Photo by: Liv Medivitz/Utah Athletics
Coordinator Corner: Utes Prep for Rematch With Baylor
9/4/2024 10:13 AM | Football
Ludwig and Scalley share takeaways from Week 1
SALT LAKE CITY – With its season opener finally in the books, attention for the Utah Football team turns to Week 2 as the Utes host Baylor this Saturday for Big 12 Homecoming and the Athletic Excellence Game.
Though Utah officially joined the Big 12 Conference this past August, this will be a non-conference matchup. It's the second part of a non-conference series that began last year with the Utes' 20-13 win in Waco at McLane Stadium.
The Utes saw plenty of positives in their August 29 win over Southern Utah alongside areas of improvement, as with any game. Utah mostly came away from the game healthy, but unfortunately cornerback Kenan Johnson sustained an injury that Kyle Whittingham announced on Monday as season-ending.
Now, it's next man up.
"It boils down to two things," Whittingham said of who will step in. "If you want to play here, you've got to know what to do, and you've got to physically be able to do it. If you can do that, you're going to play. We're looking for guys that know their assignments, know the defense, understand what their responsibilities are and have the physical capability to get the job done."
Whittingham said after Tuesday's practice that Smith Snowden, Elijah Davis, John Randle Jr. and Cameron Calhoun should factor in at cornerback.
As the Utes get ready for Saturday's matchup with Baylor, it was time for the coordinators to visit with the local media and share some takeaways from Week 1.
Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Andy Ludwig
On how he feels about the offense and where they need to improve after week one…
"I think we need improvement in every area. I think I stated at the conclusion of fall camp I'm confident in the direction of the offense and the improvement we've shown, but in no way are we comfortable with where we are. Good work today and looking forward to another day of work tomorrow."
On his impression of the hits Cameron Rising took on Thursday…
"I'm not fired up about it. He's got to hook slide, protect himself. We always talk about protecting the ball, protecting the team, the quarterback protecting the team is protecting himself. You don't want to lose that position, but the other end of that spectrum is he gained a lot of confidence taking those hits and popping back up. We're going to try to minimize those."
On how he feels about Isaac Wilson and his progression…
"Good. He's got so much work to do, but what a difficult situation to take your first snaps in college football in what we call our last three, trying to get some points there at the end of the half. Just felt like we'd seen enough of Cam and those are some difficult situations when everybody in the park knows you're throwing it, but I thought the one thing with Isaac, he had some mishaps, there's not doubt, but he just kept battling back. I know he had the turnover at the end of the first half, but then came back, at one point threw six consecutive completions. [He] threw the interception in the red zone. That was unfortunate, bad decision, but came right back the next opportunity, threw a touchdown pass. He's got some real toughness about him."
On he encouraged he is about what he saw in the run game against Southern Utah…
"It was a throw-first gameplan. I thought we ran the ball efficiently. I'm sure you noticed, Southern Utah was fully committed to stopping the run with a nine-man box, creating a lot of one-on-ones on the outside which we were able to exploit. I was pleased with Mike Mitchell, what he showed, obviously Dijon Stanley, whether it was as a received or running the ball, did a lot of good things. I have a lot of confidence in Micah Bernard, Charlie Vincent and Jaylon Glover and I think the o-line is really going to be something special."
Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach Morgan Scalley
On Kenan Johnson and the cornerback position…
"I love that kid. He's done nothing but put everything into this program, the culture, the way we do things, so I love that kid. In terms of who we have, Cameron Calhoun is back and he's healthy. Elijah Davis did a great job. Smith Snowden has played on the outside. You've got Tao Johnson who can play at the nickel spot, so we're fine."
On what's on his mind about defending Baylor…
"Their skill players are legit. Their quarterback is a dual threat. Their running backs have speed, so it's a much-improved offense from a year ago for them and with the added element of the athletic quarterback. In college football, that's what it is, you have to have a guy that can do both and he can."
On if he's learned how to manage and defend against dual threat quarterbacks…
"Hit them hard when they run the ball. You have to have eyes on. If you're going to add a guy in the box, you add a guy in the box. You create pressure to fool the QB. There are different things you can do, but bottom line is its playing assignment-sound, disciplined football."
On the balance between evaluating Baylor tape from last year compared to tape from the offensive coordinator's previous school…
"This is a coordinator who's very good and we faced him twice when he was at Cal. Usually coordinators are who they are and their scheme doesn't change much. He's got his set of plays for the Utes and they're a tempo team that you've got to get off schedule. They get lined up quick, they're assignment-sound, their technique is really good, their wide receivers do a great job of getting hands on and blocking. They're physical and for us its matching that tempo and trying to match that tempo in practice, trying to make sure we're getting lined up quick, that we're playing assignment sound. Usually, like I said, coordinators are who they are and scheme doesn't change much. You're going to get new flavors of the month each week."
On how he assesses the safety play in week one…
"We saw quite a bit of safeties. Right now, I'm still feeling things out with those guys and you're going to see rotations. I'd say, week one, probably more missed tackles than we'd like to see, but I love the group we have and eventually we're going to settle on two."
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!
