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The University of Utah Athletics
Kyle Whittingham Weekly Press Conference: Iowa State
11/18/2024 12:50 PM | Football
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. Click here for full press conference video.
Opening Statement…
The biggest issues in the game on Saturday in no particular order were we weren't able to run the ball almost at all. We had 31 yards on 30 carries, which is abysmal. That's no way to win a football game with that rushing production. Four turnovers, another problematic area that has been consistent this year. Defensively, inability to make plays on the ball up the field. They have a terrific wide receiving corps, the best we've faced by far. They made plays up the field. No. 12 was as advertised. He's a bona fide All-American and one of the best players in college football. The quarterback was terrific. As bad as it was, we had the ball in really good field position in the fourth quarter with an 11-point deficit, chance to make it a one-possession game and proceeded to throw an interception and that dashed our hopes. They ended up capitalizing on that turnover with a touchdown and that was pretty much the ballgame. Credit to them, they're a good football team. I said it after the game a couple times, I'll say it again, the best team we've played this year without question. Coach Sanders has done a great job getting that thing turned around in a short period of time. Hats off to those guys. We've got Iowa State coming in this weekend. Senior Day for a big group of seniors. We've typically anywhere from 8-12 the last two or three years, we have about 25 this year. A lot of turnover and outgoing players who will be finished with their eligibility, so hoping the crowd will show up and wish those guys all the best and thank them for what they gave to the program. A lot of those guys have won a lot of games for us through the years. As is the case every year, we'll miss them. Tough to see them leave, but that's the nature of college football. Iowa State, really good team, No. 1 in the conference in scoring defense. They have a good offense, very balanced, a complete team. A lot like us offensively in their personnel usage. A lot of 12 personnel, in fact that's their lead group, two tight ends. Some 11, some 13, which we do as well. Carryover in that respect that our defense is used to seeing, those personnel groupings. Hopefully it's a better matchup for us than the spread attack we saw last week. They're battling for a spot in the conference championship game, so we're going to get everything they have. They're coming off a win against Cincinnati, had a couple losses prior to that. They're an 8-2 football team that is very complete, the quarterback is playing well, third or fourth in the league in pass efficiency, running the ball well. [They're averaging] about a 160, 170 rushing and another 230, 240 throwing a game, over 30 points a week. Running back by committee, they have three guys who are sharing the carries and getting it done that way. Two really prolific receivers, big guy on the outside and then the slot receiver. We got our hands full and it'll be a challenge for us, but our guys, even with all the adversity and all the disappointment we've faced this year, our guys still have a really good attitude and a lot of fight in them and we're still trying to play for a bowl game these last two weeks.
On how the season has impacted recruiting…
It's going to be, going forward, pretty much like its been, about 50/50 and its going to be about an influx of 40-45 guys when all is said and done. We're fairly confident and fairly certain that the roster limit is going to go down to 105, which will mean only 20 walk-ons instead of 40. That's going to have some impact as far as scholarship players. It'll be close to half the roster you turn over and that half of that roster is split pretty equally between high school and portal, maybe leaning a little toward the high school, but not much. It's going to be a heavy shopping season for us in the portal.
On a lack of touchbacks on kickoffs…
We'd like every kickoff to be out of the back of the end zone and not have a chance to return it. It's a good point you make. We have a higher percentage this year I believe than last year, not a ton higher, but I think our touchback percentage is a little higher. Going back to the game, that's another big negative is we had a horrific play on special teams where they returned a punt for a touchdown early in the game, which was probably one of the top four or five momentum changing plays in the game. We have analytic companies that sends us a report after the game on the most impactful plays and it was right there.
To answer your question, we'd love to never have to cover a kickoff, just spot the ball at the 25 and start playing.
On preparations for revenue sharing and the approach heading into the recruiting cycle…
We're using is just like we have been in the past, except its going to be a bigger bump for us. Some schools, it's a huge cut. We've already got all the numbers budgeted, spreadsheets galore as far as what we're allocating to each position, how much on offense, how much on defense. It's all mapped out. Now its just a case of going shopping in the portal and filling those needs within those financial parameters.
On what is being done to promote Isaac Wilson's development…
Extra meetings, within the rules of course, extra film time. He comes in on his own and watches a ton of film. We're doing everything we can and he's doing everything he can to continue to develop and see things quicker. That was another issue in the game, particularly early in the game. He got better as the game wore on, but holding the ball too long. You need to go through those reads and spit it out or tuck it and run. People talk about when you're coaching quarterbacks, the clock in the head. When that clock expires and there's nothing there, you have to get out and go because otherwise, bad things are going to happen.
On when they'll start putting together a list of candidates for offensive coordinator…
That's going on right now, evaluating what we're doing, what's attracted candidates outside the program. We're evaluating everything right now and getting the short list ready. That'll be job one as soon as the time is right to get that filled. Recruits want to know who the coordinator is going to be and that's something we'll need to have solved sooner rather than later.
On how he addresses the team's energy and confidence this week…
It's been challenging. Fortunately, we have a high character football team. We have some really good leaders. There doesn't seem to be any division, no splintering of the team. At practice, you can see that everybody is working hard, everybody is all in, everybody is focused. You can tell if a team isn't focused and guys minds are wandering, you can tell and we've had none of that. We've had everybody locked in and focused. Hopefully we can hang on these last two weeks and not have it be the issue.
