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The University of Utah Athletics
News Out Of Practice: Class Is In Session
8/19/2019 6:52 PM | Football
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah football team took on a full work load today for the first day of school, juggling classes and practice as the Utes get one day closer to their season opener. The Utes will take on BYU on Thursday, Aug. 29 in Provo with an 8:15 p.m. MT kick.Â
The big news of the day was the Utes landing at No. 14 in the preseason AP Poll, the highest preseason ranking in school history. The last time the Utes were ranked in the preseason AP Poll was in 2009, coming in at No. 19.Â
"It says a lot about the national respect that we have been able to earn," head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It doesn't mean anything for this season, doesn't help us at all. I think it is attesting to what we have been able to do for the last decade. It is a good accolade for our players and our team, but once the season starts, that's all in the rearview mirror and hinged on our performance."
In the first episode of "U-Log", the defensive unit was followed during fall camp with Morgan Scalley, Colton Swan, Lewis Powell, Sharrieff Shah and Sione Po'uha being mic'd up during practices and team meetings.Â
In the Huddle: Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On how practice went today…
"It went good. There is always a lot on their plate on the first day of school, getting to classes, getting into that routine, but I thought they handled it well. Light practice today, tomorrow we will get after it quite a bit more than we did today."
On how the defensive front shaped up during camp…
"We haven't played anybody yet, but so far based on practices and how they are performing against our offense, they are very good. We have six tackles we really like, five defensive ends, and that is a lot of bodies – about 11 deep essentially."
On Leki Fotu being named preseason All-American by ESPN and if he thought he would be at this level when he was recruited out of high school…
"He was a very intriguing kid coming out of high school. He was 6-5 or 6-6 and only about 265 pounds at that time, but we had an inclination that he was going to be special and he just kept getting bigger and stronger while not losing any of his mobility. He is just as agile as he was back then. It isn't surprising that he is where he's at, but there was no guarantee obviously."Â
On if he thinks being ranked in preseason polls puts a target on your back…
"There are pros and cons to it. It puts a target on your back, but that's fine. We have a target on our back anyway because we won the South last year, so I don't think it is a huge factor."
On getting to hand out three scholarships at the end of camp…
"It is among the coolest things to do as a coach. Winning games, awarding scholarships to walk-ons is just great. It is great to see these guys come into the program for just the love of the game. The sheer love of the game, because they aren't getting anything out of it monetarily. And to work hard for two, three or sometimes four years and then finally get rewarded at the end after a great deal of perseverance is very rewarding to see."Â
On if Jordan Wilmore's strong performance in camp surprised him at all…
"Not at all. I personally studied a lot of tape on him in high school because we had some other backs in the mix that we were debating on who we wanted to put our efforts into. I just loved the kid in high school. I saw him do things that were very special and that were very rare, so no he hasn't surprised me. He is exactly what we hoped for."
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The big news of the day was the Utes landing at No. 14 in the preseason AP Poll, the highest preseason ranking in school history. The last time the Utes were ranked in the preseason AP Poll was in 2009, coming in at No. 19.Â
FOURTEEN pic.twitter.com/gIlklCsHWE
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 19, 2019
"It says a lot about the national respect that we have been able to earn," head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It doesn't mean anything for this season, doesn't help us at all. I think it is attesting to what we have been able to do for the last decade. It is a good accolade for our players and our team, but once the season starts, that's all in the rearview mirror and hinged on our performance."
The @AP_Top25 preseason poll is OUT.
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) August 19, 2019
We've got 5? #Pac12FB teams representing the pac(k). ??
1??1?? @oregonfootball
1??3?? @UW_Football
1??4?? @Utah_Football
2??3?? @WSUCougarFB
2??5?? @StanfordFball pic.twitter.com/C2g080Q4Rp
In the first episode of "U-Log", the defensive unit was followed during fall camp with Morgan Scalley, Colton Swan, Lewis Powell, Sharrieff Shah and Sione Po'uha being mic'd up during practices and team meetings.Â
#ULog: A week in the life of our Defensive Coaches. pic.twitter.com/8PMgE2R9j0
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 20, 2019
In the Huddle: Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On how practice went today…
"It went good. There is always a lot on their plate on the first day of school, getting to classes, getting into that routine, but I thought they handled it well. Light practice today, tomorrow we will get after it quite a bit more than we did today."
On how the defensive front shaped up during camp…
"We haven't played anybody yet, but so far based on practices and how they are performing against our offense, they are very good. We have six tackles we really like, five defensive ends, and that is a lot of bodies – about 11 deep essentially."
On Leki Fotu being named preseason All-American by ESPN and if he thought he would be at this level when he was recruited out of high school…
"He was a very intriguing kid coming out of high school. He was 6-5 or 6-6 and only about 265 pounds at that time, but we had an inclination that he was going to be special and he just kept getting bigger and stronger while not losing any of his mobility. He is just as agile as he was back then. It isn't surprising that he is where he's at, but there was no guarantee obviously."Â
"An absolute mountain of a man."
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 19, 2019
Team captain @LekiFotu makes the list! https://t.co/EBWWhJqJT4
On if he thinks being ranked in preseason polls puts a target on your back…
"There are pros and cons to it. It puts a target on your back, but that's fine. We have a target on our back anyway because we won the South last year, so I don't think it is a huge factor."
On getting to hand out three scholarships at the end of camp…
"It is among the coolest things to do as a coach. Winning games, awarding scholarships to walk-ons is just great. It is great to see these guys come into the program for just the love of the game. The sheer love of the game, because they aren't getting anything out of it monetarily. And to work hard for two, three or sometimes four years and then finally get rewarded at the end after a great deal of perseverance is very rewarding to see."Â
On if Jordan Wilmore's strong performance in camp surprised him at all…
"Not at all. I personally studied a lot of tape on him in high school because we had some other backs in the mix that we were debating on who we wanted to put our efforts into. I just loved the kid in high school. I saw him do things that were very special and that were very rare, so no he hasn't surprised me. He is exactly what we hoped for."
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Players Mentioned
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