Upcoming Event: Track & Field versus NCAA First Round on May 28, 2026
Track & Field
vs NCAA First Round
The University of Utah Athletics
QUOTES FROM KYLE WHITTINGHAM’S WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Opening statement
That was a different way to win a game for us on Saturday. We don’t specifically find ourselves in shootouts. Anyway we can get the victory we will take it. I’m really proud of our offense, they really stepped up against a good UCLA defense that had played well this year. They had played well and were statistically. We had outstanding performances from our offensive line and Joe Williams. Troy Williams played well at quarterback. Cory Butler-Byrd played well. We could not have started the game any better with the kickoff return for a touchdown. We had a lot of positives on offense.
On defense, we played the run well which we expected to. UCLA had not run the ball and we wanted to make sure that continued. We gave up a little too much in the throw game. When you throw 70 times you’re going to get some yards. Our zone coverage was bad. I thought we did fine in man-to-man. We have a lot of work to do there. We need to do a better job at getting to the quarterback. We should have more disruption than we did.
Overall, any time you can go the Rose Bowl and get a win it’s great. So we are sitting in pretty good shape and still tied with Colorado who won their game against Stanford. We’re getting ready for another extremely tough game this week. Washington comes to town ranked No. 4 in the nation and from what we’ve seen on tape they deserve that ranking. Probably the most impressive thing is that they have scored 200 points and allowed 24 in the first half this year. That’s a huge discrepancy. Now things have evened out in the second half but the games have been pretty much over by halftime. They’ve called off the dogs so to speak and they’re going to be a challenging opponent.
We get them at home and Rice-Eccles has been a great venue this year. We have had great support from our fans that makes it a tough place to play for opponents. We need that to be the case this weekend and we know they will be loud.
On what surprises him about Joe Williams
How hard he is running and how much speed and quickness he has. He pulled away from those UCLA defenders and they have fast guys. They hand pick whom they want for that secondary and he out ran them all. That’s the first thing you notice, his speed and quickness. He’s running hard, running with physicality and it’s just what the doctor ordered for us. We were down to our last running back and all of a sudden he’s back in the lineup and a huge plus for us.
On how impressed he’s been with Byrd
Very impressed and he’s been another key impact to our success is what he’s given us in the return game. How we started the game Saturday was a huge plus. He’s filled a dual role as a receiver/running back. He’s carried the ball out of the backfield and done a nice job with that she he’s added to what we have going.
On the injuries to Lo Falemaka, Marcus Williams and Sunia Tauteoli
Still don’t know. Too early in the week to know if we’ll get one or two of them back. We wont know until game day.
On what the offensive line did to improve in the game Saturday
We just started playing better. We took that first drive down and scored. They got into a rhythm and it started to work and mesh. You see that time-to-time during the course of a season not just with us, but also with various teams. When they get that confidence and timing, you get pretty good results
On ESPN College Gameday coming to town
It’s great to be recognized and we are elated that Gameday is coming to town. They, the Gameday people, do a good job of being very non-invasive and non-disruptive. They know the drill and understand college football as well as anybody. They handled it well, we handled it well last year, and I expect the same this year.
On Jake Browning
He’s getting better at everything including pass completion percentage and was leading the nation coming into the weekend. He has about a 200 efficiency rating which is phenomenal. You see his growth and development in all areas. He’s bigger, stronger, making good decisions. They do a good job with that offense. Good people surround him. He has two running backs that are outstanding, a corps of receivers that are playmakers and an offensive line that is very good
On finishing the season strong.
We approach each week the same. Whether it’s week one, week 10, week 12, it doesn’t change our approach. We are going to come out and work hard in practice and make sure we come out on Saturday.
On what they have seen with Browning and what other teams are doing or not doing to try and slow him down
The other teams are trying to do everything schematically through seven games. His offensive line protects him well. They have a strong running game that helps with the throw game. Troy is experiencing that for us this year. When you throw the ball effectively, it opens up lanes in the running game. Defenses can’t stack the box like they’ve done in recent years. Devontae Booker was facing 8-9-10 guys in the box in years past and that opens up the throw game. Jake is dealing with that this year. When you are balanced and teams can’t load up with one or the other it makes it easier to throw and to run.
On giving up too many big plays
We were just facing great athletes. When you do that, they’re going to make great plays. USC, UCLA, they have scholarship players too and they’re going to make plays. We have given up a few too many but we lead the nation in takeaways. We’ve made some big plays ourselves.