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!
Selected quotes from Coach Whittingham can be seen below. Click here for full press conference video.
Opening Statement…
The biggest issues in the game on Saturday in no particular order were we weren't able to run the ball almost at all. We had 31 yards on 30 carries, which is abysmal. That's no way to win a football game with that rushing production. Four turnovers, another problematic area that has been consistent this year. Defensively, inability to make plays on the ball up the field. They have a terrific wide receiving corps, the best we've faced by far. They made plays up the field. No. 12 was as advertised. He's a bona fide All-American and one of the best players in college football. The quarterback was terrific. As bad as it was, we had the ball in really good field position in the fourth quarter with an 11-point deficit, chance to make it a one-possession game and proceeded to throw an interception and that dashed our hopes. They ended up capitalizing on that turnover with a touchdown and that was pretty much the ballgame. Credit to them, they're a good football team. I said it after the game a couple times, I'll say it again, the best team we've played this year without question. Coach Sanders has done a great job getting that thing turned around in a short period of time. Hats off to those guys. We've got Iowa State coming in this weekend. Senior Day for a big group of seniors. We've typically anywhere from 8-12 the last two or three years, we have about 25 this year. A lot of turnover and outgoing players who will be finished with their eligibility, so hoping the crowd will show up and wish those guys all the best and thank them for what they gave to the program. A lot of those guys have won a lot of games for us through the years. As is the case every year, we'll miss them. Tough to see them leave, but that's the nature of college football. Iowa State, really good team, No. 1 in the conference in scoring defense. They have a good offense, very balanced, a complete team. A lot like us offensively in their personnel usage. A lot of 12 personnel, in fact that's their lead group, two tight ends. Some 11, some 13, which we do as well. Carryover in that respect that our defense is used to seeing, those personnel groupings. Hopefully it's a better matchup for us than the spread attack we saw last week. They're battling for a spot in the conference championship game, so we're going to get everything they have. They're coming off a win against Cincinnati, had a couple losses prior to that. They're an 8-2 football team that is very complete, the quarterback is playing well, third or fourth in the league in pass efficiency, running the ball well. [They're averaging] about a 160, 170 rushing and another 230, 240 throwing a game, over 30 points a week. Running back by committee, they have three guys who are sharing the carries and getting it done that way. Two really prolific receivers, big guy on the outside and then the slot receiver. We got our hands full and it'll be a challenge for us, but our guys, even with all the adversity and all the disappointment we've faced this year, our guys still have a really good attitude and a lot of fight in them and we're still trying to play for a bowl game these last two weeks.
On how the season has impacted recruiting…
It's going to be, going forward, pretty much like its been, about 50/50 and its going to be about an influx of 40-45 guys when all is said and done. We're fairly confident and fairly certain that the roster limit is going to go down to 105, which will mean only 20 walk-ons instead of 40. That's going to have some impact as far as scholarship players. It'll be close to half the roster you turn over and that half of that roster is split pretty equally between high school and portal, maybe leaning a little toward the high school, but not much. It's going to be a heavy shopping season for us in the portal.
On a lack of touchbacks on kickoffs…
We'd like every kickoff to be out of the back of the end zone and not have a chance to return it. It's a good point you make. We have a higher percentage this year I believe than last year, not a ton higher, but I think our touchback percentage is a little higher. Going back to the game, that's another big negative is we had a horrific play on special teams where they returned a punt for a touchdown early in the game, which was probably one of the top four or five momentum changing plays in the game. We have analytic companies that sends us a report after the game on the most impactful plays and it was right there.
To answer your question, we'd love to never have to cover a kickoff, just spot the ball at the 25 and start playing.
On preparations for revenue sharing and the approach heading into the recruiting cycle…
We're using is just like we have been in the past, except its going to be a bigger bump for us. Some schools, it's a huge cut. We've already got all the numbers budgeted, spreadsheets galore as far as what we're allocating to each position, how much on offense, how much on defense. It's all mapped out. Now its just a case of going shopping in the portal and filling those needs within those financial parameters.
On what is being done to promote Isaac Wilson's development…
Extra meetings, within the rules of course, extra film time. He comes in on his own and watches a ton of film. We're doing everything we can and he's doing everything he can to continue to develop and see things quicker. That was another issue in the game, particularly early in the game. He got better as the game wore on, but holding the ball too long. You need to go through those reads and spit it out or tuck it and run. People talk about when you're coaching quarterbacks, the clock in the head. When that clock expires and there's nothing there, you have to get out and go because otherwise, bad things are going to happen.
On when they'll start putting together a list of candidates for offensive coordinator…
That's going on right now, evaluating what we're doing, what's attracted candidates outside the program. We're evaluating everything right now and getting the short list ready. That'll be job one as soon as the time is right to get that filled. Recruits want to know who the coordinator is going to be and that's something we'll need to have solved sooner rather than later.
On how he addresses the team's energy and confidence this week…
It's been challenging. Fortunately, we have a high character football team. We have some really good leaders. There doesn't seem to be any division, no splintering of the team. At practice, you can see that everybody is working hard, everybody is all in, everybody is focused. You can tell if a team isn't focused and guys minds are wandering, you can tell and we've had none of that. We've had everybody locked in and focused. Hopefully we can hang on these last two weeks and not have it be the issue.
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!
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