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The University of Utah Athletics
Coaches’ Corner: Chad Bumphis and Sharrieff Shah
10/4/2022 8:00 PM | Football
UtahUtes.com gets some insight on the wide receivers and cornerbacks rooms
SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 11 Utah football team is back on the road this week, continuing Pac-12 Conference play in Pasadena, California, with a Saturday tilt ahead against No. 18 UCLA from the Rose Bowl.
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Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham complimented the Bruins as a "complete team" when meeting with the Salt Lake City media this week.
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"They're a complete team," Whittingham said. "They're scoring over 40 points a week, over 500 yards of total offense a week. The quarterback is taking care of the ball in addition to making plays—he's only thrown one pick all year. They've got a lot going for them and it's easy to see why they're undefeated at this point…Defensively, they've got a lot of athletes. They run hard and play good football on that side of the ball."
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This week UtahUtes.com took a visit to the wide receivers and cornerbacks room, hearing from Chad Bumphis and Sharrieff Shah on each position group.
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Wide Receivers Coach Chad Bumphis
On the collective effort vs. Oregon State…
"I thought they played well for the most part. Still a lot of stuff we can clean up. I challenged Devaughn Vele and [Jaylen Dixon]. With them being the older guys in the room, I challenged them to be more vocal, step up and make plays. I thought they did both. I was proud of the way they responded."
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On coaching Jaylen Dixon…
"It's rewarding. It's fun for me. You're always learning, whether you're teaching them, whether you're learning from the players, you're learning from the coaches. JD's a completely different person than he was last year. I've known JD since I was a [graduate assistant] here, so I saw him as a freshman…this year, he's more of a leader. In the meeting room, his conversations are different. Everything you want from a senior is what we're getting from him, and we're a better group because of it."
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Where do you want your position group to go moving forward?
"I want them to stay ready. We have a lot of weapons on this offense. It can be anybody. Last week, it was JD and Vele. This week, it could be Money and Micah. It could be Solo. Just stay ready. When your number's called, respond, answer and make the most of your opportunities."
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On areas of growth for Devaughn Vele…
"You see him making plays, but he's making the plays he's supposed to make. The one that sticks out is that deep ball down [the OSU] sideline. Come down with that ball; that's a play he made every day in camp. Now it's got to carry over to game day. I don't think there's a play on the field he can't make. Right now it's just about doing it. Come down with every ball. Nobody can cover you if you have it in your mind. He's that good. And he's got to make those plays for us."
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Cornerbacks Coach and Special Teams Coordinator Sharrieff Shah
On assessing his position group to date…
"Some good, some bad. Last week was really good in some aspects. Everybody obviously saw the interceptions that Clark had. There were some really good tackles that JaTravis had—seven tackles. A critical PBU by Zemaiah Vaughn. There were some really good plays, but because we coach, we see the bad ones. Those seem to stick out in a painful way, because we leave good plays on the field. You don't want to leave one good play on the field; they're too hard to come by. But overall, I'm so happy at the trajectory and level of consistency we're starting to show from the cornerback room. I'm excited for both the nickels and the corners. We're playing really good."
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On progress in the room since Week 1…
"We believed it was only a matter of time before it seemed to coalesce and everybody got on the same page. We believe that consistently, wholeheartedly that [Week 5] may have been an anomaly to some people…we think we have left so many opportunities in the games that we've played to have multiple games where there were 2-3 interceptions. We just look at the film; whether people didn't catch it, it fell out of somebody's hands, or we didn't recover a fumble. All of those timely havoc turnover plays we've left on the field…collectively getting four turnovers, we thought it was due. Thought that we were poised to put together a good performance, and happy it came in that game."
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On how the experience of the secondary has grown the last few years…
"The level of confidence that they have individually, and then the collective confidence in your friend. We have certain modifications in coverage that you can ask a friend to help. Years ago, we saw people just doing their own thing. Now, you're getting those modifications where friends are helping. And so, you know that you're confident, but [you're] confident in the player on the field with [you]. That's what you love to see. Clark Phillips III is phenomenal. Bless his spirit. But he has made so many other people in the room better. He has elevated the play of everybody. That's what you love as a leader. That's what I'm seeing now. I'm seeing JaTravis Broughton tackle better, defend the deep ball better. Zemaiah Vaughn getting more confidence with every rep he gets. The folks who sit in line waiting for their opportunities are practicing better; be it Faybian Marks, be it Malone Mataele, Caine Savage. We can go down the list. I love the level of camaraderie, the belief that they have in each other. And the willingness to play as hard as I can while I'm on the field. And believe that I don't have to do anything superhuman; just do my job and my friend will do his."
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NEXT UP
The Utes will hit the road to Pasadena, Calif., to take on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, Oct. 8, kicking off at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game will air on FOX.
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FOLLOW ALONG!
