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The University of Utah Athletics
Coaches Corner: Dark Mode on Deck
9/26/2024 9:00 AM | Football
Utah’s first Big 12 home game pits them Against Arizona
SALT LAKE CITY – After a smashing start to conference play that saw the University of Utah football team vanquish the No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys in the program's first-ever contest in the Big 12, the Utes must now turn their attention to a Saturday night showdown with another conference foe, the Arizona Wildcats.
The Utes, who moved to No. 10 in the Coaches and AP Polls after their victory in Stillwater, will enter their first-ever Big 12 home tilt with the chance to start 3-0 at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the fourth consecutive year, while simultaneously aiming for their fourth straight triumph over Arizona at RES.
Saturday will also serve as the team's Dark Mode game, with fans encouraged to wear black for the 8:15 p.m. affair.
"Rice-Eccles is always louder after dark," said defensive lineman Junior Tafuna. "Rice-Eccles is going to be popping, it's going to be loud and I'm excited. We're all excited."
While the Utes and Wildcats may be new to the Big 12, they are anything but unfamiliar to each other, with the Utes holding an edge of 26-20-2 in the all-time series. Arizona's win over Utah in 2023 in Tucson broke a run of six consecutive meetings that had gone in favor of the Utes.
As the Utes prepare to renew acquaintances with the Wildcats, linebackers coach Colton Swan discussed the status of his position group, as well as Utah's history of transitioning safeties into linebackers.
Linebackers Coach Colton Swan
On how his linebackers and the defense played against Oklahoma State…
We played well. There was obviously a letdown within a few minutes of the last part of that game, but up to that point we were playing some solid defense. I think we were gap-sound, especially up front. The front seven and the linebackers played really well. There's always things you can improve on. When you look back on things, it wasn't a perfect day, but it never is, but I thought the guys flew around, made some plays. I was good to have Johnathan [Hall] out there, it was good to have Sione going and Lander. They all did a great job.
On Johnathan Hall's progress after transitioning from safety to linebacker…
No. 1, he was a very athletic, talented kid even before he came down to linebacker. A lot of what he was doing at the safety position carries over to the linebacker spot. You just have a few different responsibilities. The transition has been easy and good for him. He's caught on to it very quickly. He's an extreme talent. He's still got a ways to go and to learn a few things from the technical standpoint, but the mental side and the willingness and the athleticism is all there. He's going to be a great one.
On players transition from safety to linebacker at Utah…
Nephi Sewell is a great example of that, with playing safety and transitioning down. A lot of why those type of guys are able to do that is because of the quickness. The closer you get to the line of scrimmage, the quicker you need to be and you take a safety that has that athleticism, move him down closer to the line of scrimmage, you can really see it start to showcase down there when they're going against 310-pound offensive lineman. So the speed and quickness is a huge carryover.
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!
The Utes, who moved to No. 10 in the Coaches and AP Polls after their victory in Stillwater, will enter their first-ever Big 12 home tilt with the chance to start 3-0 at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the fourth consecutive year, while simultaneously aiming for their fourth straight triumph over Arizona at RES.
Saturday will also serve as the team's Dark Mode game, with fans encouraged to wear black for the 8:15 p.m. affair.
"Rice-Eccles is always louder after dark," said defensive lineman Junior Tafuna. "Rice-Eccles is going to be popping, it's going to be loud and I'm excited. We're all excited."
While the Utes and Wildcats may be new to the Big 12, they are anything but unfamiliar to each other, with the Utes holding an edge of 26-20-2 in the all-time series. Arizona's win over Utah in 2023 in Tucson broke a run of six consecutive meetings that had gone in favor of the Utes.
As the Utes prepare to renew acquaintances with the Wildcats, linebackers coach Colton Swan discussed the status of his position group, as well as Utah's history of transitioning safeties into linebackers.
Linebackers Coach Colton Swan
On how his linebackers and the defense played against Oklahoma State…
We played well. There was obviously a letdown within a few minutes of the last part of that game, but up to that point we were playing some solid defense. I think we were gap-sound, especially up front. The front seven and the linebackers played really well. There's always things you can improve on. When you look back on things, it wasn't a perfect day, but it never is, but I thought the guys flew around, made some plays. I was good to have Johnathan [Hall] out there, it was good to have Sione going and Lander. They all did a great job.
On Johnathan Hall's progress after transitioning from safety to linebacker…
No. 1, he was a very athletic, talented kid even before he came down to linebacker. A lot of what he was doing at the safety position carries over to the linebacker spot. You just have a few different responsibilities. The transition has been easy and good for him. He's caught on to it very quickly. He's an extreme talent. He's still got a ways to go and to learn a few things from the technical standpoint, but the mental side and the willingness and the athleticism is all there. He's going to be a great one.
On players transition from safety to linebacker at Utah…
Nephi Sewell is a great example of that, with playing safety and transitioning down. A lot of why those type of guys are able to do that is because of the quickness. The closer you get to the line of scrimmage, the quicker you need to be and you take a safety that has that athleticism, move him down closer to the line of scrimmage, you can really see it start to showcase down there when they're going against 310-pound offensive lineman. So the speed and quickness is a huge carryover.
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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DT
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