is going to be to his advantage."
On if the change in offensive scheme this year impacted on how they recruited...
"Not really. We were very balanced this year. We had a thousand yard rusher in Zack Moss and then we had Darren Carrington II with a big year receiving and then Tyler Huntley had a very good year at the quarterback position, and would have had an even better year if he would have stayed healthy. I think he finished third in the league in total offense. So, I think that the style as far as the run to pass ratio wasn't dramatically different than years past, so I don't think that was a huge factor in the recruiting class."
On if he thinks recruits make decisions based on who has already committed to the program they are interested in...
"I think there is a big correlation there. They are certainly dialed in on who is going where and seeing if this school has three receivers already committed, why do I want to go there when maybe this other school I would be the only guy. And the same goes for who is in that program that can get me the ball if I am a wideout or if I am a running back, how is their offensive line, how many carries do I project, so that definitely plays into it. With the social media and everything being accessible with who is going where, there are no secrets anymore. I think that is really becoming more of a factor every year is players doing their research and deciding where they want to go based on circumstances like that."
On the defensive recruits and who he thinks will make the biggest impact...
"That is a good question. We did emphasize defense, particularly up front. I would say in general we really think we helped ourselves on the defensive line first and foremost, secondly on the secondary. We signed four or five secondary guys. We got some big, strong defensive linemen. Jackson Cravens from Timpview is already 310 pounds, 6-2 and will need to gain 30 to 40 pounds before he is ready to go. David Fotu, Leki's younger brother, is about 280 and by tomorrow will be 290, he just keeps getting bigger and bigger. So, I think we have a group of guys in that defensive class, which was 14 guys overall, and you will probably see close to half of those guys be contributors this fall."
On who out of the signees along with Hunter Lotulelei will be going on missions...
"There are three guys, but those three guys I am not allowed to talk about. There are certain things that have to happen before I am allowed to talk about them whether it is a signed NLI or a deposit for enrollment, that type of thing. So we are going to have a minimum of three of those guys, maybe four or five when all is said and done of those guys that are going to head out on LDS missions before they play for us."
On the signees who are returning from missions and if he likes the change that secures the missionaries that are coming back...
"I think it is probably a positive. The NLI limits have changed. They got counts all over, they have overalls, initials, NLI limits, so I think the way things are structured right now and you are certain a guy is going to come in and play for you, then you want to sign him instead of taking a chance of not getting him in your program. So I think that is a positive thing and that is really for guys who have not been in your program prior to their mission."
On if they have an idea of what position R.J. Hubert will play...
"We will most likely start R.J. off on defense at safety and see how that goes. We know he can play offense as well, that is where he spent most of his time in high school as a wide receiver. The thing that is most impressive about R.J. is his track measurables with his long jump and his 100 meter. So he has the athletic ability, but we are going to start him off on defense and if we feel like it is a good fit, he will stay, and if we feel like we want to take a look at him on offense, then we can always do that."
On if he feels they have addressed the safety position as far as depth goes...
"We think we have done that. With Malone Mataele in the mix and R.J. Hubert and then we have Corrion Ballard and Philip Afia returning, but unfortunately Afia will miss spring ball due to an injury, and Marquise Blair, we think we are going to be in good shape there. Chase Hansen, who is scheduled to play linebacker, can play either."
On being able to recruit all over the country and even internationally with Thomas Yassmin...
"We are coast-to-coast recruiting and even intercontinental. Thomas Yassmin, the outstanding rugby player from Australia, he has great measurables as well. That is something that is very important to us, is the measurables. He is 6-5, 240-plus pounds, run like a deer and is an outstanding rugby player. It is a project and he is going to be raw when we get him, and we understand that, but we are excited about him. He is a big kid with a big frame. He is 240-plus now and he is going to be 250 or 260, he has that kind of frame on him. So, we are going to start him at tight end. Potentially he could be a defensive end, we will just have to see what happens. We think he has a chance to find a home somewhere."
On if Yassmin might redshirt his first year because of the transition from rugby to American football...
"There is a good chance of that. With a player that needs to develop and gain experience in American football, that is a very realistic possibility. We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but we will see how quick he picks things up and how far away he is technique wise and fundamentally. Some kids are more naturally fundamentally and technique sound than others, that's just how they come to you. There are a lot of unknowns with Thomas, but the things that we do know, we really like."
On if they felt they needed to add more depth at the running back position injury problems the last few seasons...
"We have six spot dedicated to running backs and we were at four after this season, scholarship running backs that is. Devin Brumfield gets us to five, so we are actually one shy of where we would like to be at this point, but we definitely felt we needed to add at least one or two going into the recruiting season. With Zack Moss and Armand Shyne hopefully being healthy this year, Devonta'e Henry-Cole and then T.J. Green who we redshirted, we think that Devin is going to be a good fit with that group. And then we have Seoni Lund who is actually going to start off at linebacker because he is a big kid, so he may have outgrown that running back spot."
On the improvements they have made as a staff in the recruiting realm...
"We feel like are gaining momentum every year and that every year is better than the last. I think that was evident last year with the amount of NFL guys that we had. Hopefully we can continue that trend. I don't think we are going to have eight every year, I don't think that is realistic, but I agree with you that we feel completely entrenched in Power Five recruiting. It is very competitive, but we feel like we are winning our share of the battles. Pretty much every kid on the list here had Power Five offers elsewhere and we can stand toe to toe with a lot of people and come out getting a lot of these guys."
On Andrew Mata'afa not playing his senior year of high school and if they will expect him to be ready to go come fall camp...
"We feel he is going to be ready to go. Jackson Cravens was in the same boat. He didn't play a snap his senior year and still had tons of offers. Andrew is a very talented young man that was maybe a little overlooked because of him not being able to play his senior year. We saw enough on film of his junior year to know that he was a great player. We go back to measurables and he has some really great measurables that are going to translate to a really great player."
Players Mentioned
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