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The University of Utah Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Weber State
8/30/2018 10:22 PM | Football
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening statement…
"In the first quarter, we could not get out of our way. It was a comedy of errors. We turned the ball over twice and had a field goal blocked. We could not do much of anything on offense. Then we settled in and were a lot more productive from the second quarter on."
"I am pleased with our defense. They were lights out start to finish. The secondary was as advertised. The front seven played the run especially well. It was a smothering defense and we controlled the game, as we should have. That was good to see."
"Offensively, we were far too inconsistent. We put up good totals, almost 600 yards but four turnovers, one on special teams. You are not going to win many games with a minus-four turnover margin. In fact, you will win zero Pac-12 games. We overcame that with talented players. There are things to build on, but we have nine days to figure things out."
"We have a tough opponent in Northern Illinois on the road next week. We are healthy. It was good to see Britain Covey because he is such a weapon. I maintain that Zack Moss is an elite back. It was good to see the tight ends get involved. Brant Kuithe caught a touchdown pass. Solomon Enis will be a tremendous player and we got him involved. To be a great offense, you need to have an identity. What can you hang your hat on? You have to be able to get in a rhythm and it was not quite there tonight. I thought Jason Shelley came in with a few nice runs and a good throws."
On the defensive unit's performance…
"We were pretty vanilla on defense. We were rolling the defensive linemen and our two inside backers are solid, Cody Barton and Chase Hansen. I think they were in their element. The secondary made play after play. Marquise Blair made some great plays, Julian Blackmon, Jaylon Johnson, they were all who we needed them to be. Now the level of difficulty goes up. On every level, the defense performed."
On how he viewed the offensive performance…
"I think you have to go to the film. There were many errors to clean up. We had a bunch of drops. Many catchable balls hit the ground. To me, the most disappointing thing was the turnover margin. We gave it away four times and the defense did not create any takeaways. We have been the best team in the nation the last couple of years at taking the ball away. Tonight, you would not have known that."
On the play of the offensive line…
"Our rushing totals were not astronomical, so hot and cold, like the entire offense. We allowed some penetration and had a few false starts. It will never be perfect, but we expect them to be better as the season goes on."
On the mental toughness of his team…
"Things did not go well early. We were pretty awful. We did not panic because we talk all the time about overcoming adversity, at some point in the game, you are going to face it. We did not think it would be right out of the gate, but we handled it. We maintained our composure and poise and did not panic. A team that does not flinch and is able to maintain, keep working, is good to have. That is why it is a 60-minute game. You play the game in its entirety, not in segments."
On Mitch Wishnowksy's fake punt…
"He has the green light all the time. He is a tremendous athlete. He runs a 4.5-40 and if he sees something, he will take it. He has been right every time in his career. He pulled it down once and that was in the bowl game when he thought it was going to be blocked. That is the only time it did not work. It was not his fault. We have designed fakes as well but he has the green light. If he has a chance to make a play, he can."
On using Britain Covey…
"We want to use him in flank sweep situations. He is multi-talented and we need to get the ball in his hands 15 times a game, whether it is a bubble screen or jet sweep. We need to do a better job of opening lanes for him. We were bad in the punt return game and we need to block people up."
What area was he most interested in seeing this evening…
"Probably the receiver corps. We have a bunch of people that have not really played. I thought our guys responded at times and others did not. Some needed to have a bigger impact and others stepped up. Solomon Enis, I am a big fan of his. Brant Kuithe, at tight end, is part of a complete rebuild at that position after losing two seniors. I thought we have a chance to be very good at that positon with Kuithe and Cole Fotheringham."
Utah Player Quotes
#1 Tyler Huntley
On what was going on through his mind when it was 10-0…
"Our mindset was we weren't going to lose. We just knew we had to make some plays. These two guys (Britain Covey and Zack Moss) did a good job of holding up."
On what the difference was in the passing game from the first to the second half…
" We had a couple of miscues at first and it really showed. Afterwards, we just started making plays and got on the same page."
On the Utah defense…
"They did an amazing job and kept giving us the ball back and giving us a chance to make plays."
#18 Britain Covey
On what happened on the rush he had for 38 yards and if he was supposed to throw it…
"I don't want to tell you that in case we call it again, but yeah I was probably supposed to throw it. I guess I went back to my high school quarterback days and just decided to scramble. It was more of just instinct and running away from the big guys."
On how he felt the offense came out of the game…
"Confident. I mean, kind of like Tyler said. We weren't nervous. We knew adversity was going to come in at some point. This is the first game of the season, and that was the first half of the season. We know what we're capable of and what we've done during fall camp so I have a lot of confidence in this offense and Tyler especially."
On how it felt to play again…
"It felt really good. It was surreal. It didn't hit me until probably midway through the second quarter that I wasn't in Chile anymore. I felt really good. I love this stadium. To this day, it's my favorite stadium to play in."
#2 Zack Moss
On his 86-yard touchdown breaking open the offense…
"That's how the run game goes. You're not going to hit every run. The o-line started to get into a rhythm and I was just being patient and trusting those guys every play. Also, trusting the play calling knowing we'd make a play sooner than later."
#13 Marquise Blair
On what he felt the defense did tonight…
"It was a great defensive game. Everyone did what they were supposed to do."
On what the defense was thinking when it was 10-0…
"We were good. We have a good offense, so we just kept playing. There are four quarters in a game."
On how it felt to be back on the field…
"It felt good. I missed 10 months, so it felt good to play."
