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The University of Utah Athletics
Kyle Whittingham Weekly Press Conference: BYU
11/4/2024 12:25 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…
"Rivalry week this week. The season's flown by in a way, in a way it has taken forever. It's time for the in-state rivalry. We're both in bye weeks. The seasons have gone in completely different directions from what was anticipated at the onset. I guess that shows those preseason rankings and thoughts don't mean a whole lot. You have to go out and play the games and things happen during the course of the season that alter the paths of teams. That's what happened this year, but our guys are really excited about the game. It's good to get back home to Rice-Eccles. We had a really good productive bye week last week and we'll resume practice today. They've had three days off. We're anxious to get back on the field today and resume preparations and get ready for the game on Saturday."
On the team's physicality and attention to detail…
"I would agree that we're not as physical this year as we typically have been. We engage that by how you run the ball and how you defend the run and we haven't been as good at that this year. It's tough to pinpoint one exact reason for that, but we haven't been our usual selves in that regard. That has been our identity as well, so they go hand-in-hand. The ability to run the ball and play-action pass off of that has been our formula for success for a lot of years. The ability on defense to turn teams one-dimensional by taking away the run and forcing them to throw has not surfaced this year either, so that's certainly been a big part of our issues this year."
On if he's made a determination regarding the quarterback position…
"We've got a good plan right now. We'll keep it to ourselves, obviously, but we have a plan going forward and nothing is ever set in stone but we feel like we have a situation that's best for us and gives us the best chance to win."
On if playing Brandon Rose against Houston was a product of Rose's play or a lack of offensive productivity…
"A little of both. We weren't very productive offensively. We haven't been very productive this season since the first couple games. It was a little of both. Brandon had been practicing extremely well as the No. 2 guy and I just thought, given the circumstances, it made sense to give him a chance and see what he could do."
On if being the underdog against BYU changes the preparation and how the team views the game and if the team has a chip on its shoulder…
Typically, historically, we've been pretty good in that situation, with a chip on our shoulder mentality. The point spread doesn't really affect our thinking or how we go about our business. That's unusual and hasn't occurred for quite a while, but that's our driving force or driving motivating factor."
On Brandon Rose's development…
"He's done well and he was really doing well last year. He had some reps in spring ball. Isaac got a bunch of the reps as well, but Brandon has made steady and continued progress since he's been in the program. He's playing his best football right now in practice. There's not a big body of work to gauge it off of in game situations, but he's done a nice job in practice and continues to get better. That's why you coach him."
On the catalyst to BYU's offense…
"I'd say the QB is the catalyst. You look at individual rushers, individual receivers, there's nobody that jumps out statistically. It's a collaborative effort, but the quarterback is the catalyst in my opinion. He's playing good football. He's one of the league leaders in pass efficiency and he's made a bunch of really timely runs during the course of the season, big difference-maker type of runs. I would say he is without a doubt the guy that's making it all go. He has a good supporting cast, but again, nobody is jumping out on the stat line. I don't know if they have a top 10 receiver or a top 10 running back, but you don't have to do that to be successful. As a team, very opportunistic team. They're playing good complimentary offense and defense to each other. The defense is taking the ball away like crazy. Offense is protecting the ball. They're No. 2 in the conference in turnover margin. They're doing a really good job playing off each other."
On if it is tougher to stick to a certain identity in the NIL era…
"It's much harder and I think a lot of teams across the country that are feeling and going through similar situations where, four, five, six years, before the transfer portal, you might replace 25 guys out of 125. Now, you're replacing 45-plus. Before you had 100 guys teaching 25 guys how we do our thing. Now, it's almost a 50/50 split of new guys as opposed to guys who've been in the program. It's not unique to us, its across the country and I think that's why you're seeing a lot of different results across the country, because it has had an effect and it will continue to have an effect. It's almost coming down to a sheer talent thing. Who's No. 1 in the country? Oregon. Who's No. 1 in the country in NIL? Oregon. It's starting to fall right in line. I said this a couple years ago, that things were going to start mirroring, the top 25 and the NIL budgets. To a certain extent, that's happened."
On if things like the transfer portal and how the season has gone have changed his coaching philosophy…
"For certain. You have guys who are coming to the program and are here for a year or two and you have grad transfers who only have a year or two left. It's constantly in flux. It's a situation where you have to collect as much talent as quickly as you can and hope it gels and comes together and you get results. It is a different approach, a different strategy then when you had guys marinate in your program for four, five, six years. I'm not making excuses or complaining because the entire country is going through the same thing. I just feel that maybe our culture and the way we did things gave us an edge."
