SAN ANTONIO — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham liked what he saw at the first Alamo Bowl practice in Texas Thursday at Trinity College. 

“First practice after a few days away, the energy was overall it was good for four days off,” he said. “You want to see them come out with a lot of juice, lot of energy and also hope they retained all the things you worked on that first nine practices. It was it was a short practice and very productive.”

“There’s still a lot of, you know, big things like this team’s playing for a 12-win season and top 10 ranking so there’s a lot on the line. But the biggest thing is for us to have the seniors leave on the positive.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham

As the New Year’s Eve game with Texas at the Alamodome approaches, Whittingham emphasized that sending the seniors out the right way is the primary motivation for the Utes.

“There’s still a lot of, you know, big things like this team’s playing for a 12-win season and top 10 ranking so there’s a lot on the line,” Whittingham told reporters. “But the biggest thing is for us to have the seniors leave on the positive.”

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Sophomore tight end Brant Kuithe noted that things went well.

Good energy, feel sharp out there,” he said. “So good to see the guys and just get the chemistry back.”

Even so, Kuithe added that the team has just got to get to work and take it day by day. They practiced in Salt Lake City on Saturday and then went home for a Christmas break — reuniting in Texas Wednesday night.

“Our administration has been so supportive, we were able to fly all our guys home to their respective destinations and then fly them here,” Whittingham said upon arrival. 

Whittingham noted that the Utes will practice four times in San Antonio while also participating in bowl activities.

“Traditionally our guys have been really good at that, being able to get dialed in when we need to for practice and meetings and when it’s time to have the bowl events and enjoy the city then they will do that as well,” he said.

The players expressed appreciation for the Alamo Bowl invitation.

“I’m excited, I’ve never been here before,” said defensive tackle John Penisini. “So it’s nice to finally touch down and see what San Antonio is about. But I’m just grateful to be here.”

Running back Zack Moss noted that it was very exciting and good to finally get to the bowl site. He said they received a great welcome at the team hotel and is looking forward to the bowl experience.

“Our coaches do a good job of helping us understand that this is a business trip at the end of the day, while also allowing us to have a lot of fun and downtime,” Moss explained. “We keep in the back of our mind that this is a business trip.”

2019 Alamo Bowl

No. 11 Utah (11-2) vs. Texas (7-5)

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Alamodome, San Antonio

Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m. (MT)

TV: ESPN

Radio: ESPN 700AM

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