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Opening statement…
"In the first quarter, we could not get out of our way. It was a comedy of errors. We turned the ball over twice and had a field goal blocked. We could not do much of anything on offense. Then we settled in and were a lot more productive from the second quarter on."
"I am pleased with our defense. They were lights out start to finish. The secondary was as advertised. The front seven played the run especially well. It was a smothering defense and we controlled the game, as we should have. That was good to see."
"Offensively, we were far too inconsistent. We put up good totals, almost 600 yards but four turnovers, one on special teams. You are not going to win many games with a minus-four turnover margin. In fact, you will win zero Pac-12 games. We overcame that with talented players. There are things to build on, but we have nine days to figure things out."
"We have a tough opponent in Northern Illinois on the road next week. We are healthy. It was good to see Britain Covey because he is such a weapon. I maintain that Zack Moss is an elite back. It was good to see the tight ends get involved. Brant Kuithe caught a touchdown pass. Solomon Enis will be a tremendous player and we got him involved. To be a great offense, you need to have an identity. What can you hang your hat on? You have to be able to get in a rhythm and it was not quite there tonight. I thought Jason Shelley came in with a few nice runs and a good throws."
On the defensive unit's performance…
"We were pretty vanilla on defense. We were rolling the defensive linemen and our two inside backers are solid, Cody Barton and Chase Hansen. I think they were in their element. The secondary made play after play. Marquise Blair made some great plays, Julian Blackmon, Jaylon Johnson, they were all who we needed them to be. Now the level of difficulty goes up. On every level, the defense performed."
On how he viewed the offensive performance…
"I think you have to go to the film. There were many errors to clean up. We had a bunch of drops. Many catchable balls hit the ground. To me, the most disappointing thing was the turnover margin. We gave it away four times and the defense did not create any takeaways. We have been the best team in the nation the last couple of years at taking the ball away. Tonight, you would not have known that."
On the play of the offensive line…
"Our rushing totals were not astronomical, so hot and cold, like the entire offense. We allowed some penetration and had a few false starts. It will never be perfect, but we expect them to be better as the season goes on."
On the mental toughness of his team…
"Things did not go well early. We were pretty awful. We did not panic because we talk all the time about overcoming adversity, at some point in the game, you are going to face it. We did not think it would be right out of the gate, but we handled it. We maintained our composure and poise and did not panic. A team that does not flinch and is able to maintain, keep working, is good to have. That is why it is a 60-minute game. You play the game in its entirety, not in segments."
On Mitch Wishnowksy's fake punt…
"He has the green light all the time. He is a tremendous athlete. He runs a 4.5-40 and if he sees something, he will take it. He has been right every time in his career. He pulled it down once and that was in the bowl game when he thought it was going to be blocked. That is the only time it did not work. It was not his fault. We have designed fakes as well but he has the green light. If he has a chance to make a play, he can."
On using Britain Covey…
"We want to use him in flank sweep situations. He is multi-talented and we need to get the ball in his hands 15 times a game, whether it is a bubble screen or jet sweep. We need to do a better job of opening lanes for him. We were bad in the punt return game and we need to block people up."
What area was he most interested in seeing this evening…
"Probably the receiver corps. We have a bunch of people that have not really played. I thought our guys responded at times and others did not. Some needed to have a bigger impact and others stepped up. Solomon Enis, I am a big fan of his. Brant Kuithe, at tight end, is part of a complete rebuild at that position after losing two seniors. I thought we have a chance to be very good at that positon with Kuithe and Cole Fotheringham."
Utah Player Quotes
#1 Tyler Huntley
On what was going on through his mind when it was 10-0…
"Our mindset was we weren't going to lose. We just knew we had to make some plays. These two guys (Britain Covey and Zack Moss) did a good job of holding up."
On what the difference was in the passing game from the first to the second half…
" We had a couple of miscues at first and it really showed. Afterwards, we just started making plays and got on the same page."
On the Utah defense…
"They did an amazing job and kept giving us the ball back and giving us a chance to make plays."
#18 Britain Covey
On what happened on the rush he had for 38 yards and if he was supposed to throw it…
"I don't want to tell you that in case we call it again, but yeah I was probably supposed to throw it. I guess I went back to my high school quarterback days and just decided to scramble. It was more of just instinct and running away from the big guys."
On how he felt the offense came out of the game…
"Confident. I mean, kind of like Tyler said. We weren't nervous. We knew adversity was going to come in at some point. This is the first game of the season, and that was the first half of the season. We know what we're capable of and what we've done during fall camp so I have a lot of confidence in this offense and Tyler especially."
On how it felt to play again…
"It felt really good. It was surreal. It didn't hit me until probably midway through the second quarter that I wasn't in Chile anymore. I felt really good. I love this stadium. To this day, it's my favorite stadium to play in."
#2 Zack Moss
On his 86-yard touchdown breaking open the offense…
"That's how the run game goes. You're not going to hit every run. The o-line started to get into a rhythm and I was just being patient and trusting those guys every play. Also, trusting the play calling knowing we'd make a play sooner than later."
#13 Marquise Blair
On what he felt the defense did tonight…
"It was a great defensive game. Everyone did what they were supposed to do."
On what the defense was thinking when it was 10-0…
"We were good. We have a good offense, so we just kept playing. There are four quarters in a game."
On how it felt to be back on the field…
"It felt good. I missed 10 months, so it felt good to play."
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Players Mentioned
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QB
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