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The University of Utah Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Utah vs. Weber State
9/16/2023 4:03 PM | Football, General
UTAH QUOTES
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"Thought we did a lot of good things today, I wouldn't call it a dominant performance or our best football, but we did a lot of good things on offense. [There was] a lot of production, made a bunch of first downs and were decent on third downs. [We] ran the ball okay. What we should've done on offense we did. Defensively I thought we played exceptionally well; 127-yards is all, that's got to be one of the lowest totals in recent memory. One touchdown, seven points, so good stuff going on. On special teams we had some issues, our kickoff cover unit was horrendous. We have to get that addressed, we botched a field goal attempt in the first half and so we definitely have some things to work on. We're one-fourth of the way through the season we are sitting ideally as far as we hoped to be, 3-0, obviously. We've got conference play from here on out, starting with the Bruins next Saturday, and so we have to get better. We have to get healthy, we've got fifteen of sixteen guys that can help us win that are not available. We have to start getting them back, and we lost some more today. I've been coach forty years and I've never seen anything like this in that department but it's 'next man up' mentality. The guys that are getting their opportunities are making the most of them. I thought Nate Johnson played well today, his numbers were good. Zero turnovers in the game. [The] offensive line performed well. Bottom line, we did what we were supposed to do today. Weber State is a good football team, they're going to win a lot of games this year. They already have a couple victories and they'll be a contender in the Big Sky, but we've got to worry about ourselves. [We have to] watch the film, figure out where we can get better because we have to continue to get better to have a chance to get where we want to get."
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On what offensive slow starts can be attributed to…
"We scored a touchdown on the first drive, I think, so not a slow start today but we did hit a lull for a little while. But it's hard to be in high gear from start to finish, we did have some stretches where we weren't as productive as we needed to be, but I think we have a chance to be really good. If we get all our guys intact, we have a chance to be really good. Right now, we're just doing what we can, and like I said it's valuable reps for these guys that are getting experience. That'll pay off down the road. The guys that are getting the chance to play right now wouldn't have otherwise so we just see the positive in that."
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On final instructions to Nate Johnson before the first start…
"'Relax, you've prepared well.' He did all the preparation he needed to do for the game. During the entire week he practiced well, he watched film. You do that and there's no reason he shouldn't play well, and he did. He had a good outing and he's a confident kid, nothing seemed to bother him. He's very stable-minded, very even-tempered and that's a good thing for a quarterback."
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On what allows for a stable record in Pick 6 for Utah…
"I can't tell you what the reason is behind it, it's one of those records that will probably never be broken, I don't know. First of all, when you go back, I think it's a five-year timeframe, we have taken the ball away more than anybody in the country, as far as picks and fumble recoveries. When you have a lot of opportunities you're going to get some touchdowns out of them. That's the biggest reason I could give you. We have a defense that's a bunch of ball-hawks and we're really good at turning the ball over."
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On pressing matters before conference play…
"Getting guys back. [Getting] our starting tackles back, Connor O'Toole back, JT Broughton didn't play today. [We want] to get all our guys intact. That's what we're hoping this week to get a good chunk of those guys that are missing back. That's the most important thing that could happen to make us better."
#13 Nate Johnson, QB
On his first start at QB for the Utes…
"It felt good. Just found that out on Monday. Credit to our defense as well, held them to seven points. Our defense has been really really good these past three weeks. Credit to our offense as well, going out and scoring points. Coaches giving me that trust, just go out there and lead the team, lead the guys, and bring them home."
On the emphasis on playing error free…
"Really important. The ball is everything, we talk about that everyday in our meetings. The ball is everything, just taking care of the football, all across the board on offense and defense."
#0 Logan Fano, DE
On the mentality of the defense going into today's game…
"Us as a defense, it would be easy for us to have taken our opponent lightly, but we understand that they're a really good football team. And the two pass games that they had, the plays that they put on film were really impressive. So our mentality all through practice was: 'they might not be a super big-name team, but they're going to play really hard, and we gotta show up.'"
On how he feels the defensive line is performing despite dealing with injuries…
"I'm really proud of the guys, for sure, as defensive ends we've put together three really good games, and we don't even have Connor [O'Toole], who I'll say is our best D-end, he's a baller. So having him out and then everyone else stepping up, Jonah [Elliss], everybody knows Jonah is a baller too so, it's been nice to have Jonah and Van [Fillinger] with us, and then we'll get Connor back which will amplify everything else. What I think has made us look pretty good the last three games is our secondary and our backers for sure."
