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The University of Utah Athletics
Coaches Corner: The Utes are Bound for Boulder
11/13/2024 9:00 AM | Football
Freddie Whittingham, Colton Swan share their thoughts ahead of a bout with the Buffs
SALT LAKE CITY – For the second consecutive week, a ranked conference opponent is on the docket for the University of Utah football team, with the schedule taking them to Boulder, Colo., the site of Folsom Field, where the Utes will visit the No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT.
Saturday's showdown will be the first in Big 12 competition for these rivals and Utah's goal will be to extend a win streak in the series that stretched across the final seven matchups in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes do own a 16-15 edge over the Utes in Boulder.
"They arguably have one of the best players in college football," said head coach Kyle Whittingham, "maybe the best, in (Travis) Hunter. He's tremendous. The quarterback's outstanding. They're playing really good football. It'll be a road trip, so we gotta go to their place. They're well-coached; Coach Sanders is doing a great job and his staff have made a lot of adjustments and improvements over last year. So we've got our work cut out for us."
Before the Utes hit the road, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham chatted about the state of the tight end corps and recruiting in the world of NIL, while linebackers coach Colton Swan discussed the week of preparation.
Tight Ends Coach Freddie Whittingham
On recovering from the loss of Brant Kuithe and the loss to BYU…
"We'll miss Brant. He was performing really well this season. He worked so hard to rehab, so it is heartbreaking. We've always had a mentality here that it is the next man up and I have a deep room with a lot of talented players. The expectation is to pick up where we left off and perform at a high level. They know that's what's expected of them and I think that's what they feel like they're capable of doing."
On who will be expected to step up…
"I think that everyone steps up, but you have Landen King, who filled that type of role last season. You have Caleb Lohner, you have Carsen Ryan, so you have the guys who have the pass game skills to be able to step up into that role."
On how his philosophy about NIL and the culture has shifted his approach on the recruiting trail…
"I think its shifted in that you're not taking as many high school players right now. Back in the day, you had 25 new scholarships each year and that was the limit. You could only get to 25. They did away with that because teams need to fill up to 40, 50 slots at times, so you're looking at your team as a whole and position by position and seeing where you can sign some guys that maybe as freshman can develop a little bit and play maybe a little later on versus a guy that you need to step into that role and play immediately. It's roster management. It's figuring out who you've got at each position, who you feel is capable of stepping into a starting role right away, who may have the upside you're looking for, but might not be right there ready to do it. With my group, for instance, a lot of these kids come out of high school, they're not 240 pounds yet, they're 210, 215 pounds. They have to put on 20 to 30 pounds. That's going to take a little while to do, but once they do, you see their upside and you think they're going to be a really good tight end. I still have to recruit guys like that. You just can't recruit solely portal guys year-in and year-out, at least that's our philosophy."
On if things like NIL change the culture and process of how the staff goes about things…
"I think when you recruit them as freshmen, they come in and they embrace the process, they learn the process, they see it from those that have gone through it for three, four and five years and they learn from them and they set the tone and the example. I think it naturally lends to your culture being able to permeate through the entire roster, the entire team, whereas a guy comes in with one year remaining, he doesn't have as much time to absorb all the elements of that process and soak in the culture and become the culture. I would say it does impact the development of culture. I don't look at our team as having a negative impact on that, it's just different, its just changed."
Linebackers Coach Colton Swan
On how he helps his players stay engaged…
"You have to think as a coach [and] as a leader. We put a lot on the kids as far as leadership. The coaches are leaders as well and you have to have the right frame of mind. You have to be positive, you have to be uplifting. You have to have great body language when you're out at practice and energy and I think that breeds among your kids, especially the linebackers for me and they come to work every day and continue to shrug their shoulders and continue to shrug a tough loss off and I'm proud of them today because they came out and practiced extremely hard."
On if an emotional loss adds a little extra fire to the preparation…
"I would say its internal, within each individual because you would hope the kids you've recruited have that competitive spirit and when they suffer a loss like they did last week, they're able to bounce back and have that competitive desire and nature to work harder and figure out the things they did wrong and come back in a better position and a better frame of mind than they did previously."
On the performances of Karene Reid and Lander Barton on Saturday…
"It was the build-up into it, the preparation. As I say to the [line]backers, we're constantly sharpening our axe so when it becomes gametime, we can cut down the tree. Those two are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to defending each opponent every week and it really showed up on Saturday. They did have a very good game, both of them, had an opportunity to put the game away with late with Karene on a sack. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case and I'm just super proud of the way they prepare throughout the week and what they're able to do on Saturday."