On Chris Petersen
He’s doing a fantastic job and he’s one of a handful of elite coaches. I have all the respect in the world for him and think he’s doing one heck of a coaching job. It doesn’t surprise me what they’re doing up there
On missing tackles
A few times we were going for the ball rather than trying to make the tackle. For the most part, like I said, when you play teams with great athletes, they’re going to make you miss. We had 16 missed tackles, our second-highest total this year and we try to be in single digits. A good day is nine or less and they had a lot of guys in space in the throw game and at times, instead of securing the tackle went for the strip. We have to make sure we get the tackle or else it doesn’t work out for you
On Chase Hansen
It was a typical week for Chase with no more responsibility than normal. There’s a lot on his plate every week with tough assignments. The two UCLA tight ends were very athletic and they’re going to make plays. You can’t hold a team with that many athletes from breaking tackles or making plays.
On whether Bradlee Anae and Leki Fotu’s presence was planned or due to injuries
A little of both - We are bringing them along and we think they are going to be tremendous players in the future. We are trying to get them integrated them and they are getting better each week. In practice, we said we were going to get them playing time. They are progressing and will be a big part of our defense in years to come
On whether you focus more on stopping UW’s offense of defense
Both. We cant put more emphasis on one or the other. The offense needs to move the ball and score points and the defense needs to keep them off the board. We can’t make a concerted effort on controlling one area. You want to control everything
On time of possession
It’s critical to control the football and make first downs and move the chains. We have done a great job of doing that this year. We are among the leaders in time of possession nationally and first in the Pac-12. It’s been a big plus for us and will be key in this game as in every game. When you control the ball it works to your advantage
On Garett Bolles
He’s a special player. We knew that when we recruited and signed him. He’s been starting since game one. He’s been a little over aggressive at times but that’s the type of problem you want. It’s easier to rein it in rather than try and bring it out. I would agree with that assessment that he’s one of the best run-blockers in the nation. He’s tough, physical and finishes blocks. He’s so great at finishing blocks. He’s a mean, nasty player, not in an illegal way, but a good way
On whether Washington is the toughest Pac-12 team he’s faced
I’d have to go back and review the schedules of when we played them (Oregon in ’14). They’re one of the best.
On if he thought this was going to be the offensive line he envisioned at the beginning of the season
Yes, we went into the season thinking we’d have one of the best offensive lines in the Pac-12. We started off slowly but we’ve been building and it was by far their best performance of the year Saturday. Changing out centers due to injury and working with new guys might have slowed us down some but that’s what we saw Saturday was what we envisioned
On Jordan Fogal
I thought he played really well with two interceptions and that stop on fourth-and-one. It was a huge momentum changing play, that and the interception in the end zone. So Jordan stepped in and did a fine job for Marcus
On what he saw in the UW/UA game
Arizona played well and it was one of their best performances of the year. UW was out of sync and it was a road game. They’ve only played two road games so they were out of their normal environment so that might have had something to do with it. They were just out of sync.
On irony with Joe Williams returning because of all the injuries
He wouldn’t have come back if we were not so depleted at that area. That could be a silver lining. It’s been a unique year with injuries and I don’t like to talk about them but and we were down to nothing at that position. That was the impetus and pathway for Joe to come back so it’s a blessing in disguise
On Nick Nowakowski
He played very well on Saturday, much better than his first week. When Lo comes back we will have to examine Nick’s body of work. We will see where he is and if he is out-performing Lo from before the injury. That’s how it works here. When you come back you don’t automatically get your starting spot back. We won’t make that decision. We will make it when, and if, Lo comes back. It was great to see Nick play the way he did Saturday
On Tim Patrick
We are hoping this week he is 100 percent. He was 85 percent last week. We hope he turns the corner. Our receivers are really stepping up. Sisosi Wilson really stepped up. Raleon Singleton has been getting better each week and Byrd, we talked about, has been getting better. Tim is our go-to guy and if we get him back that’s a big plus for us
On Troy Williams having familiarity with UW’s offense
I haven’t talked to him about that. Maybe we’ll have a discussion later. It’s been a couple years since he’s been there and things evolve and change. I’m sure there are things maybe that Troy can add but for the most part what you see on film is the most important thing.