#20 Lander Barton, LB
On his pick-six and what it means to extend Utah's streak of 20 years alive…
"We were in a simple man pressure right there, but we knew Weber State, big RPO team. They were coming out, the line was looking heavy on their hands, and I'm just an edge player, and we knew to that single side x they were going to throw a slant, a glance route, or a stick. So I'm just trying to read that quarterback, see what he's doing, if he's going to keep it and run, crash down on it. If he's going to sit there and try to throw, kind of just sit in that window and I just made a play."
On where the defense is and where they want to be as they begin to face conference opponents…
"We've shown the past few games that we can stop the run and stop the throw game, but we still got areas to clean up, some gap responsibility, we miss assignments every once in a while. But I feel like we've made good strides these first three games, and we just want to keep going up from there."
WEBER STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Mickey Mental
Opening Statement
 "Obviously, credit goes to Utah, I thought they played extremely well today on all three phases. Loved how our kids competed throughout the game and obviously hung in there and didn't break at the end. So, very proud of our guys and look forward to obviously taking that next step next week."
Â
On starting quarterback Kylan Weisser…
 "I liked how he hung in there. He got hit a little bit after some throws and I have to do a better job of putting him in better situations to be successful to push the ball downfield, but that's a darn good defense. But we got to be consistent. On first and second down, can't get behind the chains. That's something we preached going into this game. So they couldn't just vertically rush in and put a lot of pressure on so we've got to be in a better down-distance to put him in a better situation to be successful."
Â
On battling Utah in the trenches…
 "They'd load the box and they play man, that's who they are. So, it makes it difficult when you have a plus number in the box to keep pounding it out. We've got to make better adjustments in the passing game to take advantage of those situations when our one-on-ones make better throws and obviously, we put ourselves in better situations to be more successful."
Â
On the Wildcat's defensive performance…
 "I love how they flew around and obviously tackled. That quarterback's elusive but, I thought the substitutions, keeping our guys fresh, playing a lot of guys and those guys doing their job while running to the football with violence and physicality. I thought they did a very good job today."
Â
On the team's focus moving forward to next week…
"I like where we're at. Obviously, when you're coming into an environment like this, you got to be mindful of who you're going against. They haven't given up more than 13 points all season. So let's credit the defense and the defensive staff. But we still have to be better. There's a standard here on offense, defense, and special teams, and we got to live up to that standard and do a better job."
Â
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement...
"Thought we did a lot of good things today, I wouldn't call it a dominant performance or our best football, but we did a lot of good things on offense. [There was] a lot of production, made a bunch of first downs and were decent on third downs. [We] ran the ball okay. What we should've done on offense we did. Defensively I thought we played exceptionally well; 127-yards is all, that's got to be one of the lowest totals in recent memory. One touchdown, seven points, so good stuff going on. On special teams we had some issues, our kickoff cover unit was horrendous. We have to get that addressed, we botched a field goal attempt in the first half and so we definitely have some things to work on. We're one-fourth of the way through the season we are sitting ideally as far as we hoped to be, 3-0, obviously. We've got conference play from here on out, starting with the Bruins next Saturday, and so we have to get better. We have to get healthy, we've got fifteen of sixteen guys that can help us win that are not available. We have to start getting them back, and we lost some more today. I've been coach forty years and I've never seen anything like this in that department but it's 'next man up' mentality. The guys that are getting their opportunities are making the most of them. I thought Nate Johnson played well today, his numbers were good. Zero turnovers in the game. [The] offensive line performed well. Bottom line, we did what we were supposed to do today. Weber State is a good football team, they're going to win a lot of games this year. They already have a couple victories and they'll be a contender in the Big Sky, but we've got to worry about ourselves. [We have to] watch the film, figure out where we can get better because we have to continue to get better to have a chance to get where we want to get."
Â
On what offensive slow starts can be attributed to…
"We scored a touchdown on the first drive, I think, so not a slow start today but we did hit a lull for a little while. But it's hard to be in high gear from start to finish, we did have some stretches where we weren't as productive as we needed to be, but I think we have a chance to be really good. If we get all our guys intact, we have a chance to be really good. Right now, we're just doing what we can, and like I said it's valuable reps for these guys that are getting experience. That'll pay off down the road. The guys that are getting the chance to play right now wouldn't have otherwise so we just see the positive in that."
Â
On final instructions to Nate Johnson before the first start…
"'Relax, you've prepared well.' He did all the preparation he needed to do for the game. During the entire week he practiced well, he watched film. You do that and there's no reason he shouldn't play well, and he did. He had a good outing and he's a confident kid, nothing seemed to bother him. He's very stable-minded, very even-tempered and that's a good thing for a quarterback."