Though Utah officially joined the Big 12 Conference this past August, this will be a non-conference matchup. It's the second part of a non-conference series that began last year with the Utes' 20-13 win in Waco at McLane Stadium.
We're on a bear hunt this ????????
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 2, 2024
???: Rice-Eccles Stadium
?: 1:30PM MT
??: FOX
??: ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/J8pjcqncIv
The Utes saw plenty of positives in their August 29 win over Southern Utah alongside areas of improvement, as with any game. Utah mostly came away from the game healthy, but unfortunately cornerback Kenan Johnson sustained an injury that Kyle Whittingham announced on Monday as season-ending.
Now, it's next man up.
"It boils down to two things," Whittingham said of who will step in. "If you want to play here, you've got to know what to do, and you've got to physically be able to do it. If you can do that, you're going to play. We're looking for guys that know their assignments, know the defense, understand what their responsibilities are and have the physical capability to get the job done."
Whittingham said after Tuesday's practice that Smith Snowden, Elijah Davis, John Randle Jr. and Cameron Calhoun should factor in at cornerback.
As the Utes get ready for Saturday's matchup with Baylor, it was time for the coordinators to visit with the local media and share some takeaways from Week 1.
Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Andy Ludwig
On how he feels about the offense and where they need to improve after week one…
"I think we need improvement in every area. I think I stated at the conclusion of fall camp I'm confident in the direction of the offense and the improvement we've shown, but in no way are we comfortable with where we are. Good work today and looking forward to another day of work tomorrow."
On his impression of the hits Cameron Rising took on Thursday…
"I'm not fired up about it. He's got to hook slide, protect himself. We always talk about protecting the ball, protecting the team, the quarterback protecting the team is protecting himself. You don't want to lose that position, but the other end of that spectrum is he gained a lot of confidence taking those hits and popping back up. We're going to try to minimize those."
On how he feels about Isaac Wilson and his progression…
"Good. He's got so much work to do, but what a difficult situation to take your first snaps in college football in what we call our last three, trying to get some points there at the end of the half. Just felt like we'd seen enough of Cam and those are some difficult situations when everybody in the park knows you're throwing it, but I thought the one thing with Isaac, he had some mishaps, there's not doubt, but he just kept battling back. I know he had the turnover at the end of the first half, but then came back, at one point threw six consecutive completions. [He] threw the interception in the red zone. That was unfortunate, bad decision, but came right back the next opportunity, threw a touchdown pass. He's got some real toughness about him."
On he encouraged he is about what he saw in the run game against Southern Utah…
"It was a throw-first gameplan. I thought we ran the ball efficiently. I'm sure you noticed, Southern Utah was fully committed to stopping the run with a nine-man box, creating a lot of one-on-ones on the outside which we were able to exploit. I was pleased with Mike Mitchell, what he showed, obviously Dijon Stanley, whether it was as a received or running the ball, did a lot of good things. I have a lot of confidence in Micah Bernard, Charlie Vincent and Jaylon Glover and I think the o-line is really going to be something special."
Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach Morgan Scalley
On Kenan Johnson and the cornerback position…
"I love that kid. He's done nothing but put everything into this program, the culture, the way we do things, so I love that kid. In terms of who we have, Cameron Calhoun is back and he's healthy. Elijah Davis did a great job. Smith Snowden has played on the outside. You've got Tao Johnson who can play at the nickel spot, so we're fine."
On what's on his mind about defending Baylor…
"Their skill players are legit. Their quarterback is a dual threat. Their running backs have speed, so it's a much-improved offense from a year ago for them and with the added element of the athletic quarterback. In college football, that's what it is, you have to have a guy that can do both and he can."
On if he's learned how to manage and defend against dual threat quarterbacks…
"Hit them hard when they run the ball. You have to have eyes on. If you're going to add a guy in the box, you add a guy in the box. You create pressure to fool the QB. There are different things you can do, but bottom line is its playing assignment-sound, disciplined football."
On the balance between evaluating Baylor tape from last year compared to tape from the offensive coordinator's previous school…
"This is a coordinator who's very good and we faced him twice when he was at Cal. Usually coordinators are who they are and their scheme doesn't change much. He's got his set of plays for the Utes and they're a tempo team that you've got to get off schedule. They get lined up quick, they're assignment-sound, their technique is really good, their wide receivers do a great job of getting hands on and blocking. They're physical and for us its matching that tempo and trying to match that tempo in practice, trying to make sure we're getting lined up quick, that we're playing assignment sound. Usually, like I said, coordinators are who they are and scheme doesn't change much. You're going to get new flavors of the month each week."
On how he assesses the safety play in week one…
"We saw quite a bit of safeties. Right now, I'm still feeling things out with those guys and you're going to see rotations. I'd say, week one, probably more missed tackles than we'd like to see, but I love the group we have and eventually we're going to settle on two."
THE ARRIVAL
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) September 4, 2024
Gather outside Gate L on 500 South by 11:15AM MT to greet @Utah_Football as they step off the bus. Enjoy food, live music and exclusive t-shirts that will only be available when the team arrives at @Rice_Eccles Stadium prior to the games.
Gameday info:… pic.twitter.com/b5ZgNCzn4Z
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!
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