Kyle Whittingham Weekly Press Conference: Oregon

10/23/2023 7:25 PM | Football

Utes play first of back-to-back home games as Oregon visits SLC

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham held his weekly press conference on Monday, meeting with members of the media inside the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center.

Selected quotes from Coach Whittingham can be seen below.

Opening Statement
"Good win for our program on Saturday. As we talked about earlier in the week, those wins in the Coliseum are hard to come by. There haven't been a lot of them for us throughout the years so to be able to come away with that win was big for us. It was an exciting game, down to the last play. Very proud of Cole Becker for hitting that field goal and proud of our team for hanging in there and handling a lot of adversity. We just kept playing. It was a game of back-and-forth. We actually took control 28-14, late in the 3^rd quarter. If we could have put on one more, it probably would have been a different story. They came surging back and ending up going down to the last play of the game.

"On to Oregon now, a really good football team. Very balanced with a really good offense and a really good defense. There is no weakness, they're a complete team. Hands down the number one offense in the league as far as yards per game. They're 550 yards per game, or somewhere in that neighborhood. Nearly 50 points per game with a great quarterback and leader, a competitor. Like I said, balanced team. About 230 yards rushing and 320 passing, leading the conference in rushing which is usually a really good thing for you when you can do that. They're playing really good defense. They're in the top-third in the league in almost every defensive category. So, no weakness. College GameDay is coming, that'll be an exciting thing for the university and the community. 2016 was the last time we had that here. So it's been a while but it's great to have that crew back on campus. Big game in the conference picture, they're a one-loss team, as are we. So both of our backs are against the wall. It should be a great football game."

On how kick coverage limited USC and why they didn't squib any kickoffs…
"We've been covering pretty good, and we actually had a pretty good night overall. We kicked the ball off seven or eight times and did a good job with kickoff and punt coverage until the last one. That's one where had we not been able to win the game, (that punt return) would have been the play of the game. But that's why because we did a good job of covering kicks and keeping them mostly inside the 25-yard line so that was the reason for that."

On Bryson Barnes' performance against USC…
"Big step forward. He completed over 60% of his passes, we did have the one pick-six which he would have wanted back. But he did a very nice job of running the offense and taking care of the ball except for the one play. He just seems to continue to grow and develop, which is a good thing. Obviously, that's a big positive for us."

On identifying new captains for the team…
"What we did with Brant Kuithe and Cameron Rising, not being available for the rest of the year, we've replaced them with two captains: Keaton Bills and Bryson [Barnes]. Keaton has been in place for a couple of weeks and with (Cam and Brant) not being available, the players elected the last captain's spot. They will serve as acting captains for the rest of the season along with Karene Reid and Cole Bishop."

On Sione Vaki's success on offense…
"He was a really good offensive player in high school, so I don't think it's a predicated on his defensive experience. It's just natural instinct and ability offensively and he's just got a great feel for splitting defenders and making people miss and he also has really good speed. You've seen his top end the past few weeks, so he has a skillset that is really conducive to being a good offensive player. His primary skill is catching the ball, he was an outstanding receiver in high school, that was his primary position. It's been a big plus for our offense to say the least. You'll continue to see him over there. The impact he's made on offense is actually probably bigger than the impact he's made on defense. He's one of the best safeties in the country so that tells you how valuable he's been on offense."

On Bryson Barnes growth…
"He seems very sure of himself and confident in what he's doing, really taking charge and running the team like a quarterback should. He has that 'it' factor of being a leader on the field; it's really started to manifest for him. Obviously, getting the full allotment of the number one reps now that we know the situation has helped him as well."

On officially ruling out Cameron Rising and Brant Kuithe…
"First of all, we certainly wish they could have been with us. They're two really good players and two guys who could add to what we're doing and two of the best players in the Pac-12. The uncertainty wasn't a distraction, but things are settled now. Knowing exactly, going forward, that they're not going to be available helps us operate and plan in a different way."

