SALT LAKE CITY — It’s a 3-2-1 deal in the competition to be Utah’s next starting quarterback.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said it’s a three-man race entering camp on Friday. Jake Bentley, Drew Lisk and Cam Rising, he explained, are all going to get reps initially. However, he noted the importance of quickly narrowing the field to two — preferably within a week. Then, a week or so after that, choosing someone to replace the graduated Tyler Huntley as the designated starter and giving that quarterback the majority of reps in practice.
Although Whittingham declined to subscribe to an exact timetable, he did state an obvious desire to have things decided “sooner rather than later.”
The Utes are scheduled to kick off the season — once postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic and now shortened to just seven games — Nov. 7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium against Arizona.
Utah’s offense will take the field with a majority of its starters back in the fold. The departures, though, are significant. The Utes must replace Huntley, record-setting running back Zack Moss and left tackle Darrin Paulo. All three were first-team All-Pac-12 selections in 2019.
Junior tight end Brant Kuithe, who led Utah with 34 receptions last season, doesn’t expect the offense to be a lot different. Kuithe said the quarterbacks have looked great, the running backs have a good amount of experience and he predicts the next starting left tackle will be successful, too.
“I don’t expect much of a challenge,” Kuithe said. “It’s just trying to get some of the guys that don’t have much experience, more experience.”
At quarterback, Bentley brings 33 games as a starter at South Carolina to the table. Kuithe said the graduate transfer is moving around the best he has since arriving at Utah. Kuithe noted that Rising, a transfer from Texas who has spent more than a year in the program, is also doing well. The newcomers are assimilating to a system where only Lisk has taken a snap for the Utes.
“It’s just going to be a battle for who starts at the end of the day,” Kuithe said. “But I think it’s going to be a good thing.”
Since spring ball was cut short by the COVID-19 crisis — eliminating reps otherwise difficult to replicate — Kuithe said getting in the film room more often has been quite beneficial. It’s really helped guys get the scheme down.
“It’s just going to be a battle for who starts at the end of the day. But I think it’s going to be a good thing.” — Utah tight end Brant Kuithe on the QB battle
Individually, Kuithe sees room for improvement despite last season’s breakout campaign. The junior earned third-team All-America and second-team all-conference honors. He led the team in catches, receiving yards (602) and receiving touchdowns (six).
“Overall, I just want to just get better in a lot aspects blocking-wise because last year at the beginning of the season I didn’t start off well. But I finished pretty strong,” said Kuithe, who also identified overall mechanics, route running and catching the ball as other areas to build upon. “I just want to get in the offense a little bit more and just try and see what I can do there.”