SALT LAKE CITY — Tyler Huntley is the Utes' starting quarterback.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham reaffirmed so at his Monday afternoon press conference, leaving no room for interpretation or debate.
“We are not going to create some quarterback controversy,” Whittingham said. “We believe Tyler gives us the best chance to win right now. As long as that is the case he will be the guy.”
Statistically, Huntley was not good in Utah’s 21-7 loss to Washington. The junior signal caller completed just 20 of 38 passing attempts for 138 yards and an interception, which resulted in a quarterback rating (QBR) of just 77.9.
Of course, a multitude of drops by his receivers and tight ends did not help.
“If we don’t drop the ball, he would have had really, really good numbers,” Whittingham said. “With all of the drops, it was just very average. When you have excessive drops that really hurts.”
Whittingham added that the drops were not due to a lack of effort and he fully expects the problem to be corrected.
“Every skill player we have puts the time in on the jugs machine after practice,” Whittingham said. “We are putting the time in and my guess is it will be corrected. We will get better at it.”
Huntley also struggled, comparatively speaking, in Utah’s 17-6 victory over NIU.
While his overall numbers were significantly better that day — Huntley threw for nearly 300 yards (286) while completing 20 of 31 passes — he was unable to get the Utes into the end zone. That remained the case against Washington, despite the Utah offense benefiting from excellent field position on more than one occasion.
Still, Whittingham believes in his quarterback.
“We evaluate everybody and he has room for improvement, like everyone on the football team,” Whittingham said. “Right now we feel like Tyler’s the guy that gives us our best chance on Saturdays. If something happens to change that we will open up the competition, but right now he gives us the best chance to win.”
TARGETING WOES: The Utes had two players ejected for targeting against Washington — safety Marquise Blair and defensive tackle Leki Fotu.
Per NCAA rules, Blair, who was ejected in the first half of Saturday’s contest, will be available to play from the get-go when the Utes take on the Washington State Cougars on Sept. 29.
Fotu, meanwhile, must sit out the first half of the game in Pullman, thanks to the fact his ejection came in the second half.
Whittingham discussed the difficulties regarding the targeting penalty and its enforcement, noting that “the targeting penalty is hard to get a grasp on. Marquise Blair’s (penalized play) looked like a normal football play.”
He and his Utes are not ones to make excuses, however.
“Times are changing,” Whittingham said. “We have to figure it out.”
NAME CHANGE: In a bit of lighter news, cornerback Tyrone Smith is no more. Instead and from now on, he will be known as Tyrone Young-Smith, per the University of Utah.
The freshman out of Fresno, California, made his first in-game appearance of the season against Washington, at cornerback and on special teams. Young-Smith is now on the two-deep roster, behind sophomore Jaylon Johnson.