On John Ross
I see talent. John Ross is good. Dante Pettis is good and they have four or five receivers that are capable, dynamic playmakers. Ross is a tough matchup and we’ll try and slow down
That was a different way to win a game for us on Saturday. We don’t specifically find ourselves in shootouts. Anyway we can get the victory we will take it. I’m really proud of our offense, they really stepped up against a good UCLA defense that had played well this year. They had played well and were statistically. We had outstanding performances from our offensive line and Joe Williams. Troy Williams played well at quarterback. Cory Butler-Byrd played well. We could not have started the game any better with the kickoff return for a touchdown. We had a lot of positives on offense.
On defense, we played the run well which we expected to. UCLA had not run the ball and we wanted to make sure that continued. We gave up a little too much in the throw game. When you throw 70 times you’re going to get some yards. Our zone coverage was bad. I thought we did fine in man-to-man. We have a lot of work to do there. We need to do a better job at getting to the quarterback. We should have more disruption than we did.
Overall, any time you can go the Rose Bowl and get a win it’s great. So we are sitting in pretty good shape and still tied with Colorado who won their game against Stanford. We’re getting ready for another extremely tough game this week. Washington comes to town ranked No. 4 in the nation and from what we’ve seen on tape they deserve that ranking. Probably the most impressive thing is that they have scored 200 points and allowed 24 in the first half this year. That’s a huge discrepancy. Now things have evened out in the second half but the games have been pretty much over by halftime. They’ve called off the dogs so to speak and they’re going to be a challenging opponent.
We get them at home and Rice-Eccles has been a great venue this year. We have had great support from our fans that makes it a tough place to play for opponents. We need that to be the case this weekend and we know they will be loud.
On what surprises him about Joe Williams
How hard he is running and how much speed and quickness he has. He pulled away from those UCLA defenders and they have fast guys. They hand pick whom they want for that secondary and he out ran them all. That’s the first thing you notice, his speed and quickness. He’s running hard, running with physicality and it’s just what the doctor ordered for us. We were down to our last running back and all of a sudden he’s back in the lineup and a huge plus for us.
On how impressed he’s been with Byrd
Very impressed and he’s been another key impact to our success is what he’s given us in the return game. How we started the game Saturday was a huge plus. He’s filled a dual role as a receiver/running back. He’s carried the ball out of the backfield and done a nice job with that she he’s added to what we have going.
On the injuries to Lo Falemaka, Marcus Williams and Sunia Tauteoli
Still don’t know. Too early in the week to know if we’ll get one or two of them back. We wont know until game day.
On what the offensive line did to improve in the game Saturday
We just started playing better. We took that first drive down and scored. They got into a rhythm and it started to work and mesh. You see that time-to-time during the course of a season not just with us, but also with various teams. When they get that confidence and timing, you get pretty good results
On ESPN College Gameday coming to town
It’s great to be recognized and we are elated that Gameday is coming to town. They, the Gameday people, do a good job of being very non-invasive and non-disruptive. They know the drill and understand college football as well as anybody. They handled it well, we handled it well last year, and I expect the same this year.
On Jake Browning
He’s getting better at everything including pass completion percentage and was leading the nation coming into the weekend. He has about a 200 efficiency rating which is phenomenal. You see his growth and development in all areas. He’s bigger, stronger, making good decisions. They do a good job with that offense. Good people surround him. He has two running backs that are outstanding, a corps of receivers that are playmakers and an offensive line that is very good
On finishing the season strong.
We approach each week the same. Whether it’s week one, week 10, week 12, it doesn’t change our approach. We are going to come out and work hard in practice and make sure we come out on Saturday.
On what they have seen with Browning and what other teams are doing or not doing to try and slow him down
The other teams are trying to do everything schematically through seven games. His offensive line protects him well. They have a strong running game that helps with the throw game. Troy is experiencing that for us this year. When you throw the ball effectively, it opens up lanes in the running game. Defenses can’t stack the box like they’ve done in recent years. Devontae Booker was facing 8-9-10 guys in the box in years past and that opens up the throw game. Jake is dealing with that this year. When you are balanced and teams can’t load up with one or the other it makes it easier to throw and to run.
On giving up too many big plays
We were just facing great athletes. When you do that, they’re going to make great plays. USC, UCLA, they have scholarship players too and they’re going to make plays. We have given up a few too many but we lead the nation in takeaways. We’ve made some big plays ourselves.