To get an inside look at the Utah Football program, follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Football | Instagram: @UtahFootball | Facebook: Search Utah Football), along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com for news, schedule and roster updates throughout the season.
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Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham complimented the Bruins as a "complete team" when meeting with the Salt Lake City media this week.
Â
"They're a complete team," Whittingham said. "They're scoring over 40 points a week, over 500 yards of total offense a week. The quarterback is taking care of the ball in addition to making plays—he's only thrown one pick all year. They've got a lot going for them and it's easy to see why they're undefeated at this point…Defensively, they've got a lot of athletes. They run hard and play good football on that side of the ball."
Â
This week UtahUtes.com took a visit to the wide receivers and cornerbacks room, hearing from Chad Bumphis and Sharrieff Shah on each position group.
Â
Wide Receivers Coach Chad Bumphis
On the collective effort vs. Oregon State…
"I thought they played well for the most part. Still a lot of stuff we can clean up. I challenged Devaughn Vele and [Jaylen Dixon]. With them being the older guys in the room, I challenged them to be more vocal, step up and make plays. I thought they did both. I was proud of the way they responded."
Â
On coaching Jaylen Dixon…
"It's rewarding. It's fun for me. You're always learning, whether you're teaching them, whether you're learning from the players, you're learning from the coaches. JD's a completely different person than he was last year. I've known JD since I was a [graduate assistant] here, so I saw him as a freshman…this year, he's more of a leader. In the meeting room, his conversations are different. Everything you want from a senior is what we're getting from him, and we're a better group because of it."
Â
Where do you want your position group to go moving forward?
"I want them to stay ready. We have a lot of weapons on this offense. It can be anybody. Last week, it was JD and Vele. This week, it could be Money and Micah. It could be Solo. Just stay ready. When your number's called, respond, answer and make the most of your opportunities."
Â
On areas of growth for Devaughn Vele…
"You see him making plays, but he's making the plays he's supposed to make. The one that sticks out is that deep ball down [the OSU] sideline. Come down with that ball; that's a play he made every day in camp. Now it's got to carry over to game day. I don't think there's a play on the field he can't make. Right now it's just about doing it. Come down with every ball. Nobody can cover you if you have it in your mind. He's that good. And he's got to make those plays for us."
Â
Cornerbacks Coach and Special Teams Coordinator Sharrieff Shah
On assessing his position group to date…
"Some good, some bad. Last week was really good in some aspects. Everybody obviously saw the interceptions that Clark had. There were some really good tackles that JaTravis had—seven tackles. A critical PBU by Zemaiah Vaughn. There were some really good plays, but because we coach, we see the bad ones. Those seem to stick out in a painful way, because we leave good plays on the field. You don't want to leave one good play on the field; they're too hard to come by. But overall, I'm so happy at the trajectory and level of consistency we're starting to show from the cornerback room. I'm excited for both the nickels and the corners. We're playing really good."
Â
On progress in the room since Week 1…
"We believed it was only a matter of time before it seemed to coalesce and everybody got on the same page. We believe that consistently, wholeheartedly that [Week 5] may have been an anomaly to some people…we think we have left so many opportunities in the games that we've played to have multiple games where there were 2-3 interceptions. We just look at the film; whether people didn't catch it, it fell out of somebody's hands, or we didn't recover a fumble. All of those timely havoc turnover plays we've left on the field…collectively getting four turnovers, we thought it was due. Thought that we were poised to put together a good performance, and happy it came in that game."
Â
On how the experience of the secondary has grown the last few years…
"The level of confidence that they have individually, and then the collective confidence in your friend. We have certain modifications in coverage that you can ask a friend to help. Years ago, we saw people just doing their own thing. Now, you're getting those modifications where friends are helping. And so, you know that you're confident, but [you're] confident in the player on the field with [you]. That's what you love to see. Clark Phillips III is phenomenal. Bless his spirit. But he has made so many other people in the room better. He has elevated the play of everybody. That's what you love as a leader. That's what I'm seeing now. I'm seeing JaTravis Broughton tackle better, defend the deep ball better. Zemaiah Vaughn getting more confidence with every rep he gets. The folks who sit in line waiting for their opportunities are practicing better; be it Faybian Marks, be it Malone Mataele, Caine Savage. We can go down the list. I love the level of camaraderie, the belief that they have in each other. And the willingness to play as hard as I can while I'm on the field. And believe that I don't have to do anything superhuman; just do my job and my friend will do his."
Â
NEXT UP
The Utes will hit the road to Pasadena, Calif., to take on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, Oct. 8, kicking off at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game will air on FOX.
Â
FOLLOW ALONG!
To get an inside look at the Utah Football program, follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Football | Instagram: @UtahFootball | Facebook: Search Utah Football), along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com for news, schedule and roster updates throughout the season.
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Players Mentioned
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