ASAP may become ATOTP.
A thing of the past.
Because junior safety Dave Revill is playing so well, Utah football coaches are experimenting with breaking up the super-safety duo of juniors Antwoine Sanders and Arnold Parker, a.k.a. ASAP, by moving Parker to cornerback in the 4-3 package.
He already plays there in nickel and dime packages. He practiced there in the 4-3 for the first time Saturday.
No more ASAP's fables?
"We're experimenting. We're tinkering with things. The bottom line is we're trying to get the best 11 out there," said defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham.
"Spring is the time to take a look at those situations. Nothing's etched in stone. He can go back to safety in a heartbeat, and he'll be one of the best safeties in the league. He'll be one of the best, he'll be the best in the league wherever he plays."
"Parker's our best cover guy," said coach Ron McBride, "and Revill is doing such a good job inside. Revill is really looking good."
Cornerbacks coach Jugi Hogue said sophomore transfer Steve Smith could make the opposite move. "We think his position is safety."
Whittingham said Parker had no complaints about making the move to corner. "It's kind of almost a relief to him to be full-time one or the other," he said.
And Whittingham already has a little bit of a chess game going on in his head thinking of how to use Parker, who at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds is ideal corner size and bigger than most the Utes have. "You can build coverages around that guy. It sure is a big help to have a shut-down corner like Arnold — take one-half of the field and say, 'That's done, we don't have to worry about that.'
Several other corners escalated their play in 11-on-11 situational drills Saturday morning after they'd had a poor day in practice on Thursday. D'Shaun Crockett and Bo Nagahi caught Hogue's attention. "D'Shaun is playing really well, and Bo had a good day today," Hogue said.
Walk-on freshman Anthony Fresques of Northridge High in Layton also looked good to Hogue.
"The cornerbacks stepped it up," noted McBride. "Four or five made good plays."
Mild injuries slowed two other corners. Redshirt freshman Antonio Young had a slight hamstring pull, and senior Cody Weight hyperextended a toe.
By fall, heralded incoming freshman Shaun Harper of San Diego Mission High could be in the cornerback mix as well, said Hogue.
In Saturday's drills, "It was real crisp, as far as contact. It wasn't sloppy. The defense as a whole looked real good, especially the front guys," said McBride, mentioning Garrett Smith, Lauvale Sape and Josh Savage. On offense, tight ends Kurt Jackson and Matt Hansen and lineman Tevita Vakalahi looked good, as did running back J.R. Peroulis. Halfback Marty Johnson missed his second practice with a bruised knee.
It was a spirited workout, with several after-whistle skirmishes, and McBride got taken out on one play behind the line. He was still walking at the end of practice but wondered aloud how he'd feel later. He said the hit was as hard as the one on the Camp Carbon sideline seven or eight years ago by running back Chris Fuamata-Ma'afala, who left the coach wearing a cast.
E-mail: lham@desnews.com