On Chris Petersen
He’s doing a fantastic job and he’s one of a handful of elite coaches. I have all the respect in the world for him and think he’s doing one heck of a coaching job. It doesn’t surprise me what they’re doing up there
On missing tackles
A few times we were going for the ball rather than trying to make the tackle. For the most part, like I said, when you play teams with great athletes, they’re going to make you miss. We had 16 missed tackles, our second-highest total this year and we try to be in single digits. A good day is nine or less and they had a lot of guys in space in the throw game and at times, instead of securing the tackle went for the strip. We have to make sure we get the tackle or else it doesn’t work out for you
On Chase Hansen
It was a typical week for Chase with no more responsibility than normal. There’s a lot on his plate every week with tough assignments. The two UCLA tight ends were very athletic and they’re going to make plays. You can’t hold a team with that many athletes from breaking tackles or making plays.
On whether Bradlee Anae and Leki Fotu’s presence was planned or due to injuries
A little of both - We are bringing them along and we think they are going to be tremendous players in the future. We are trying to get them integrated them and they are getting better each week. In practice, we said we were going to get them playing time. They are progressing and will be a big part of our defense in years to come
On whether you focus more on stopping UW’s offense of defense
Both. We cant put more emphasis on one or the other. The offense needs to move the ball and score points and the defense needs to keep them off the board. We can’t make a concerted effort on controlling one area. You want to control everything
On time of possession
It’s critical to control the football and make first downs and move the chains. We have done a great job of doing that this year. We are among the leaders in time of possession nationally and first in the Pac-12. It’s been a big plus for us and will be key in this game as in every game. When you control the ball it works to your advantage
On Garett Bolles
He’s a special player. We knew that when we recruited and signed him. He’s been starting since game one. He’s been a little over aggressive at times but that’s the type of problem you want. It’s easier to rein it in rather than try and bring it out. I would agree with that assessment that he’s one of the best run-blockers in the nation. He’s tough, physical and finishes blocks. He’s so great at finishing blocks. He’s a mean, nasty player, not in an illegal way, but a good way
On whether Washington is the toughest Pac-12 team he’s faced
I’d have to go back and review the schedules of when we played them (Oregon in ’14). They’re one of the best.
On if he thought this was going to be the offensive line he envisioned at the beginning of the season
Yes, we went into the season thinking we’d have one of the best offensive lines in the Pac-12. We started off slowly but we’ve been building and it was by far their best performance of the year Saturday. Changing out centers due to injury and working with new guys might have slowed us down some but that’s what we saw Saturday was what we envisioned
On Jordan Fogal
I thought he played really well with two interceptions and that stop on fourth-and-one. It was a huge momentum changing play, that and the interception in the end zone. So Jordan stepped in and did a fine job for Marcus
On what he saw in the UW/UA game
Arizona played well and it was one of their best performances of the year. UW was out of sync and it was a road game. They’ve only played two road games so they were out of their normal environment so that might have had something to do with it. They were just out of sync.
On irony with Joe Williams returning because of all the injuries
He wouldn’t have come back if we were not so depleted at that area. That could be a silver lining. It’s been a unique year with injuries and I don’t like to talk about them but and we were down to nothing at that position. That was the impetus and pathway for Joe to come back so it’s a blessing in disguise
On Nick Nowakowski
He played very well on Saturday, much better than his first week. When Lo comes back we will have to examine Nick’s body of work. We will see where he is and if he is out-performing Lo from before the injury. That’s how it works here. When you come back you don’t automatically get your starting spot back. We won’t make that decision. We will make it when, and if, Lo comes back. It was great to see Nick play the way he did Saturday
On Tim Patrick
We are hoping this week he is 100 percent. He was 85 percent last week. We hope he turns the corner. Our receivers are really stepping up. Sisosi Wilson really stepped up. Raleon Singleton has been getting better each week and Byrd, we talked about, has been getting better. Tim is our go-to guy and if we get him back that’s a big plus for us
On Troy Williams having familiarity with UW’s offense
I haven’t talked to him about that. Maybe we’ll have a discussion later. It’s been a couple years since he’s been there and things evolve and change. I’m sure there are things maybe that Troy can add but for the most part what you see on film is the most important thing.
On John Ross
I see talent. John Ross is good. Dante Pettis is good and they have four or five receivers that are capable, dynamic playmakers. Ross is a tough matchup and we’ll try and slow down