Going into last year’s Rose Bowl, Utah’s defensive secondary had been decimated by injuries.
The Utes were so thin that running back Micah Bernard played at one cornerback position — something he hadn’t done since high school — against the high-powered Ohio State offense.
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, played without four key players who opted out of the bowl game because they had declared for the NFL draft.
In this day and age of the transfer portal, it’s easy for players buried on the third team on the depth chart to seek greener pastures, but that Rose Bowl game serves as a reminder that because of injuries, or for other reasons, it might be best for players to be patient, remain in the program and keep working hard.
A player’s opportunity could come — and it’s important to be ready for it.
That’s a lesson that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham teaches his players — to focus on taking advantage of opportunities to get better consistently.
“That’s something we talk about all the time. You’re only a snap or two away from being in there,” he said. “As long as you make your reps count — don’t count your reps, make your reps count, then when you get your opportunity, take it and run with it.”
Take quarterback Bryson Barnes, who started the season way down on the depth chart but ended up playing in the Rose Bowl when Cam Rising went down with an injury. In fact, Barnes threw a game-tying touchdown pass late in the game.
“I did know that if Cam were to go down, I would be the next guy up,” Barnes said recently. “That whole bowl prep week, I just had a weird feeling that I was going in in the biggest game Utah has ever played in.
“I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ Not that that changed my preparation leading up to the game. You’ve got to prepare that way regardless because that could have happened the first week he started against Washington State. It could have happened at any given moment. You’ve just got to be prepared for when that moment comes.”