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…
"Rivalry week this week. The season's flown by in a way, in a way it has taken forever. It's time for the in-state rivalry. We're both in bye weeks. The seasons have gone in completely different directions from what was anticipated at the onset. I guess that shows those preseason rankings and thoughts don't mean a whole lot. You have to go out and play the games and things happen during the course of the season that alter the paths of teams. That's what happened this year, but our guys are really excited about the game. It's good to get back home to Rice-Eccles. We had a really good productive bye week last week and we'll resume practice today. They've had three days off. We're anxious to get back on the field today and resume preparations and get ready for the game on Saturday."
On the team's physicality and attention to detail…
"I would agree that we're not as physical this year as we typically have been. We engage that by how you run the ball and how you defend the run and we haven't been as good at that this year. It's tough to pinpoint one exact reason for that, but we haven't been our usual selves in that regard. That has been our identity as well, so they go hand-in-hand. The ability to run the ball and play-action pass off of that has been our formula for success for a lot of years. The ability on defense to turn teams one-dimensional by taking away the run and forcing them to throw has not surfaced this year either, so that's certainly been a big part of our issues this year."
On if he's made a determination regarding the quarterback position…
"We've got a good plan right now. We'll keep it to ourselves, obviously, but we have a plan going forward and nothing is ever set in stone but we feel like we have a situation that's best for us and gives us the best chance to win."
On if playing Brandon Rose against Houston was a product of Rose's play or a lack of offensive productivity…
"A little of both. We weren't very productive offensively. We haven't been very productive this season since the first couple games. It was a little of both. Brandon had been practicing extremely well as the No. 2 guy and I just thought, given the circumstances, it made sense to give him a chance and see what he could do."
On if being the underdog against BYU changes the preparation and how the team views the game and if the team has a chip on its shoulder…
Typically, historically, we've been pretty good in that situation, with a chip on our shoulder mentality. The point spread doesn't really affect our thinking or how we go about our business. That's unusual and hasn't occurred for quite a while, but that's our driving force or driving motivating factor."
On Brandon Rose's development…
"He's done well and he was really doing well last year. He had some reps in spring ball. Isaac got a bunch of the reps as well, but Brandon has made steady and continued progress since he's been in the program. He's playing his best football right now in practice. There's not a big body of work to gauge it off of in game situations, but he's done a nice job in practice and continues to get better. That's why you coach him."
On the catalyst to BYU's offense…
"I'd say the QB is the catalyst. You look at individual rushers, individual receivers, there's nobody that jumps out statistically. It's a collaborative effort, but the quarterback is the catalyst in my opinion. He's playing good football. He's one of the league leaders in pass efficiency and he's made a bunch of really timely runs during the course of the season, big difference-maker type of runs. I would say he is without a doubt the guy that's making it all go. He has a good supporting cast, but again, nobody is jumping out on the stat line. I don't know if they have a top 10 receiver or a top 10 running back, but you don't have to do that to be successful. As a team, very opportunistic team. They're playing good complimentary offense and defense to each other. The defense is taking the ball away like crazy. Offense is protecting the ball. They're No. 2 in the conference in turnover margin. They're doing a really good job playing off each other."
On if it is tougher to stick to a certain identity in the NIL era…
"It's much harder and I think a lot of teams across the country that are feeling and going through similar situations where, four, five, six years, before the transfer portal, you might replace 25 guys out of 125. Now, you're replacing 45-plus. Before you had 100 guys teaching 25 guys how we do our thing. Now, it's almost a 50/50 split of new guys as opposed to guys who've been in the program. It's not unique to us, its across the country and I think that's why you're seeing a lot of different results across the country, because it has had an effect and it will continue to have an effect. It's almost coming down to a sheer talent thing. Who's No. 1 in the country? Oregon. Who's No. 1 in the country in NIL? Oregon. It's starting to fall right in line. I said this a couple years ago, that things were going to start mirroring, the top 25 and the NIL budgets. To a certain extent, that's happened."
On if things like the transfer portal and how the season has gone have changed his coaching philosophy…
"For certain. You have guys who are coming to the program and are here for a year or two and you have grad transfers who only have a year or two left. It's constantly in flux. It's a situation where you have to collect as much talent as quickly as you can and hope it gels and comes together and you get results. It is a different approach, a different strategy then when you had guys marinate in your program for four, five, six years. I'm not making excuses or complaining because the entire country is going through the same thing. I just feel that maybe our culture and the way we did things gave us an edge."
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
QB
/ FootballFormer Utah Football Head Coach Urban Meyer inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
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