Football Opens 2018 vs. Weber State

Thursday, August 30

Salt Lake City, UT

6:00 PM

University of Utah

Weber State

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8/27/2018 9:49 AM | Football

Game Notes Press Conference Quotes

The Game
Utah (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) kicks off the 2018 football season by hosting Weber State (0-0, 0-0 Big Sky) in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. Search #WEBvsUTAH for conversation.

Season Openers
> Utah has won 10-straight season openers dating back to a 2008 victory at Michigan. Utah last lost a season opener in 2007 at Oregon State.
> The last time Utah lost its first home game of the season was in 2007 to Air Force.
> The Utes are 74-49-1 all-time in season openers and 56-19-1 when the season opener is at home.
> Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is 11-2 in season openers, having faced teams from the Big Sky (5-0), Big Ten (2-0), Mountain West (2-0), ACC (1-0) and Pac-12 (1-2).

Quick Hits
> Utah is celebrating its 125th season of football this fall. The celebration will include a commemorative patch on the jerseys, a video series highlighting each decade of football at the U. and special insignia merchandise.
> In his 14th year as Utah's head coach, Kyle Whittingham is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured coach at the same school in the nation (NCAA FBS).
> Whittingham's 111-56 career head coaching record includes an 11-1 record in bowl games. His bowl win percentage (92%) is the best in NCAA history.
> The Utes have played to 51-consecutive sellout crowds in Rice-Eccles Stadium (48 standing room only) in a streak that dates back to the 2010 season opener.
> Utah is 20-1 in (regular season) non-conference games since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, including a 15-0 (regular season) non-conference record in the last five years. Utah's last non-conference loss was in overtime at Utah State in 2012 when current Ute associate head coach Gary Andersen was the Aggies' head coach.
> Utah leads the series with Weber State 4-0. See page 2 for the complete series history.
> Utah is 39-0 against current members of the Big Sky Conference.

Connections
While the Utes have one coach with Weber State ties—Justin Ena was the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Weber State in 2014—the Wildcat staff is loaded with coaches bearing Utah ties, starting with fifth-year head coach Jay Hill. Hill played cornerback for Utah from 1998-99 and was Utah's defensive MVP as a senior. He spent four years as a Utah graduate/administrative assistant from 2001-04 before hiring on full-time with the Utes. At varying times from 2005-13, Hill coached the cornerbacks, tight ends and running backs while also serving as the special teams coordinator. Wildcat assistants with Utah ties and the positions they held at Utah include: Dave Schramm (2005-11, offensive coordinator/running backs/tight ends/quarterbacks), Brent Myers (2003, assistant head coach/offensive line), Kite Afeaki (2004-05, player), Quinton Ganther (2004-05, player; 2012 student-assistant), Joe Dale (2006-09, player; 2014-15, graduate assistant) and Grant Duff (2008-10 administrative assistant, 2011-12, graduate assistant).

Two-Minute Drill
Utah was picked second in the Pac-12 South Division in the preseason media poll behind USC … The Utes appeared in 'others receiving votes' in both the AP and Coaches' preseason polls, checking in at No. 28 and No. 29, respectively … Utah is the only school in NCAA history with a Ray Guy Award winner (Mitch Wishnowsky in 2016) and Lou Groza Award winner (Matt Gay in 2017) on the same squad. Both were consensus All-Americans in their first season of NCAA football (Wishnowsky in 2016 and Gay in 2017) and are on several preseason All-America teams as seniors this year. See sidebar on page 3.

In the Huddle
With sophomore wide receiver Britain Covey back in the starting lineup after returning from a two-year church mission, junior Demari Simpkins has moved from slot receiver—where he started last year—to Z receiver. Covey is preparing for his first game since 2015, when he was Utah's leading receiver, a Freshman All-American and an honorable mention All-Pac-12 return specialist … Simpkins is one of three players changing numbers on opening week. Simpkins will wear No. 7 this season, while Nygel King has moved to No. 16 and R.J. Hubert to No. 31 … The starter at left guard could come down to a game-day decision between redshirt freshman Nick Ford and sophomore Orlando Umana … Redshirt freshman Jason Shelley has been named the No. 2 quarterback behind starter Tyler Huntley. Shelley earned the nod over true freshman Jack Tuttle … Sophomore defensive tackle Hauati Pututau and redshirt freshman defensive end Mika Tafua are scheduled to make their first NCAA starts vs. Weber State … Two newcomers will snap for All-America punter Mitch Wishnowsky and All-America kicker Matt Gay. Central Michigan transfer Keegan Markgraf will take the field on the long snaps and true freshman Maddie Golden on the short snaps … Gay has replaced Wishnowsky on kickoffs. Wishnowsky, who kicked off last year, will back up … Junior offensive lineman Johnny Capra will miss the 2018 season with an injury. Others who will miss the season with injuries are junior running back Devonta'e Henry-Cole, freshman defensive end Blake Kuithe and sophomore linebacker Moroni Anae … Defensive end Davir Hamilton is leaving the program. Hamilton played in one game last season, recording a tackle against San Jose State.

Radio Waves
Changes are in the air at Utah's flagship radio station ESPN 700 this fall on both the game day broadcasts and the weekly coach's show. Joining play-by-play man Bill Riley in the booth on game days is former Utah and NFL quarterback Scott Mitchell as the color analyst, while former Utah All-America punter and two-time Ray Guy Award winner Tom Hackett will report from the sidelines. For the first time, the Smith's Coaches Show on Tuesdays from 6-7 p.m. will be video streamed live on the Utah Athletics YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/uathletics, in addition to the audio broadcast on ESPN 700 and the ESPN 700 app.

Game Day Activities
University of Utah Faculty and Staff may purchase discounted $20 tickets for reserved bleacher seats to the Weber State game while supplies last. The offer is available online only at https://utahtickets.com/facultystaff-discounts/#football-vs-weber-state … To celebrate the first game of the 125th season of Utah football, former Ute football players and coaches in attendance will be recognized and presented with a commemorative gold coin during halftime … A Marriott Library exhibit on the concourse before the game will display historical artifacts of Utah football … New leaders at the University who will be introduced during the first quarter break include President Ruth Watkins, Director of Athletics Mark Harlan, VP of Academics Dr. Dan Reed, VP of Health Sciences Dr. Michael Good and Alumni Association Executive Director Todd Andrews … The Ute Walk begins at 3:30 p.m. on the corner of 500 S. and Guardsman Way … The Utah ROTC's Ute Thunder cannon blasts the pre-game Cannon Call to notify fans outside the stadium that kickoff is 30 minutes away … For the full list of 2018 home game promotions, visit UtahUtes.com/Promotions.

Outside the Lines
The Pac-12 Network is taking its programming on the road this year, premiering "The Pregame" in Rice-Eccles Stadium for the Utah-Weber State game. "The Pregame" will feature comprehensive coverage of all 12 school's campuses and game day atmosphere. Utah will host the show twice this year. It will return to Salt Lake City for the Utah-Washington game on Sept. 15 … A clear bag policy is now in effect at all University of Utah athletic events held at Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Huntsman Center. For more information, visit https://stadium.utah.edu/clearbag/ … Use the hashtag #WEBvsUTAH all week to follow the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram … 31 former Utes are on NFL rosters this week. See page 9 for a complete list of current Utes in the NFL.