SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s “most important” scrimmage of spring ball is in the books. So, too, is the fourth week of camp.
“I think we got exactly what we needed to accomplish out of this scrimmage,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.
The offense came out strong. Whittingham noted that quarterbacks Brandon Cox and Tyler Huntley had a solid day. However, he also said there was room for improvement as the defense dominated two-minute situations.
"Our two-minute drill, right now, offensively is a weakness for us, and we’ve got to make a concerted effort these last few practices to try to improve that,” Whittingham said. “Now, conversely, the defense is playing the two-minute situations very well. So it’s a give-and-take — but overall, a very positive scrimmage. We came out healthy, got a lot of work done and it was good to see the offense take a step forward."
Cox highlighted the effort. The junior completed 16 of 24 passes for 158 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a score. Huntley was 10 of 23 for 65 yards and one TD.
“As an offense, I feel like we came out here and set the tone,” Cox said. “I felt like we set the intensity today.”
Cox said that the offense was determined to show the defense that it came out to play.
“It went pretty good. We exposed the defense a little bit more and made more plays,” Huntley said.
The offense scored eight touchdowns — five on passes and three on the ground. Cox did both. Besides an 11-yard TD run, he connected on a pair of scoring strikes to tight end Chad Hekking (12 and 2 yards) and single connections to Siaosi Wilson (18 yards) and Caleb Repp (3 yards).
“It looked like he was in control of the offense,” Whittingham said.
Huntley also drew praise. Whittingham said the true freshman took another step forward even though his numbers weren’t great. Whittingham likes how Huntley carries himself and his ability to extend plays.
“Brandon is ahead right now. If we had to play tomorrow it would be Brandon. But there is still a lot of opportunity between now and when we do have to play for change to occur,” Whittingham said. “But right now, Brandon would be the guy with Troy (Williams) hurt and Tyler not quite ready.”
The offense’s other scores came on runs by Joe Williams (8 and 1 yards); a 14-yard pass from Huntley to Troy McCormick; and off field goals from Mitch Wishnowsky (45 yards) and Andy Phillips (50 yards).
“It was good. I thought it was very productive,” Whittingham said. “It was good to see the offense come out and get a fast start, a lot more production offensively today.”
However, Whittingham made it clear that nobody on offense performed well in two-minute situations. While noting the need for improvement in that regard, he also said the offense had some bright spots.
Tyler Copperwood and Repp led 11 receivers with catches by pulling in four apiece. Williams topped nine rushers with 16 yards on five carries.
“Credit to the offense. They’re doing some real good things,” said defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who added that the defense rallied back and did a great job in two-minute situations.
Senior defensive end Hunter Dimick acknowledged that the defense may have been a little complacent early in the scrimmage.
“We’ve been having pretty good success against the offense all spring and the offense has been working very hard because of that, and it showed today,” he said.
Dimick added that it was a “pretty big wake-up call” and something that is going to make the defense a lot better. By the time the situational scrimmage featured two-minute situations, Dimick said the defense knew it had to work more because the offense had gotten a lot better.
“Good finish, but we need to start faster,” he said.
Whittingham agreed. He said the offense hit the defense in the mouth before they bowed up and responded.
The defense, playing without safety Marcus Williams who was held out of the scrimmage, recorded a pair of interceptions. Senior linebacker Sharrieff Shah Jr. headlined the takeaways by going 65 yards for a pick six. Senior defensive back Reginald Porter had the other interception.
The Utes recorded nine tackles for loss, including six sacks. Freshman defensive end Chris Hart got to the quarterback twice, while seniors Kyle Fitts, Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, Pita Taumoepenu and Dimick had single sacks. Taumoepenu made an additional stop behind the line of scrimmage.
Utah concludes spring camp with practices Tuesday and Thursday before the Red and White Game on Saturday.
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