On Bryson Barnes taking a few hits against USC…
"Should be fine. He's a really tough guy. Did throw it up in there with those two scrambles where he lowered the shoulder and just went in. That's who he is. That typifies his style of play.

"In that situation, the game is on the line. In that situation, the game was on the line and every scramble and run is not created equal. That was critical that we got every yard that we did because we were moving for field goal position."

On Sione Vaki's transition to offense…
"It seems to be trending in that direction. The first thing we have to do is make sure we don't overload him and make his workload too heavy and too much to realistically handle. There's also a mental aspect, but how much can we learn and assimilate on both sides of the ball. The safety position here has a lot of adjustments, they do a lot of adjustments and coverage calls and run the show back there. There's a lot on their plate mentally with that. It's analytically proven that the impact on offense is greater than the impact of defense. We're going to continue to have (Vaki) be a big part of the offense. But it'll be obvious when we get to that saturation point where that's enough."

On the secondary's level of play on Saturday…
"I thought they did really well. That was a big plus for us. Zemaiah Vaughn has really turned into a good corner, he's starting to really come of age. Miles Battle played his best game as a Ute, he tackled extremely well. Not only did they play well in coverage, but they came up in run support. JaTravis Broughton did a good job as well. I'm very pleased overall with the secondary in their entirety, the safeties included. Nate Ritchie wasn't perfect but did a good job filling in for Cole [Bishop]. Of course, when we got Cole back in that second half, that made us even more formidable."

On Nate Richie and filling gaps in the secondary…
"He's still knocking the rust off a Church mission. He's getting closer and closer to being the player he was prior to the mission. He can be a little more decisive and trigger-quicker, being a little hesitant at times on Saturday missing a tackle or two. We only missed nine tackles in the entire game which is outstanding against a group of athletes like that. Just a little more urgency and triggering and maybe a little better backside pursuit. You may see Johnathan Hall if we continue to use Sione [Vaki] on offense. Johnathan is a really good player, too, a true freshman out of Texas. Nate is more of a free safety and Sione is more of a strong safety so if we're looking for a fill-in for Sione it's going to be Nate or Hall."

On getting Ja'Quinden Jackson going…
"It's huge for us. Ja'Quinden is a huge part of our attack. He wasn't able to before because he had that nagging injury, it wasn't that we didn't want to get him the ball, what you've seen over the past few weeks is ideal. If we can get him 20-25, even 28 carries, that's right in his wheelhouse. It appears he's pretty much over the injury that was slowing him down, that bodes well for us."

On the offensive line's growth…
"The offensive line has really started to jell. They're stacking games on top of each other, where they're very efficient and doing a good job. With Ja'Quinden back to 100% (health) and the addition of Sione, has really helped that cause, it's a combination of those things."

On Oregon Quarterback Bo Nix…
"I know he's the most pass efficient. Right now, he's leading the conference in pass efficiency wise. That is saying something when you look at all the quarterbacks in the conference. He's a tremendous player. The thing I like about him the most is his competitiveness and his leadership…I've had a strong opinion of how good he is for several years. To me, that's it: the way he leads and competes every week."

On College Gameday traveling to Salt Lake City…
"First of all, we try to keep the players in a normal routine and not break that. There will be a guy or two that's going to have more on his plate but it's great for the team knowing that we're the center of the college football universe this week. It's a positive thing for them and reward of sorts. For the community and the university, it's awesome. Bringing exposure to our brand and the university and the community in general. It's a win across the board. I'll have a heavier load and some things that are not in a typical week. But trying to have the players and the assistant coaches block out the noise and just go about their routine."

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UP NEXT
The Utes return to Rice-Eccles Stadium for their MUSS Appreciation Game on Saturday, Oct. 28 when they host the No. 8 Oregon Ducks. The game is set for a 1:30 p.m. MT kick, airing on FOX.