FOLLOW UTAH FOOTBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Follow along with behind the scenes content and coverage throughout the season on social media through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience that offers access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos, and allows fans to buy and manage game tickets and order concessions straight from their mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
Saturday's showdown will be the first in Big 12 competition for these rivals and Utah's goal will be to extend a win streak in the series that stretched across the final seven matchups in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes do own a 16-15 edge over the Utes in Boulder.
"They arguably have one of the best players in college football," said head coach Kyle Whittingham, "maybe the best, in (Travis) Hunter. He's tremendous. The quarterback's outstanding. They're playing really good football. It'll be a road trip, so we gotta go to their place. They're well-coached; Coach Sanders is doing a great job and his staff have made a lot of adjustments and improvements over last year. So we've got our work cut out for us."
Before the Utes hit the road, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham chatted about the state of the tight end corps and recruiting in the world of NIL, while linebackers coach Colton Swan discussed the week of preparation.
Tight Ends Coach Freddie Whittingham
On recovering from the loss of Brant Kuithe and the loss to BYU…
"We'll miss Brant. He was performing really well this season. He worked so hard to rehab, so it is heartbreaking. We've always had a mentality here that it is the next man up and I have a deep room with a lot of talented players. The expectation is to pick up where we left off and perform at a high level. They know that's what's expected of them and I think that's what they feel like they're capable of doing."
On who will be expected to step up…
"I think that everyone steps up, but you have Landen King, who filled that type of role last season. You have Caleb Lohner, you have Carsen Ryan, so you have the guys who have the pass game skills to be able to step up into that role."
On how his philosophy about NIL and the culture has shifted his approach on the recruiting trail…
"I think its shifted in that you're not taking as many high school players right now. Back in the day, you had 25 new scholarships each year and that was the limit. You could only get to 25. They did away with that because teams need to fill up to 40, 50 slots at times, so you're looking at your team as a whole and position by position and seeing where you can sign some guys that maybe as freshman can develop a little bit and play maybe a little later on versus a guy that you need to step into that role and play immediately. It's roster management. It's figuring out who you've got at each position, who you feel is capable of stepping into a starting role right away, who may have the upside you're looking for, but might not be right there ready to do it. With my group, for instance, a lot of these kids come out of high school, they're not 240 pounds yet, they're 210, 215 pounds. They have to put on 20 to 30 pounds. That's going to take a little while to do, but once they do, you see their upside and you think they're going to be a really good tight end. I still have to recruit guys like that. You just can't recruit solely portal guys year-in and year-out, at least that's our philosophy."
On if things like NIL change the culture and process of how the staff goes about things…
"I think when you recruit them as freshmen, they come in and they embrace the process, they learn the process, they see it from those that have gone through it for three, four and five years and they learn from them and they set the tone and the example. I think it naturally lends to your culture being able to permeate through the entire roster, the entire team, whereas a guy comes in with one year remaining, he doesn't have as much time to absorb all the elements of that process and soak in the culture and become the culture. I would say it does impact the development of culture. I don't look at our team as having a negative impact on that, it's just different, its just changed."
Linebackers Coach Colton Swan
On how he helps his players stay engaged…
"You have to think as a coach [and] as a leader. We put a lot on the kids as far as leadership. The coaches are leaders as well and you have to have the right frame of mind. You have to be positive, you have to be uplifting. You have to have great body language when you're out at practice and energy and I think that breeds among your kids, especially the linebackers for me and they come to work every day and continue to shrug their shoulders and continue to shrug a tough loss off and I'm proud of them today because they came out and practiced extremely hard."
On if an emotional loss adds a little extra fire to the preparation…
"I would say its internal, within each individual because you would hope the kids you've recruited have that competitive spirit and when they suffer a loss like they did last week, they're able to bounce back and have that competitive desire and nature to work harder and figure out the things they did wrong and come back in a better position and a better frame of mind than they did previously."
On the performances of Karene Reid and Lander Barton on Saturday…
"It was the build-up into it, the preparation. As I say to the [line]backers, we're constantly sharpening our axe so when it becomes gametime, we can cut down the tree. Those two are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to defending each opponent every week and it really showed up on Saturday. They did have a very good game, both of them, had an opportunity to put the game away with late with Karene on a sack. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case and I'm just super proud of the way they prepare throughout the week and what they're able to do on Saturday."
FOLLOW UTAH FOOTBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Follow along with behind the scenes content and coverage throughout the season on social media through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok along with visiting www.UtahUtes.com.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience that offers access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos, and allows fans to buy and manage game tickets and order concessions straight from their mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
Players Mentioned
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