Kenneth Scott is a playmaker on the outside and having him back makes our offense better immediately. – Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah receiver Kenneth Scott practiced Monday after spending the first part of camp in “The Pit” for precautionary reasons after what the senior described as overdoing things a bit in summer conditioning.
“It felt good. I made a couple of plays,” Scott said. “Travis (Wilson) just threw it up and I went and got them. So it felt good being back.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham acknowledged that Scott’s return is huge.
“Kenneth Scott is a playmaker on the outside and having him back makes our offense better immediately,” he said.
Wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield noted that Scott, who led the team with 48 catches in 2014, is a consistent, skillful wide receiver.
“You can tell he provides a spark, which is great to see,” Stubblefield said. “He’s the best contested-catch (receiver) that we have.”
Redshirt freshman Raelon Singleton also left “The Pit” on Monday but wasn’t able to go early in practice and returned with an undisclosed injury.
MONDAY, MONDAY: Whittingham said the Utes opened their final week of camp on a good note.
“It’s just like last Monday. You always want to guard against coming out and being a little bit sluggish after a day off and they weren’t,” he explained. “We had a good practice.”
UP NEXT: Utah’s second camp scrimmage is set for Tuesday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“We’ve got to get another good dose of live work, obviously, a bunch of reps for the younger guys as well,” said Whittingham, who added that the ones and twos would probably get 60-70 reps. The threes will also get some work.
The scrimmage will be situational with live tackling in backed-up, four-minute offense, two-minute offense and third-down scenarios.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Tuesday’s scrimmage is closed to the media and others.
“We do it pretty much every fall — one scrimmage — and we just have some things we’re going to work on that we don’t want anybody around — and that’s just not you guys,” Whittingham told reporters. “Nobody will be there. It’s just going to be us in the stadium. So, some practices you need to be able to work on some things that you don’t want any other eyes on, and that’s one of these days — tomorrow.”
HIGH DEMAND: Media credential requests for Utah’s Sept. 3 season opener against Michigan have already exceeded seating capacity in the Rice-Eccles Stadium press box.
“Right now I have 20 more people than I have space for,” said Liz Abel, senior associate athletics director for communications.
Abel added that the demand is the highest in team history, noting that no other game even comes close. She cited a combination of factors for the record-setting demand for credentials including the Thursday kickoff and Jim Harbaugh’s first game with Michigan.
GET 'EM NOW: MUSS tickets for the football season are almost gone. John Fackler, the University of Utah’s director of alumni relations, reports that just a few hundred standing-room-only tickets remain.
“If you don’t get these you’re going to miss out,” Fackler said. “They should be gone.”
For more information go to: www.themussblog.com.
CAL TRANSFER: Defensive end Sione Sina, a senior who transferred to Utah after graduating from California in the spring, has been added to the camp roster. The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder played in one game for the Bears over the past two seasons and has one year of eligibility remaining.
“I really miss the boys back at Cal,” Sina said. “But I just wanted to try something new over here and see what’s going on.”
EXTRA POINTS: True freshman Tyrone Smith now tops the depth chart at “Z” receiver, moving ahead of injured senior Tim Patrick . . . Another true freshman — Britain Covey — is listed as the co-starter at slot receiver with senior Bubba Poole . . . The Utes list two starters at tight end as well with Evan Moeai and Siale Fakailoatonga sharing the No. 1 spot . . . Camp concludes Saturday and school begins next Monday.
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