Â
On what allows for a stable record in Pick 6 for Utah…
"I can't tell you what the reason is behind it, it's one of those records that will probably never be broken, I don't know. First of all, when you go back, I think it's a five-year timeframe, we have taken the ball away more than anybody in the country, as far as picks and fumble recoveries. When you have a lot of opportunities you're going to get some touchdowns out of them. That's the biggest reason I could give you. We have a defense that's a bunch of ball-hawks and we're really good at turning the ball over."
Â
On pressing matters before conference play…
"Getting guys back. [Getting] our starting tackles back, Connor O'Toole back, JT Broughton didn't play today. [We want] to get all our guys intact. That's what we're hoping this week to get a good chunk of those guys that are missing back. That's the most important thing that could happen to make us better."
#13 Nate Johnson, QB
On his first start at QB for the Utes…
"It felt good. Just found that out on Monday. Credit to our defense as well, held them to seven points. Our defense has been really really good these past three weeks. Credit to our offense as well, going out and scoring points. Coaches giving me that trust, just go out there and lead the team, lead the guys, and bring them home."
On the emphasis on playing error free…
"Really important. The ball is everything, we talk about that everyday in our meetings. The ball is everything, just taking care of the football, all across the board on offense and defense."
#0 Logan Fano, DE
On the mentality of the defense going into today's game…
"Us as a defense, it would be easy for us to have taken our opponent lightly, but we understand that they're a really good football team. And the two pass games that they had, the plays that they put on film were really impressive. So our mentality all through practice was: 'they might not be a super big-name team, but they're going to play really hard, and we gotta show up.'"
On how he feels the defensive line is performing despite dealing with injuries…
"I'm really proud of the guys, for sure, as defensive ends we've put together three really good games, and we don't even have Connor [O'Toole], who I'll say is our best D-end, he's a baller. So having him out and then everyone else stepping up, Jonah [Elliss], everybody knows Jonah is a baller too so, it's been nice to have Jonah and Van [Fillinger] with us, and then we'll get Connor back which will amplify everything else. What I think has made us look pretty good the last three games is our secondary and our backers for sure."
#20 Lander Barton, LB
On his pick-six and what it means to extend Utah's streak of 20 years alive…
"We were in a simple man pressure right there, but we knew Weber State, big RPO team. They were coming out, the line was looking heavy on their hands, and I'm just an edge player, and we knew to that single side x they were going to throw a slant, a glance route, or a stick. So I'm just trying to read that quarterback, see what he's doing, if he's going to keep it and run, crash down on it. If he's going to sit there and try to throw, kind of just sit in that window and I just made a play."
On where the defense is and where they want to be as they begin to face conference opponents…
"We've shown the past few games that we can stop the run and stop the throw game, but we still got areas to clean up, some gap responsibility, we miss assignments every once in a while. But I feel like we've made good strides these first three games, and we just want to keep going up from there."
WEBER STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Mickey Mental
Opening Statement
 "Obviously, credit goes to Utah, I thought they played extremely well today on all three phases. Loved how our kids competed throughout the game and obviously hung in there and didn't break at the end. So, very proud of our guys and look forward to obviously taking that next step next week."
Â
On starting quarterback Kylan Weisser…
 "I liked how he hung in there. He got hit a little bit after some throws and I have to do a better job of putting him in better situations to be successful to push the ball downfield, but that's a darn good defense. But we got to be consistent. On first and second down, can't get behind the chains. That's something we preached going into this game. So they couldn't just vertically rush in and put a lot of pressure on so we've got to be in a better down-distance to put him in a better situation to be successful."
Â
On battling Utah in the trenches…
 "They'd load the box and they play man, that's who they are. So, it makes it difficult when you have a plus number in the box to keep pounding it out. We've got to make better adjustments in the passing game to take advantage of those situations when our one-on-ones make better throws and obviously, we put ourselves in better situations to be more successful."
Â
On the Wildcat's defensive performance…
 "I love how they flew around and obviously tackled. That quarterback's elusive but, I thought the substitutions, keeping our guys fresh, playing a lot of guys and those guys doing their job while running to the football with violence and physicality. I thought they did a very good job today."
Â
On the team's focus moving forward to next week…
"I like where we're at. Obviously, when you're coming into an environment like this, you got to be mindful of who you're going against. They haven't given up more than 13 points all season. So let's credit the defense and the defensive staff. But we still have to be better. There's a standard here on offense, defense, and special teams, and we got to live up to that standard and do a better job."
Â
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
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DE
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